- Narcissists struggle to have positive feelings about someone whom they’re mad at.
- For many people, the best thing to do is to cut a narcissist out of their life.
- If this isn’t possible there are some tactics you can use to stop the argument from escalating.
Arguing with a narcissist can lead to hurt feelings or worse.
Narcissists tend to be incapable of “object constancy,” which means they struggle with having positive and negative feelings at the same time. Once they are fired up for a fight, they can only comprehend their feelings of resentment and anger.
As a result, even the smalles argument can escalate quickly and fiercely. An issue you thought was unimportant or even irrelevant may blow up into a relationship-ending showdown.
Narcissists can be very delicate, depending on what sub-type they are. They are often deeply insecure underneath their bravado, so they easily mistake other people’s comments and actions for “attacks on themselves,” Alena Scigliano, a psychotherapist and author of “Swimming with Sharks: Surviving Narcissist-Infested Waters,” told Business Insider in 2023.
Here’s what you can expect from an argument with a narcissist and what you can do to keep things from spiraling out of control, according to experts.
