Number 3: Play the victim.
Playing the victim is a covert narcissist’s way to fish for sympathy, compassion, and support wherein they highlight the misfortunes they have been through. As a result, they do not have to beg for attention from other people directly; other people will willingly attend to them since they are unfortunate. That is how they want it to appear.
It is also a way of escaping blame or responsibility and passing it onto others because society never blames or holds victims responsible; they often pamper, protect, and justify a victim. This is precisely how covert narcissists desire to be treated. Hence, the covert narcissists self-victimize themselves to cover their innate narcissism.
Number 4: Act innocent.
Covert narcissists do not want to be labeled as villains. They do not want to be involved in any fiasco, so they act innocent. Acting innocent is another way for covert narcissists to manipulate others into doing what they wish, escape blame, and avoids responsibilities.
For instance, covert narcissists may tell their colleagues that they have no knowledge or experience of something so that they could avoid doing the job. Hence, their colleagues will have no choice but to do the task themselves. Also, if ever the task fails, covert narcissists will be saved from blame, but if the project is a success, covert narcissists will be in the front, taking the credits since they are the ones who recommended it to their colleagues.
Number 5: Offer fake empathy.
Narcissists of any type, whether covert or overt are not capable of empathy; all they think about are their own emotional needs. Covert narcissists tend to offer fake empathy because they do not want to appear heartless or rude to other people. It is their way of looking good and appraising their reputation to get ahead of others and advance their careers.
Covert narcissists know that nobody would favor a rude and heartless person, so they tried to offer fake empathy. Moreover, covert narcissists want to collect such compassion from others by showing it and letting people see it. The only difference is that they want to get genuine empathy but they offer fake ones.
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