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	<description>Devastated by a narcissist? Melanie&#039;s Narcissism blog offers support &#38; empowering tools to heal &#38; thrive after narcissistic abuse, gain a new life &#38; fulfilling relationships.</description>
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	<title>boundaries &#8211; Narcissism Recovery and Relationships Blog</title>
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		<title>30 Days To Empowered Self Week 4 &#8211; Boundaries</title>
		<link>https://blog.melanietoniaevans.com/30-days-to-empowered-self-week-4-boundaries/</link>
					<comments>https://blog.melanietoniaevans.com/30-days-to-empowered-self-week-4-boundaries/#comments</comments>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Melanie Tonia Evans]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Tue, 26 Feb 2013 01:52:18 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Healing From Narcissistic Abuse]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[boundaries]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[boundary setting]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://blog.melanietoniaevans.com/?p=1454</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[Welcome to the final installment of the 30 Days To Empowered Self! Listen to this week&#8217;s lesson on Empowered Love Radio Boundaries are vital. We have all been taught that it is fundamental to look after our houses, cars and bank accounts. But how many people were taught how to protect their emotional self? The [&#8230;]]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Welcome to the final installment of the 30 Days To Empowered Self!</p>
<p><a title="30 Days To Empowered Self Week 4 - Boundaries" href="http://tobtr.com/s/4465129" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Listen to this week&#8217;s lesson on Empowered Love Radio</a></p>
<p>Boundaries are vital. We have all been taught that it is fundamental to look after our houses, cars and bank accounts. But how many people were taught how to protect their emotional self?</p>
<p>The truth of the matter is: How people treat you and influence you is directly affected by your boundaries.<span id="more-1454"></span></p>
<p>If we don’t have clearly defined boundaries we will inevitably allow treatment and behaviour in our life <em>which does not serve us. </em>We will look to the outside world for our definition of self – and we will hand our power over to others rather than be <em>our own solid source of self</em>.</p>
<p>When we don’t have healthy boundaries in our life we expect other people to supply them for us. The irony is this: <em>they don’t.</em> In fact the people who we wish to grant us safety and emotional security are the people who are most likely to violate our boundaries. The boundaries that we are failing to create for ourself.</p>
<p>We need to understand that these people are in our life pushing (and maybe even throttling) our boundaries for a very good reason. They are <em>teaching us as per their behaviour </em>to establish and execute our own healthy boundaries – which is a vital part of becoming a healthy source to self.</p>
<p>A simple rule about boundaries is this: <em>Whatever you will tolerate will become a part of your reality.</em></p>
<p>Unhealthy boundaries and co-dependency is deeply interconnected. As you start establishing clear and defined personal boundaries in your life, you will be able to let go of trying to be someone that other people want you to be, and you will start defining<em> who you wish to be</em> in order to create authentic results and happiness in your life. Then you will see that people in your life become much more supportive, genuine and healthy and work with you in win / win ways.</p>
<p>Through my own experience and observing the growth of many people, I see time and time again<em> just how important boundaries are</em> in relation to claiming your authentic power and achieving your goals.</p>
<p>In fact this is vital, because without effective boundary setting, life will hurt you…and for those who have been narcissistically abused, getting boundary setting right <em>is incredibly important</em>, or you could run the risk of keeping defaulting to your painful and fearful belief systems that have caused you so much pain in the past.</p>
<p>The narcissist was your wake-up call to get all of this sorted – and you certainly don’t want to keep attracting the painful lessons because you haven’t.</p>
<p>In the new Quanta Freedom Empowered Self Course there are 3 modules specifically dedicated to releasing the fear of laying boundaries, aligning with what you will and won’t accept in your life and becoming an effective boundary setter.</p>
<p>These Modules are backed with specific Quanta Freedom Healings to really get congruent and solid <em>on an Inner Identity level </em>with boundary setting.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h2>Day 1-3 Identifying Your Boundary Malfunctions Exercise</h2>
<p>This exercise is very important. As you will have understood by now as a result of working with the 30 Days to Empowered Self Exercises, we really need to <em>inner investigate</em> ourself in order to be able to make the necessary inner changes.</p>
<p>Virtually all people have had difficulty with boundaries. None of us were educated on the importance of boundaries, let alone how to set them, and we did not know the wonderful benefits of them in our life.</p>
<p>We were all conditioned to just believe that good people have good things happen to them. I love the expression that a subscriber posted recently – that this is like expecting a Lion not to eat you because you are vegetarian. He he!</p>
<p>We all need to understand rather than point the finger to the outside and get incensed and devastated by people’ s poor behaviour that we need to take responsibility, take our power back and ask ourself <em>“What is it about myself that is attracting and allowing this abuse and bad behaviour in my life?”</em></p>
<p>That is what this first exercise is all about…</p>
<p>Our personal boundaries are not anyone else’s job – they are our own, and people were always going to treat us at a level of how effectively we do or don’t respect ourself.</p>
<p>Before you can work on fixing the areas in your life that you struggle to lay boundaries with, you need to identify <em>what is holding you back</em> from setting boundaries.</p>
<p>I want you to go back into your adult life and think of the times where you have been hurt the most by outside influences.</p>
<p><em>List these events and the people involved and how you did react ineffectively (such as got hooked in, tried to justify yourself, tried to change someone else’s behaviour, didn’t honour yourself and leave, took responsibility for someone else’s poor behaviour by apologising, or reverted to clinging on if threatened with rejection, abandonment, punishment, being replaced etc.)</em></p>
<p>Please list these events and write about what you DID do that was ineffective<em>…</em></p>
<p>Then ask yourself<em> ‘What was the fear within myself that stopped me from honouring myself?’ and write whatever comes up for you.</em></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h2>Day 4 What I Will No Longer Accept Exercise</h2>
<p>Having limits is the knowing of what you will and won’t accept in your life. We can only have limits if we clearly define our truth and are willing to back it up <em>regardless of what other people are or aren’t doing.</em></p>
<p>In personal relationships we need to know what our ‘deal-breakers’ are.</p>
<p>Here is a shortened version of a list that I have firmly in place – after doing a lot of deep inner work on my boundary malfunctions. These were the most severe boundary violations I suffered in narcissistic relationships.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<ul>
<li>Pathological lying</li>
<li>Malicious / vengeful behaviour</li>
<li>Inappropriate, over-the-top declarations of undying love (love bombing)</li>
<li>Adultery</li>
<li>People who smear others</li>
<li>People who refuse to take personal responsibility for poor behaviour</li>
</ul>
<p>It’s not hard to come up with our personal list, because these are the things that have come into our life experience <em>which we did tolerate and which have hurt us.</em></p>
<p><em>Now it is time for you to decide your reality, and list the things that you will no longer allow to be a part of your reality. Put a lot of effort into this list, make it as long as you like. </em></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h2>Healthy Ways to Say &#8216;No&#8217;</h2>
<p>In your everyday life you may experience many times when you are not listening to your emotions and you may say ‘yes’ instead of honouring yourself and saying ‘no’. This may not be necessarily ‘abusive’ situations – although you may find that people are taking advantage of you – because you aren’t saying ‘no’.</p>
<p>For example a next door neighbour may get you to keep picking up her kids from school. Or certain family members have you running errands for them, even though you have your own busy life.</p>
<p>You may not want to hurt their feelings, you may have always struggled with the fear of what people will think of you if you do say ‘no’, or you may have been conditioned to believe that self-sacrificial behaviour is the right thing to do – to give and give until it hurts and then keep giving!</p>
<p>The following list is extremely helpful for you to start realising there are healthy ways to say ‘no’ and honour yourself, in a way that is respectful, and in a way which people will actually appreciate you being up front and direct with them.</p>
<p>It is always awful for people when you become squirmy, indirect, grant false hope or let people down at the last minute because you did say ‘yes’ when you should have said ‘no’, or if you make some false excuse they find out about afterwards, or if you get resentful because YOU allowed this person to use you up when you did not want to comply!</p>
<p>So here are the ways that you can say ‘No’ healthily.</p>
<p><strong>1. I’m not comfortable with that</strong></p>
<p>This is a great way to say ‘no’, because you’re providing emotional honesty by honouring and expressing the truth of what your body is telling you.</p>
<p><strong>2. I have another commitment</strong></p>
<p>It doesn’t matter what the commitment is, it may simply be time with your family, reading a book or having a bath! You have no need to justify or explain what this commitment is! (This is a personal favourite of mine). This technique builds integrity and healthy self-esteem as opposed to lying to get out of something.</p>
<p><strong>3. Something has come up that needs my attention</strong></p>
<p>Don’t feel guilty that you’re letting people down if unexpected things occur that throw your schedule off. It’s ridiculous to offer help when your life requires urgent attention. Know that individuals will find another source of support if you choose not to be available.</p>
<p><strong>4. I’m not qualified for that job</strong></p>
<p>If you don’t feel that you have adequate skills, it’s better to admit your limitations upfront, which if you don’t, could potentially turn into a lose/lose situation.</p>
<p><strong>5. I need to focus on myself/my personal life/my career</strong></p>
<p>You are entitled to focus your energy on any area of your life that you wish to. Don’t feel guilty! It’s a healthy practice to treat your personal time like any other appointment.</p>
<p><strong>6. I know you’ll do a wonderful job</strong></p>
<p>People often ask for help because they doubt their own abilities. Let them know that you have the confidence that they will succeed. You may be empowering them rather than disabling them by making this statement.</p>
<p><strong>7. Not right now, but I can do it later</strong></p>
<p>If you really want to help someone but don’t have time, say so. Offer to help at a later date, and if they can’t wait for you, they’ll find someone else.</p>
<p><strong>8. ‘No’</strong></p>
<p>Sometimes it’s okay to just say no! Especially if other methods of saying ‘no’ are being argued.</p>
<p>The following is in relation to abuse, unacceptable behaviour and of course narcissistic tactics to project on to you, maim you, hook you in or abuse you.</p>
<p>Establish NO CONTACT – pull away, do not engage, and take care of yourself and create boundaries around yourself. Narcissistic behaviour is NOT acceptable in any shape or form, and any interaction you have, such as trying to prove your innocence, get approval or safety, or change the other person’s behaviour <em>will damage you and continue to damage you</em>.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h2>Day 5-7 Reframing Poor Boundaries With Verbal Strategies</h2>
<p>This exercise is about the mapping out of how to turn around your previous times of saying ‘yes’ when you really needed to say ‘no’.</p>
<p>Be <em>very clear</em> that engaging in and being present for abuse to take place is effectively saying ‘yes’ to it…</p>
<p>In this exercise I would like you to work on the times in your life, from the simple everyday frustrating ones which drain your energy, up to the most abusive times in your life when you were damaged by bad behaviour.</p>
<p><em>Make a list of the situations in your life that you have had difficulty in saying ‘no’ to.</em></p>
<p><em>Write out what you would normally say and act out in this situation when you hand over your power, and then below it write how you would reframe this situation using the ‘healthy ways to say no’ list above.</em></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h2>1 Week Left to be Eligble For a Quanta Freedom Empowered Self Course</h2>
<p>Remember to be eligible to go into the draw for a brand new Quanta Freedom Empowered Self Course you must post your progress questions in each of the 4 weeks in the 30 days To Empowered Self.</p>
<p>I will be closing the draw 1 week from now, on Tuesday the 5<sup>th</sup> of March 11:59PM Australian EST.</p>
<p>So put it in your diary and make sure you finish your progress questions before Wednesday to go into the draw.</p>
<p>The QF Empowered Self Course is a complete training in your growth and spiritual and personal empowerment.</p>
<p>The course thoroughly (and more deeply) covers the topics we touched on during the 30 Days to Empowered Self as well as many more in over 200 pages packed full of information and exercises for you to go through.</p>
<p>Plus 10 hours of Quanta Freedom Healings to transform and align your belief systems and Inner Identity with who you want to be. These healings can be performed as often as required to create yourself <em>on the inside </em>as the authentic being you wish to be.</p>
<p>Some of the things you will learn in the course are:</p>
<ul>
<li>How to become solid and whole within without needing anyone’s approval or validation</li>
<li>The key to creating healthy and respectful relationships</li>
<li>How to consciously and deliberately choose your thoughts and feelings</li>
<li>How to unlock the barriers within yourself that have been separating you from your goals and living a fulfilled life experience</li>
<li>How to unlock your authentic power and attract what you want from life</li>
<li>How to attract love, support, integrity and truth from the inside out.</li>
<li>The 5 key steps to being assertive and laying boundaries with confidence</li>
</ul>
<p>I will be announcing the prizes a couple of dates after the 5<sup>th</sup> of March when the Quanta Freedom Empowered Self Course is launched.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h2>Thank You!</h2>
<p>Thank you so much everyone for dedicating the time to work on yourself and participating in the 30 Days To Empowered Self.</p>
<p>Working on yourself takes courage, self-honesty and self-dedication. Words honestly cannot describe how proud I am of all of you! I am so happy for you that you have been able to heal and evolve so much!</p>
<p>I am overwhelmed with joy as to how successful this series has been, and I will definitely think about doing more series like this in the future.</p>
<p>Let me know in the comments if another series like this would be something you would like to do in the future, and please remember that I’m always interested in your topic suggestions.</p>
<p>Here are the Progress Questions for you to answer and post this week.</p>
<p>Exercise One:</p>
<p>How did you go with identifying your boundary malfunctions? Were you able to tap into the reasons for your pain and fear and why you have handed your power over at these times?</p>
<p>Exercise Two:</p>
<p>How did you feel about writing out what you will not accept in your life anymore?</p>
<p>Exercise Three:</p>
<p>When you reframed your boundary malfunctions regarding what you can do now in order to say ‘No’, did this feel empowering to you, or do you still feel this may be a struggle at times in your life?</p>
<p>I look forward to answering your responses soon!</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><img decoding="async" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-141" title="Melanie Tonia Evans" src="https://blog.melanietoniaevans.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/signature.png" alt="" width="267" height="76" /></p>
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		<title>Is He or She Really A Narcissist? Laying Boundaries and Accountability</title>
		<link>https://blog.melanietoniaevans.com/is-he-or-she-really-a-narcissist-laying-boundaries-and-accountability/</link>
					<comments>https://blog.melanietoniaevans.com/is-he-or-she-really-a-narcissist-laying-boundaries-and-accountability/#comments</comments>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Melanie Tonia Evans]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Wed, 14 Mar 2012 01:42:09 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[All About Narcissists]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Healing From Narcissistic Abuse]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[accountability]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[boundaries]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[narcissist]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[narcissistic relationship]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://blog.melanietoniaevans.com/?p=641</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[I get numerous emails every week asking this exact question: Is He or She Really A Narcissist? So many people ask – How can I be sure? I want you to be very clear on what I am about to state. It’s actually not important whether someone has NPD (Narcissistic Personality Disorder) or whether they [&#8230;]]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I get numerous emails every week asking this exact question: Is He or She Really A Narcissist?</p>
<p>So many people ask – <em>How can I be sure?</em></p>
<p>I want you to be very clear on what I am about to state. It’s actually not important whether someone has NPD (<a href="https://www.melanietoniaevans.com/articles/narcissist-behaviours.htm">Narcissistic Personality Disorder</a>) or whether they don’t or are displaying enough narcissistic traits to make your life painful <em>or unbearable. What is important</em> is that you are aligned with and living the life you wish to live and creating <em>that truth </em>by holding powerfully to that truth – no matter how hard that may be to do ….</p>
<p>Most people have some narcissistic traits, and it is normal to have exhibited narcissistic behavior at some point in their life. However, there is a big difference between normal people who are capable of taking responsibility and being accountable for their behavior and those with NPD who are incapable of this.<span id="more-641"></span></p>
<p>I am aware that this person, at some point, seemed like the love of your life, and the temptation is to try and help this person change their narcissistic behavior and recover. The problem is that some people take the N’s word immediately, only to be set up for another soul-destroying experience.</p>
<p>In this article<span style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">, I will show you how you can use the most powerful tool in your arsenal<strong>—boundaries—</strong>to find out if this person is capable of taking responsibility and being accountable for their actions without risking another experience that could cost you your soul, mental well-being,</span> and even life.</p>
<p>Nothing is worse than being set up maliciously by someone you believed you could trust, someone you love, and someone you thought loved you and had your best interests at heart.</p>
<p>It is a highly traumatic experience ….</p>
<p>Do you want to have that happen to you again at the hands of this person?</p>
<p>Clearly – NO!</p>
<p>I promise you, it is true that individuals who have displayed narcissistic behavior, have had <em>their near-death experience (wake-up call), </em>sought out consistent and powerful therapy to address their inner toxic issues causing their selfish behavior, and changed their life enough to become healthy, supportive and loving partners – and even spectacular ones.</p>
<p>It’s not the norm, but it can happen – <em>if </em>this person has the resources and does <em>not have </em>NPD.</p>
<p>There is a massive difference between a person who has misbehaved, takes full responsibility, and does everything in their power to heal and another who stays stuck in non-accountability, projection, and poor behavior.</p>
<p><span style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><em>If</em><em> </em>this person has the resources to heal and re-create themselves as a stable partner with integrity for you, you must make a lot of this shift</span><em>.</em></p>
<p>But it won’t be due to you “fixing” this person.</p>
<p>It will actually be a result of you “fixing yourself.”….</p>
<p>Therefore, don’t wait around, research articles, and obsess about whether or not your narcissistic partner is or isn’t capable of healing and amending their ways.</p>
<p>In<em>stead, live <strong>your </strong>truth powerfully.</em></p>
<p>THEN you will find out ….</p>
<p>A little further in this article, I’m going to explain how you can do that ….</p>
<p>Before I do that, I would like to share my opinion regarding the people for whom I truly feel there is little or <em>no hope.</em></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h2>Which Narcissistic People Are Extremely Unlikely To Heal</h2>
<ul>
<li>Pathological liars</li>
<li>Serial sex addicts</li>
<li>Those resistant to having any therapy, or who denounce therapy after one or only a few visits, or who use therapy as a “trick” to make you assume they are changing, or who use joint therapy experiences without accountability to devalue you as the partner (you’re the defective crazy person)</li>
<li>Physical abusers</li>
<li>Those who display a distinct lack of empathy</li>
<li>Individuals who display regular criminal, sociopathic, or psychopathic behavior</li>
</ul>
<p>Suppose your narcissistic partner or ex-partner fits into any of these categories. In that case, I believe the chances of reform are incredibly slim, and I would suggest moving on and continuing to move on. This is my opinion based on what I have observed over the years. If you believe otherwise, that is fine.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h2>What Traits Will a Genuine Person Display When Healing Their Narcissistic Behaviour?</h2>
<ul>
<li>Hitting rock bottom due to “loss” – generally, this loss will be you.</li>
<li>Full and ongoing ownership and accountability of what they have done, the issues they have, the damage created, and total remorse for their narcissistic actions</li>
<li>Ongoing and committed therapy that he or she is doing as an integral part of their personal journey, as a “have to” and a “want to” do</li>
<li>Repairing any damage they have inflicted to the best of their ability – including financial damage</li>
<li>Complete focus on caring about you and wanting to support you and help you feel safe in the relationship rebuild</li>
<li>Granting consistency and full disclosure of their life, the actions match the words.</li>
<li>Ability to grant you the time and space to heal and connect at your pace</li>
<li>Not displaying entitlements, jealousy, or revenge concerning any relationship opportunities you may have pursued in your time apart – instead, accepting that it’s because of their behavior that you were in that position</li>
<li>Willing to talk to anyone else in your life who doubts them, has been damaged, or has fear for your well-being while conducting themselves in total humility and accountability to help support you</li>
<li>Loving you enough to want you to be happy with or without them in your life (not making it about them)</li>
<li>Asking you to lay boundaries such as financial or relationship contracts to prove commitment and to help you feel safe (if applicable)</li>
</ul>
<p>What you <span style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">read above may be <em>outlandish </em>or even seem <em>incredible</em></span>. I promise you some individuals have treated their partners abusively and have risen from their narcissistic actions to become the men and women I am describing above.</p>
<p>Quite frankly, their partners, after <em>losing trust </em>and <em>having their hearts smashed, </em>should know that it is <em>only</em> with these types of actions that you <em>can</em> be safe to trust this person again. Also, nothing less than full accountability, actual boundaries, and compliance with these boundaries is going to ensure that narcissistic behavior does not happen again.</p>
<p><strong>And you should never engage again unless you receive this <em>authentic sincerity</em>.</strong></p>
<p>These traits (all of them are necessary), are the only way you will know that your partner in fact does <em>not have</em> NPD.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h2>Narcissistic Supply or Genuine Remorse and Rebuild?</h2>
<p>We all know narcissists often don’t like letting go. We know they can say precisely what we want to hear, cry, plead, and promise the world.</p>
<p>Narcissists love “hoovering” (sucking you back into the relationship to get a narcissistic supply); in fact, it is one of their most practiced and perfected games. The intent behind the “I love you, I can’t live without you” is <em>not the accountability to transform </em>into a loving, safe, healthy partner – the intent is to <em>get you back into the narcissistic, malicious web. In such cases, it has nothing to do with “love;” it is all about feeding the narcissist’s insatiable ego.</em></p>
<p>You see, it is an enormous insult to a narcissist for a previous partner to move on and create a life without them ….</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h2>Six Steps to Finding Out If This Person is Capable of Accountability and Remorse</h2>
<p><strong> 1. DON’T take this person on their word immediately</strong></p>
<p>Tell him or her, “I still love you” (if that’s how you feel), but state firmly, “I can’t trust you, and I would never consider this relationship again unless I could.”</p>
<p>Now, you have thrown down the challenge. <em>If </em>this person genuinely loves you and wants to make amends, they must prove they can be trusted.</p>
<p><strong>2. DON’T grant this person a chance until they “crack” and hit “rock bottom.”</strong></p>
<p>Anyone who is acting narcissistically is playing out a lack of accountability and is projecting their stuff onto you. <a href="https://www.melanietoniaevans.com/articles/narcissist-behaviours.htm">Narcissistic behaviors</a> are created from fear and ego, and egos are powerful. They need to crack open with pain to be addressed and healed; otherwise, the show of “love” and “remorse” will only be a band-aid that will not hold.</p>
<p><strong>3. DON’T accept any suspected narcissist who is not committed to ongoing therapy and personal development</strong></p>
<p>Decent people (who can include people with unhealed parts who have acted badly) who accept that their behavior is defective and that their life is <em>not </em>working for them, and others want to fix their issues. Without being held accountable by therapists and working diligently on their unhealed parts with full disclosure to you regarding their therapy and prognosis, this person is not serious about healing and is <em>not </em>committed to granting you safety and trust.</p>
<p><strong>4. TEST the accountability and remorse</strong></p>
<p>People who hurt you are never safe unless they provide genuine accountability and remorse. Those who can’t are <em>absolute</em> repeat offenders waiting to happen – <em>guaranteed</em>. If you can’t express your hurt and pain of what happened to you to this person without them staying in full support and empathy – you are not experiencing the real deal.</p>
<p>Projections, <span style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">blame-throwing, and excuses are <em>unacceptable—</em>even spasmodic. They either accept that </span>what they did was wrong and hurtful, or they don’t! <strong>There is no middle ground on this one.</strong></p>
<p><strong>5. KNOW the difference between being “about you” or being “about them.”</strong></p>
<p>If you have been abused, it is time to be “entitled.” <span style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">You are learning that to create your reality of <em>deserving</em> truth, integrity, love, and support, you have to be it and live it.</span> Watch the suspected narcissist at his or her version of a rebuild. Believe me, it’s <em>crucial</em> to observe this very closely after being abused if you consider taking this person back.</p>
<p>Is this person consistently caring about <em>you? </em>Do they state things like, “I know I may have lost you through my actions, and I have to accept that,” and “If you feel that you will be happier moving on rather than trying with us again – I promise I want more than anything for you to be happy, as much as it hurts” and “I don’t blame you for dating that guy, I know it was because of my actions that you did that” and “If you have any unresolved pain or problems please talk to me. I want you to talk it out and feel safe?”</p>
<p>Or, do you very soon notice that as soon as you don’t comply and give the narcissist what he or she wants, the demands, aggression, projections, blame-throwing “poor me,” and guilt trips start again?</p>
<p><strong>6. TRUST how it feels</strong></p>
<p>As soon as you notice the narcissistic traits again, pull away, go back to no contact, and hold your powerful <a href="https://www.melanietoniaevans.com/articles/setting-boundaries.htm">personal boundaries</a>.</p>
<p>Remember – Narcissistic abuse is not your reality ….</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h2>The Million Dollar Question</h2>
<p>Now<span style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">, I hope you realize the question isn’t “Does he or she really have NPD?” The question</span> is: “Is this person going to step up and become a healthy, safe partner?”</p>
<p>You will never know the answer to that question until it does or doesn’t happen. If you don’t see this happening – your answer is “No.” If it hasn’t and isn’t happening right here / now, the answer is “No” unless it ever happens, and the answer may change.</p>
<p><span style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">In the meantime, you are living your life in truth and alignment …. <strong>Seek out people and a life that aligns with truth, integrity, love, and support, and accept NO LESS.</strong></span></p>
<p><strong>We can’t create that reality any other way.</strong></p>
<p>Indeed, you never will create a healthy, safe love reality by accepting someone in your life who is abusing you without them performing the above <em>necessary </em>criteria.</p>
<p><span style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">If your situation is not about the possibility of getting back together with a narcissist but more about presently being with a narcissist who you wish could change – <em>leave him or her</em>, set the parameters, and find out if this person is natural, if the love is real, or whether it was an NPD relationship.</span></p>
<p><span style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Be clear that you deserve nothing less than real love and truth, and hence why the boundaries I have described are crucial, absolute, and completely necessary.</span></p>
<p>People who reunite with narcissists without establishing and sticking to boundaries always run a considerable risk of stepping back into even worse abuse than they initially walked away from ….</p>
<p>This is another life and death – make-or-break deal… <em>totally.</em></p>
<p>Know that if you do accept abusers in your life without them proving their integrity and safety, <strong>you are abusing yourself.<br />
</strong></p>
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		<title>Stop Being The Scapegoat</title>
		<link>https://blog.melanietoniaevans.com/stop-being-the-scapegoat/</link>
					<comments>https://blog.melanietoniaevans.com/stop-being-the-scapegoat/#comments</comments>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Melanie Tonia Evans]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Thu, 23 Feb 2012 09:15:26 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Symptoms of Abuse]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[boundaries]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[codependency]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[narcissism]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[narcissistic abuse]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[relationships]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://blog.melanietoniaevans.com/?p=593</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[When you are living with narcissistic abuse, you may have felt like everything is your fault. When you understand and become more versed on how narcissists operate, you begin to realise that narcissists project their disowned unacceptable parts on to you and make you out to be the enemy. Narcissists whittle, and blast away at [&#8230;]]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>When you are living with narcissistic abuse, you may have felt like <em>everything is your fault.</em></p>
<p>When you understand and become more versed on how narcissists operate, you begin to realise that narcissists project their disowned unacceptable parts on to you and make you out to be <em>the enemy.</em></p>
<p>Narcissists whittle, and blast away at your self-worth and self-belief, and because the arguments and tirades become so disturbing, so exhausting and so painful you will at these times be constantly defending yourself, fighting for your integrity and trying against all odds to prove that <em>you are a good person with integrity</em>, and it’s the narcissist that is actually these things which he or she is accusing you of.<span id="more-593"></span></p>
<p>It is a fruitless battle&#8230;.</p>
<p>Here are some of the common things that the narcissist will accuse you of being:</p>
<ul>
<li>Adulterous</li>
<li>Non caring and incapable of being a loving partner</li>
<li>A bad parent</li>
<li>Materialistic</li>
<li>A ‘gold digger’</li>
<li>Competing with him or her</li>
<li>Untrustworthy to confide in or go to for support</li>
<li>Doing what you do in the world simply for ego gratification</li>
</ul>
<p>&#8230;the list goes on and on, and of course you may be accused of</p>
<ul>
<li>Being a narcissist.</li>
</ul>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h2>The Narcissist has Set You Up for Blame</h2>
<p>If you have battled with <a title="Codependency Issues" href="https://www.melanietoniaevans.com/articles/codependency-issues.htm" target="_blank">co-dependency</a>, over-functioning and <a title="Setting Boundaries" href="https://www.melanietoniaevans.com/articles/setting-boundaries.htm" target="_blank">poor boundary function</a> you will be very susceptible to <em>accepting the blame, or get caught up in trying to defend yourself against the blame.</em></p>
<p>The narcissists will use an example in the past however ridiculous it is to pin the reasons why he or she has this dirt on you. Before you know it you will be justifying yourself, and trying to argue your defence.</p>
<p>If you start expertly tackling this – then the narcissist will shift a gear, and bring in <em>allies, </em>real or imagined evidence from other people, or will hit you at your most vulnerable wound which renders you powerless. This may be ‘fear of abandonment’ as an example. The narcissist will infer the relationship is over, or actually state it and leave.</p>
<p>Effectively the narcissist has lined you up <em>as the scapegoat </em>for everything he or she is playing out, and because you have fought for your rights, and didn’t go along with the narcissist’s version of you (the projection used to stop them confronting their own stuff), the narcissist has punished you <em>exactly where he or she knows it hurts the most.</em></p>
<p>Some people to avoid this destruction of being hit at their most fearful core and start accepting the blame, <em>and actually start believing it! </em>This is soul-destroying and is exactly how to lose your sense of self. The narcissist is relentless, he or she is an angry tormented child in an adult’s body without the capacity for remorse, accountability or conscience, and therefore even if you do accept the blame, and start believing you really are a horrible or defective person, the narcissist will not grant you any peace.</p>
<p>The narcissist is in constant inner turmoil with all sorts of ‘I’m not good enough’ stories running in his or her head that have to be transferred onto someone else in order to <em>make that person </em>‘wrong’, ‘unacceptable’ and ‘evil’. The narcissist cannot emotionally survive any other way – and if you are the intimate partner no matter how much you just agree to keep the peace, the onslaughts don’t stop coming.</p>
<p>This is the model for people who are married to narcissists for years, and even decades. Sadly these are the people that have rolled over become the scapegoat and fade away and die inside.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h2>The Narcissist Escalates until they Win</h2>
<p>If you fight back, then <em>inevitably </em>the narcissist will take it to the next level to stay on top and preserve their monstrous ego<em>. Y</em>ou will be lined up, attacked, and brutalised whilst the narcissist creates even more reason to <em>create you as the scapegoat.</em></p>
<p>And as a result the narcissist can cause you to act in indecent ways, because hooking into <em>crazy people make you act crazily&#8230;</em></p>
<p>Now you will be accused of:</p>
<ul>
<li>Not taking responsibility</li>
<li>Projecting</li>
<li>Not being accountable for your behaviour – which of course the narcissist will try to punish you and force accountability regarding</li>
<li>Being false in the world, and hiding behind ‘yes’ people</li>
<li>And more than likely if you have already been called a narcissist, now you will have become ‘a high-level narcissist’.</li>
</ul>
<p>So you can see the <em>worse </em>the narcissist becomes in his or her projections on to you, the <em>worse </em>he will accuse you of everything that he or she is doing&#8230;</p>
<p>Be aware &#8211; <strong>the narcissist has very few limits</strong>. If he or she has decided <em>you will be broken and made accountable </em>the narcissist is capable of going to horrific lengths to ensure that. The more you stand up in retaliation the higher the level of the abuse will go.</p>
<p>This may include</p>
<ul>
<li>Using authorities as weapons</li>
<li>Physical violence</li>
<li>Sabotage of your operations</li>
<li>Severe damage to your reputation</li>
<li>Blackmail and threats</li>
</ul>
<p>So you can understand that accepting blame <em>or </em>retaliating is not your answer. Don’t think you can pin a narcissist or force his or her accountability by fighting back – he or she has arsenal in the tool bag <em>that you would never even dream of having or using. </em>You are no match – that is unless you wish to sell your soul and start operating on a similarly destructive and malicious level – but even then the narcissist is <em>an experienced expert, </em>and you could only at best ever be a rank amateur.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h2>So how do I Keep Myself Intact Without Defending Myself or Fighting Back?</h2>
<p>Stop fighting and trying to make the<a title="Trying to make the narcissist accountable is keeping you hooked" href="https://blog.melanietoniaevans.com/trying-to-make-the-narcissist-accountable-is-keeping-you-hooked/" target="_blank"> narcissist accountable</a> and learn what <a title="Setting Boundaries" href="https://www.melanietoniaevans.com/articles/setting-boundaries.htm" target="_blank">true boundaries</a> are with unreasonable people who have no conscience or empathy. Your true boundaries are (if living with someone you suspect is a narcissist<strong>) stop accepting blame, stop defending yourself, stop arguing back, and stop trying to argue with someone who is in their head blaming you for things that you <em>know you are not doing!</em></strong></p>
<p>Okay so here is the response you need to use.</p>
<p><strong><em>“That’s your opinion and you’re entitled to it. It’s not mine, so as far as I’m concerned that’s your problem.”</em></strong></p>
<p>Then leave the scene, and get on with what you are doing, and don’t participate with this person again unless they are going to be respectful.</p>
<p>If the scene changes to emotional blackmail, threats or taking it to another level to inflict pain, you know you are dealing with a narcissist or at the very least someone with <a title="Narcissistic Traits" href="https://www.melanietoniaevans.com/articles/narcissist-behaviours.htm" target="_blank">narcissistic traits</a>. No matter how hard it is, don’t hook, regardless of the triggers which get pushed in you, don’t retaliate, and of course if things escalate to the damage of yourself or your property <strong>it is time to call the police</strong>.</p>
<p>Angry five year olds in adult bodies don’t like it when they don’t get their own way, so you need to be responsible for yourself and prepared for what could erupt when you lay that boundary and refuse to <em>keep being the scapegoat for the narcissist’s vile parts that he or she is not taking responsibility for.</em></p>
<p>As always don’t try to show your narcissist this information and bring to their attention what they are doing. That never works! Use this information as your personal defence against anyone in your life who is trying to hold you accountable for their own inner demons, and you will see they either <em>start healing and taking responsibility </em>(if this person has the resources to do so) or they will take it to the next level, which means <em>you can’t be safe with this person </em>and the relationship has to end&#8230;</p>
<p>The important point is you will get your answer and <em>no longer </em>will you have to endure being blamed for someone else’s inexcusable behaviour.</p>
<p>What choice do you have if you want to save your soul and life and start living a painless life that is your truth?</p>
<p>That’s right, “None”.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
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