How to communicate with someone with Narcissistic Personality Disorder

Narcissistic Personality Disorder is a topic that has come up quite often, especially in recent years. Communicating with people with this disorder is often confusing. It is not always clear from their facial expressions whether they are sincere in what they say or not, sentences get longer, words become confusing.

People with Narcissistic Personality Disorder, let's call them narcissists for short, are masters of using language very well and effectively. Let's listen to what the psychiatrist says about Narcissistic Personality Disorder.

What is narcissistic personality disorder?

Conversational skills of narcissists Let's talk about the conversational skills of narcissists. When healthy people start a conversation, they talk to each other. However, narcissists do not talk to the person in front of them, they talk to the person in front of them. Without losing the leadership of the conversation, by talking constantly, interrupting the other person or listening to one or two sentences and then returning the subject back to themselves by saying "Something like this happened to me"... Thus, they tire the other person and make them unable to object to themselves and the complex logic they have established.

Constant lying is also a symptom of Narcissistic Personality Disorder, and narcissists are known for truly believing their own lies. In more advanced stages, the narcissist, who creates a world in his/her head in accordance with his/her own image and existence, may at times have difficulty distinguishing between this imaginary world and reality.

The narcissist's speech also includes the creative but self-serving use of language. The narcissist might say something like "I was at a party recently, I know a lot of famous people, we were with that actor". He really went to the party, that famous actor was there, so the sentence is not a lie. But is the actor really "with" the narcissist? This may vary according to people's understanding of togetherness. The narcissist, who leaves themselves room to twist the words, thus eliminates the possibility of the other person accusing them of being a liar.

Things to consider when talking to a narcissist

When talking to a narcissist, you should pay attention to these three points:

Take a deep breath, concentrate, and respond so you don't give an emotional and impulsive response.

Don't be the one who apologizes every time, saying, "We don't want to offend". If you disagree with the narcissist, take a short break from communication instead of taking the easy way out and pretending to agree.

Agreeing with the narcissist feeds their illusions, and disagreeing with them can lead to frustration, arguments and even violence. So try to give him rounded answers and not accuse him of being a liar. Sentences such as "That's interesting", "Let me think about it", "I don't know much about it" are great for keeping the communication calm.

Communication with people with Narcissistic Personality Disorder can be difficult. However, with a little attention, patience and the habit of thinking without speaking, this difficulty can be overcome.