I had been reading a lot of articles about narcissism and toxic relationships for several weeks when I stumbled upon "Becoming the Narcissist's Nightmare" by Shahida Arabi. I was intrigued by the behavioral patterns and how to counter them. We encounter such psychopaths all through our lives, and many times, we fail to recognize them. The narcissist can be a parent, a sibling, a friend, a partner, a colleague, or a boss. How to deal with such "charmers", yet protect ourselves from their abuse? The narcissist makes his/her victim dependent on their validation by slowly eroding the self-validation to break the other person's self-confidence. He/she pries on independent and successful people who have achieved many things in their lives, believing that by doing so, he/she proves to be better. See, the most important to a narcissist is their own image. They lack empathy toward others. And it is of utmost urgency to break the cycle by leaving a toxic environment that can affect the prey mentally and sometimes also physically. Shahida's book recounts several personal stories and focuses on personal relationships. It also notes ways to put an end to psychical harm and embrace healing mechanisms. I admit I was bored at some lengthy parts while others spoke to me. It is a long audio, around 19 hours to listen to, yet it was a good companion while stuck in traffic or waiting to board a plane. If you are not suffering from a narcissistic relationship, you might hence want to read something more concise on the subject.
