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Relationships

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Why is everything on his terms?

241 replies

KittyVolition · 13/07/2019 22:51

I’ve been seeing a guy for a couple of months and I’m really into him. We have lots in common, great rapport, there’s a chemistry between us, we make each other laugh, it’s all good.... except....

Everything always has to be on his terms. If I suggest meeting up he either says no or is a bit vague about it but then comes back with his own alternative suggestion a few days later. He seems to control our communications too. He’ll say something like, I’ll call you early next week and we can arrange that but then I feel like I can’t contact him in the meantime. Or if I do, I sense that he’s slightly irritated. I don’t really get it. It’s like he wants everything to be in his control and on his terms.

Has anyone been with anyone like this before? Is it just a minor irritation or do you think it’s a sign of bigger issues?

OP posts:
KittyVolition · 15/07/2019 12:28

Thanks everyone. I’m seriously considering ending things. I’m seeing everything more clearly. I appreciate everyone’s thoughts and feedback.

OP posts:
DorothyParkersCat · 15/07/2019 12:28

Any tips?

You aren't listening OP. THIS MAN IS A NARCISSIST. I speak from experience - your self esteem will get wrecked. You will end up in a head fuck with a never ending spiral of "how could he be my soul mate, have this amazing sex, be my perfect match but in a blink of an eye turn so ice cold, abuse me and want nothing to do with me?" You can't work it out because it is only understandable to a narcissist.

You will then become obsessed with getting him back, rekindling that initial love bomb phase and torture yourself about your own inadequacies because he's off being apparantly in love and happy with his new perfect gf.

Then when you get to the bottom of the spiral you will not want to trust any man again because how would you trust love if your perfect soul mate could do this, besides you are so worthless (as he has rammed home to you by his dismissive treatment of you) who would want you?

You are lucky OP you've posted here so we have given you forewarning. Most people walk blindly into this swept along by a tide of love bombing fairy taleness.

Here are tips if you want them - not mine but from an article.

www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/get-hardy/201203/so-you-insist-dating-narcissist

So, You Insist on Dating a Narcissist?
Ten things you must sacrifice to keep your narcissist lover happy.

If you are going to date a narcissist, there are ten sacrifices that you'll have to make in self-respect, to keep your narcissist happy.

  1. Make your daily mantra "It's all about him-or her."
  2. Say you are sorry, even when you have done nothing wrong. He will appreciate your eagerness to make him happy.
  3. Do not get sick or appear needy. Remember your mantra in sacrifice one.
  4. Never, I mean never, talk about the relationship, if you wish to have one with her.
  5. Don't be selfish. Downplay your looks, smarts, and appeal to make him feel secure.
  6. Be charming at all times. Charm never harm should be your motto.
  7. Never start a sentence with "I need you to......."
8.Know what they expect of you, then, give it to them. 9.He or she believes in the give and take relationship principle. You give, he takes. 10. Above all, never age. He will grow to hate you for this.

Think twice before you wish for a relationship commitment with a narcissist. You have a lot to lose and little to gain.

KittyVolition · 15/07/2019 13:11

I know that I probably sound naive but why would any man/woman want to behave in that way? I just don’t get it. Is it a personality flaw that’s beyond his control? Surely he wouldn’t choose to be that cruel on purpose??

OP posts:
75Renarde · 15/07/2019 13:22

It's not about cruelty par se, its about fuel - narc supply. By controlling your emotional response, he can seirch between positive and negative fuel.

Be warned OP, you are firmly in Golden Time. You gave not yet experienced a true devaluation. Now depending on wether he wants to firmly make you his partner, you may never be devalued if he doesn't.

Get Out now OP. This one bothers me.

DorothyParkersCat · 15/07/2019 13:24

You do sound naive sorry to say but then if you've not come across it before, why would you know? I was naive too once!

It's not "a personality flaw"; it is a mental health disorder. It is beyond the control of the sufferer and most experts consider it is fundamentally untreatable. The best outcome is where someone recognises they are a sufferer and takes conscious steps to modify their behaviour in the way it impacts on those closest to them. There is never a cure.

Narcissistic personality disorder is a recognised psychiatric disorder with its own diagnostic criteria. Like anti social personality disorder and borderline personality disorder it is part of the so called cluster B disoders

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cluster_B_personality_disorders

DorothyParkersCat · 15/07/2019 13:31

The "why" is pschiatrically complicated but in simple terms when the sufferer was young they developed so that the only way they could function in society is to build a grandiose vision of themselves that they are special, greater, more everything than everyone else.

This is like building a castle around themselves and the castle must be impenetrable at all costs. In order to protect the castle, they surround themselves with people who also believe the castle is a thing of wonder and must be protected.

Anyone who points out that the castle might be flawed, or there is a better bigger castle in the next town, or the castle has a hole in the wall that lets the water in much be banished.

Most people with NPD will have a fan club of those who worship them and think they are gods/godesses. Usually these are work colleagues or acquainatances who only see the charm. There will usually be a rotation of members of the opposite sex as well who they blow hot and cold with and pull back in (its called hoovering) when they are running low on worshippers.

75Renarde · 15/07/2019 13:34

@DorothyParkersCat

I know you are only trying to be supportive but I do think calling someone naive isn't helpful.

Imagine it like those magic eye pictures, remember those? I could never see it. Not until I put a sheet of glass over it, then I could.

Viewing NPD is very similiar. Once you see it in its FULL entirety, you can never under it. After all, No one would say I was naive because I couldn't view the picture.

Perception is every everything. At it's most subtle and devastating level, it's very hard to spot from an external standpoint. Very likely a psychiatrist wouldn't be able to diagnose. That's how insidious it is.

DorothyParkersCat · 15/07/2019 13:38

@75Renarde - did you actually read what I wrote - I don't think we are disagreeing as I said

if you've not come across it before, why would you know? I was naive too once!

75Renarde · 15/07/2019 13:50

Yeah I did read it. I just don't like that word.

I prefer uneducated.

Rosielily · 15/07/2019 15:18

You've been seeing him for a couple of months. Have you read all the advice on here? Get out now before he sucks you in further.

lifebegins50 · 15/07/2019 16:00

he has mentioned first so it might not be deliberate on his part

This is probadly because he is intelligent. I had this with Ex H, he agreed with me on everything so once I deliberately forced him to make a choice on a preference and he came up with the same idea as me. It confirmed in my mind we were obviously "soul mates", and I honestly thought we were meant for each other (although he had been married before).

Later after marriage we barely agreed on anything and I realised he had learned my cues, in the same way profiling works. If you want to hook someone it's actually not that difficult.

I would happily say I was naive because like the OP, she knows something is off and may choose to ignore it.

However I didn't know what I was dealing with and that was due to lack of knowledge so I think naive and uneducated is valid.

Op, the "why" is what keeps people hooked in bad relationships because it doesn't make sense. Even now I sometimes struggle with it but I do accept it is a personality trait and can't be changed. I suspect science in 50 years will offer
explanations but for now we need to accept it's a brain wiring issue, most likely in the cerebral cortex region. Studies have shown it is also increasing so the chances of meeting an NPD partner is higher.

NPD thrives because when we assess other people we use ourselves as a yardstick and tend to project our own emotional state and values onto others but some people are just egocentric and lack empathy. The juror is out on the cause but genetics is also a factor as well as environment.

If he is narcisstic then he is pursuing you for something..status, money, access, as well as "supply". For a person with NPD supply is vital as without it they feel empty which is why they are often never single for long and why they have affairs as they need to line up someone.

In my case, some of Exs behaviours were instinctive as opposed to premeditated as he sees the world differently than I do. For him it is a case of "control or be controlled".

TheTittefers · 15/07/2019 16:15

I have to say Dorothy’s post of 13.31 is one of the most powerful and simple descriptions of NPD i have ever read. One for meto bookmark

RoseOfSharyn · 15/07/2019 16:39

He sounds like a narcissist, but even if he's not, he is a class A cunt and you could really do so much better.

Asking advice on switching the power balance?! Come on OP!! Find a decent bloke where you don't have to play games or change anyone and send this one back to the sewer.

KittyVolition · 15/07/2019 17:27

Are there degrees of narcissism? He’s mostly quite sensitive and caring. Would he have those traits with NPD? He worries about things and gets upset if he thinks he’s done a bad job of something. He can be introspective.

He has very swiftly moved from relationship to relationship though since a teenager. Not many single gaps.

OP posts:
75Renarde · 15/07/2019 17:35

No. In absolute terms there are not.

A person suffering from NPD has zero has zero affective empathy.

However, on one way you are correct. The author, H G Tudor asserts that there are three 'schools'. The Lessers and Middles are not aware of their own lack of empathy. The Greaters are aware. They use this intellectual understanding for their own ends.

Lessers will physically brutaluse you. Think caveman

Middles always always rely on the middle ground. Very passive aggressive.

Greaters, you don't want to know.

lifebegins50 · 15/07/2019 17:53

Covert narcisstics come across as sensitive and are not the loud brash type than we associate with Trump.

Just say No to him and you might find out quickly what he is really like.

blink182x · 15/07/2019 18:16

How old are you and old is he?

SavingSpaces2019 · 15/07/2019 18:37

I do feel like I have met my soulmate or twin
He's neither.
Despite popular opinion on TF's and the push/pull dynamic.....this isn't your twin. Plus, a real Twin honours and elevates you - this guy is the complete opposite.

A soulmate is someone you can grow with.
This guy isn't even worth the headspace you've been giving him.

This selection and profiling is presumably subconscious on his part. I don’t think he’s a psychopath
No. It might have started out subconscious, but now it's a conscious control mechanism.
As an empath i always try to look for the good in a person and don't like seeing knowing the dark. It's hard.
You need to realise and assert your boundaries or you will get sucked into someone else's circus.

75Renarde · 15/07/2019 20:16

@SavingSpaces2019

Hmm empath eh?

DorothyParkersCat · 15/07/2019 21:46

On the plus side, if you keep dating him you'll find a new hobby - researching Narcissistic Personality Disorder.

Like @75Renarde I have also read the writings of H GTudor (who claims to be a narcissist). I'm not sure I'd subscribe to his divisions of lesser/middle/greater. It's a typical narcissist world view. "I am a narcissist but there are types of narcissists that I have categorised and I of course am the greatest type".

This is wear you end up. Researching it to death to try to understand what happened to you and why this man/woman acted the way they did.

As for your comment he seems sensitive, it's most likely he's acting it out for your benefit. There are other possibilities - he's an introverted/covert narcissist/ he's not a narcissist at all but has borderline personality disorder (which has traits of narcissism within it) or actually he's a normal guy who is just a selfish idiot.

From what you've posted it seems most likely he is a narcissist portraying what you want to see. It's unconcious because they are hardwired to do this.

It's like

  • I have a physical need for you to worship me and support my grandioase vision of myself (in the way the rest of us need food and water)
  • From childhood I learned the way to do this is to suck someone in and make someone think I am like them, kind and caring.
  • I will mirror you because I know no other way to get you to like me
KittyVolition · 15/07/2019 21:52

blink182x we’re both around 40.

OP posts:
KittyVolition · 15/07/2019 21:56

My gut reaction is telling me that he’s not a narcissist but that he’s an insecure, selfish, misogynistic and possibly manipulative person. I think he actually has good empathy skills. I think he’s using me as an ego boost and loves the control. I don’t feel like I can say no to him because it would cause huge problems in the relationship. As it is, there’s been nothing that I have wanted to say no to yet but I suspect it will come.

I am keeping an open mind about him being a narcissist and will read more about it. I know another narcissist and he’s totally different to that person but maybe he’s just a different type of narcissist.

OP posts:
category12 · 15/07/2019 22:04

So why are your standards so low you want to keep someone you believe to be an insecure, selfish, misogynist in your life?

75Renarde · 15/07/2019 22:08

Piffale and Whiff Wharf @DorothyParkersCat

And before you ask. All of it

Rosielily · 15/07/2019 22:09

My gut reaction is telling me that he’s not a narcissist but that he’s an insecure, selfish, misogynistic and possibly manipulative person

So when are you going to dump him? Or are you actually getting something out of this 2 month old "relationship"?

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