Number five: when you laugh and smile. This is very simple but the one that stings the narcissist the most. It’s your laughter, your smile that kills them—especially when it’s not because of them. When you laugh, when you smile, it shows you’re happy, you’re free, and you are experiencing life beyond their influence.
And that, my dear survivor, burns them. Narcissists want to be the source of your emotions—good or bad. If you are happy, they want it to be because of them. If you are sad, they want to be the reason behind your tears. It doesn’t stop there. They are miserable human beings, feeling small and broken inside all the time. They may project an opposite image, but in reality, they are unhappy.
They know they cannot achieve anything good in their lives; they can never feel satisfied. There will always be something wrong with the people they are with; something will be missing. They will feel pathetic no matter how much they are blessed by the universe. That lack of self-love and contentment leads to self-loathing, which they want reflected in their environment. If they are miserable within, they want you to reflect the same emotional state to maintain that resonance.
They want you to be miserable as well because if you are not miserable, if you are happy, it reminds them of their true emotional state—something they want to run away from. That is why your laughter is a reason for their unhappiness. It doesn’t make any sense, but now you know.
