Narcissistic Abuse FAQs Frequently Asked Questions about Narcissists Psychopaths and Quotes

“Even when he seems to be interacting with someone else, the narcissist is actually engaged in a self-referential discourse. To the narcissist, all other people are cardboard cutouts, two-dimensional animated cartoon characters, or symbols. They exist only in his inner universe. He is startled when they deviate from the script and prove to be complex and autonomous.”
― Sam Vaknin, Narcissistic Abuse and Narcissism FAQs: Frequently Asked Questions about Narcissists, Psychopaths, and Abuse in Relationships

“It is no wonder than narcissists – both men and women – are chauvinistic and conservative. They depend to such an extent on the opinions of people around them that, with time, they are transformed into ultra-sensitive seismographs of public opinion, barometers of prevailing fads and fashions, and guardians of conformity. The narcissist cannot afford to seriously alienate his "constituency", those people who reflect his False Self back to him. The very functioning of the narcissist's ego depends on the goodwill and the collaboration of his human environment.”
― Sam Vaknin, Narcissistic Abuse and Narcissism FAQs: Frequently Asked Questions about Narcissists, Psychopaths, and Abuse in Relationships

“Go ahead. Tell our friends about it. See if they can imagine what it's like, let alone believe it. The more outrageous the things you say about me, the more convinced they are that it is you who have taken a turn for the worse. And don't expect much more from your therapist either. You may tell him this or that, but what he sees when I visit him is something quite different. So what's the therapist to believe? After all, it was you who came for help. No! That's what this is all about. No! That simple two-letter word that, regardless of how bad I am, you simply cannot say. Who knows? You might even acquire some of my behaviour yourself.”
― Sam Vaknin, Narcissistic Abuse and Narcissism FAQs: Frequently Asked Questions about Narcissists, Psychopaths, and Abuse in Relationships