One of the hardest aspects of dealing with our kind is actually recognising and realising that you have been entangled with one of us. Next to nobody thinks that they have been ensnared by a narcissist. Many people have not heard of the word and most who have heard of the word do not understand what is truly means. Not until it is often too late and the damage has been done. Identifying the behaviour of somebody as someone who is a narcissist, be they Lesser, Mid-Range or Greater, is almost unheard of at the outset of the narcissistic relationship. Realisation comes much later and often only arises after there has been an escape or more commonly , a discard.
What has become evident to me is that people gain understanding and validation from my writing but also reading about the experiences of others so that they experience that “Me too!”moment as suddenly something clicks and understanding follows. As regular readers will know, I emphasise repeatedly how the key to moving forward and achieving freedom is to understand and in order to understand one must read, read and read yet more.
I am always interested to read of people’s experiences with regard to the narcissist or narcissists they have been entangled with and with that in mind and also the desire to demonstrate how varied and difficult it can to recognise what it happening, I have decided to create a work based on that moment when realisation occurs. It might have been a slow and steady dawning of the truth or it might have been delivered with the force of a sledgehammer to the head, such was the magnitude of the realisation. However it occurred and in whatever circumstances, I am asking for people to contribute their experiences for the purposes of work which will allow people to see how others were awakened and became aware of what had happened to them. This will allow people to explain their circumstances and for others to have the potential to recognise similarities in their own situation to provide them with knowledge and validation.
With that in mind, I am asking for people to write to me in order to answer these two questions:-
- What was the moment when you realised that there was something wrong in the relationship you had with a particular person; and
- What was the moment when you realised you are, were or had been entangled with a narcissist?
Whether that person was a parent, sibling, friend, intimate partner, colleague. acquaintance at the gym or whatever, do detail when you had that moment of thinking that something was not right about your relationship with them. What were the circumstances? Was it one particular act? Was it a series of behaviours? Something said or done? Did you work it out yourself or was someone else pointing you towards this conclusion? Did you accept it straight away or did you try to dismiss it? Similarly, when you realised this person was a narcissist, how did it come about? How sure were you? Did you work it out or did someone else tell you?
When did you Awaken?
If you wish to contribute, please provide your submission which should be no longer than 1000 words to awakened1909@gmail.com
If you wish to have a pseudonym placed with your submission, please state that at the end of the submission.
The best fifty will be selected and included for publication, along with my commentary and observations on each, in a forthcoming book.
Thank you in advance for no doubt what will be a fascinating selection of experiences.