The third expression is pity. A pitiful look destroys a narcissist more than anger, silence, or distance. Pity signifies that you stop seeing them as powerful. You no longer view them as someone who can hurt you; instead, you start seeing them as they truly are: emotionally broken, spiritually empty, and painfully small. Nothing cuts a narcissist more than realizing you finally understand the truth they spend their entire lives trying to hide.
A narcissist can handle your anger because it means they still matter to you. They can tolerate your sadness because it indicates they still influence your emotional world. But pity signifies a complete role reversal. You are no longer the one trying to keep the connection alive; they are the one being seen as someone who has lost everything essential inside themselves. They feel that humiliation instantly.
Expression 4: Genuine Happiness Without Them
Number four is genuine happiness that has nothing to do with them. Nothing burns a narcissist more than seeing you genuinely happy in a way they had no role in creating. This expression does something to them that even your silence or indifference cannot. Your happiness without their involvement is a direct reminder that their influence over your emotional world is slipping. Narcissists need to believe they are the center of your existence, the source of your highs, and the trigger for your lows.
When they see joy on your face that did not come from them, they feel replaced, irrelevant, and powerless in a way their ego cannot tolerate. Your happiness threatens them because it exposes a truth they strive to hide from everyone, especially from themselves: they lack the ability to make anyone genuinely happy. They may produce thrill or excitement, but they cannot create real joy.
Expression 5: The Deadpan Stare
Continue reading on the next page
Sharing is caring!