Narcissists can be a real pain to deal with in your life. They are self-centered, self-absorbed, and make life shit for those around them. They don’t care about accountability and love to blame everyone else for their actions.

Narcissists are known for their grandiose sense of self. They are also known for their deep fear of the unknown. This fear makes them unable to handle criticism and often makes them angry. When they are criticized, they are not able to take the criticism.

They get angry at the person criticizing them because they do not know how to deal with criticism. They are used to people attending to their every whim, and they are used to getting their way in any situation. When a narcissist feels scared, they lash out.

They cannot handle the fear, and they cannot take criticism. They are used to dealing with people afraid of them, people who bow down to them and give them everything they want. When these people do not do what they want, they can’t handle it. They are used to getting their way in every situation. When they do not get their way, they get angry.

But there are some things you can do to make a narcissist scared of you. Five Fears the Narcissist In Your Life Can’t Survive

1. The Narcissist’s fear of the unknown

The Narcissist is a master at manipulation and can often get their way by exploiting fear in some form or another. But what happens when the tables are turned, and the Narcissist is the one being manipulated?

Even though they are masters at manipulation, narcissists often find themselves the victims of manipulation because they are terrified of the unknown.

Understanding how a narcissist thinks can often lead to situations where you can take the Narcissist out of the equation and effectively manipulate them into doing what you want them to do.

2. The Narcissist’s fear of confronting the truth

“The truth,” or the realization that they are not as powerful and as important as they would like to believe, is something that narcissists fear. Narcissists fear the truth for a straightforward reason: the fact destroys their world.

The truth isn’t what the Narcissist wants it to be, so it is a source of fear. It is a threat to the Narcissist because it reveals all of the lies that the Narcissist has told himself and others. If a narcissist is faced with the truth, he will do anything to avoid it.

He will deny whatever the truth is, and he will avoid and attack the truth-teller. He will do this because if he stands still, the truth will come and take him and his life away.

3. The Narcissist’s fear of being humiliated

Narcissists go through life being fearful of being humiliated and shamed. They are also in constant fear of being abandoned. Narcissists are not only afraid of being humiliated; they are terrified of being humiliated.

Narcissists have a morbid fear of humiliation. They cannot stand the thought of being laughed at and ridiculed. They are terrified of the possibility of being made to look stupid in public. That is why narcissists are so sensitive to criticism.

They are hypersensitive to any slight criticism or negative feedback. The slightest hint of humiliation can shatter their self-esteem and make them retreat into a shell of hurt feelings and self-pity. Narcissists are very touchy and easily hurt by the slightest criticism.

This extreme oversensitivity to criticism and humiliation is their Achilles’ heel. If you want to make a narcissist back off, hurt him, humiliate him, and make him crawl, then you need to attack him where it hurts — his feelings of self-worth. This is how you make a narcissist afraid of you.

4. The Narcissist’s fear of being inauthentic

Narcissists are afraid of being inauthentic. They are afraid that they are not really what they present themselves. When they try to be something they are not, they feel lost and confused. They have a sense that they do not know who they are. This is a terrifying feeling for a narcissist.

It is like being in the dark without a light switch. This is why they are so threatened by those who expose their lies and call them out on their deceptions. To feel safe and secure, narcissists need to keep the image of themselves intact.

They need to be seen as perfect and powerful. They need others to believe in them as this is often their only source of self-esteem. When someone threatens their image or integrity, they become very angry and vindictive. They will go to any extreme to destroy the person who risks their well-being.

5. The Narcissist’s fear of being powerless

A narcissist’s fear of being powerless is a big reason why they’re always on the lookout to control as much as they can. For example, they’ll take advantage of their partners and friends to make them feel more powerful. But they don’t just stop there.

Narcissists are constantly searching for ways to boost their self-esteem and make them feel important. The best way to do that is to make other people feel insignificant.

A narcissist wants to be the center of attention and expects you to cater to their needs, which means you’re only as important as what you can do for them.

You’ll be expected to be their therapist, answer their calls at all hours of the night, and do everything in your power to make them happy. Even if you don’t do these things, they’ll put you down and belittle your accomplishments.

Conclusion: Be fearless and use their fears on themselves

A narcissist can only hurt you if they can get behind your emotional walls. Once you start to understand who these people are, you will spot them from a mile away.

You can become better at protecting your heart and your sanity. You can learn to avoid a narcissist or, better yet, ward off an attack before it even begins.

Keep in mind these five fears in your mind and start your war for the sake of your mental health and better future.

This post was published first on Medium.com.