Covert Narcissists — An Early Warning Sign
It’s subtle, but their narcissistic mask does slip
The people we usually think of as narcissists are brash, loud, demanding of others’ attention. They don’t care whose toes they have to step on to get their way, and they don’t even care if they’re seen stepping on toes.
Such people are known as overt narcissists because they don’t try to hide their true nature very much. They are usually easy to identify.
Covert narcissists are harder to spot. They don’t like having all eyes upon them, and they’ll resort to a little self-deprecation to get you to feel comfortable around them. They are, in fact, as dangerous as their overt cousins — perhaps more dangerous, because you don’t see them coming.
In past articles, I’ve thrown around a lot of jargon associated with Narcissistic Personality Disorder: gaslighting, smear campaigns, projection, hoovering. In this one, however, I’m going to dispense with definitions and make my point with a story.
Love-bombing I
I met my covert narcissist (we’ll call her CN) at a bar several years ago, not far from where I live.
It was a Saturday, and my routine was often the same: I’d start out at a neighborhood spot for Saturday brunch with friends at 11…
