How To Make A Narcissist Collapse? (Experimented)

by Ella Carrillo · June 13, 2023

How to make a Narcissist Collapse? What is Narcissistic Collapse? Let us know in detail further.

Living or dealing with narcissists might have come across you as one of the most difficult tasks in the world. And above all that what would happen when the narcissist stops receiving what they desire from you especially the validation and agreeableness in almost everything they do, wish and say?

Narcissists are totally rugged when it comes to receiving their daily dose of narcissistic supply. And what happens when they do not receive their required validation, praise, exaggeration about their self-image, unfiltered admiration, ego boost, an agreeable nod from you, or just the consensus they are seeking from you. Narcissists admire superiority when it comes to their victims and a high sense of domination over them as compensation for their puny self-esteem.

What is Narcissistic Collapse?

Narcissists are in constant need of admiration, validation, and entitlement. Also, they lack one of the most humanistic feelings or emotions of Empathy. So when they do not receive the basics for their viability(admiration, validation, and entitlement) for them to function hassle-free, their obvious reaction is to get impulsive, lash out, and have abrupt and unexpected emotional damage. This is what is termed a Narcissistic Collapse, with reference to psychology. Also as the name suggests, emotional distress, or when a narcissist seems to fall apart emotionally is generally referred to as Narcissistic Collapse

They intend to be the center of attraction in all situations. They should be the elephant in the room all the time, are control freaks, are sly, mean, selfish, and much more. Most importantly Narcissists lack empathy on many occasions until it affects them. Narcissists do know empathy, but they never tend to caring, understanding, and easygoing for others as they think vulnerability and being soft to others are negative traits that can be used against them.

Narcissistic collapse refers to a mental state in which a person with Narcissistic Personality Disorder experiences a significant and sudden loss of self-worth or self-esteem. The person’s inflated sense of self-importance and grandiosity are shattered and they may also experience depression, shame, anxiety, and a feeling that they are unworthy or a sense of worthlessness. Narcissistic collapse or such a situation may arise when the individual experiences a significant failure, rejection or criticism. This may also happen due to certain losses like monetary loss or any significant loss. This situation can create emotional turmoil for the narcissist and they may go through a rough patch of sadness and distress.

What causes Narcissistic Collapse?

When a narcissist does not receive the required dose of validation, appreciation, and recognition which they feel they are entitled to, then this incident may cause them narcissistic injury resulting in narcissistic rage. When this rage turns palpable it either converts into volatile, verbal, and physical aggression, anger outbursts, quarrels, and yelling, or a complete passive shutdown like stonewalling, remorse, resentment, ignorance, and passive aggression.

How to make a Narcissist Collapse?

There are a few triggers that may threaten the narcissist’s grandiose image or would question their reality, which can be used to make a narcissist collapse. The triggers are mentioned below,

Saying no

When a narcissist is denied something, they may become furious, manipulative, defensive, and also may become vengeful. They may also lash out with rage or would seek revenge whenever they might get a chance. They may devalue the person denying them to regain a sense of power or control. They may also try gaslighting the other person. Overall denying a narcissist may cause a narcissistic injury as a narcissist might not have expected a no from the other person. Denying them may hurt their ego and pride.

Setting firm boundaries

Narcissists tend to have a sense of entitlement and take advantage of other people’s weaknesses. Therefore they may always try to push other people’s boundaries and manipulate them. So if the other person is weak-willed then setting a boundary might not be a successful attempt to create a narcissistic collapse as a narcissist might hardy get affected by it and instead they may guilt-trip you to push the boundaries.

But if you are a strong-willed person and can handle the narcissist firmly, then creating firm boundaries might really push a narcissist’s several buttons. They may first become fierce or wage a rage(anger) war. If still you stay unaffected, then next they may try to manipulate or guilt trip you. If you are still not ready to push your boundaries, they may finally give in and this may create a narcissistic collapse.

Taking your power or control back

If a narcissist loses control of a situation or a person, it can trigger feelings of inadequacy and insecurity. Dealing with a narcissist is without a doubt one of the not-so-easy tasks to perform because it is totally unpredictable how potential they are to either change topics or totally predict different meanings to your statements. The personality disorder also makes it difficult for them to empathize with others, especially those around them. They may constantly be seeking admiration, validation, control, and attention.

So when they do not get what they require, they tend to be manipulative and make those around them feel insignificant. Thus people around them generally start to lose their confidence, self-esteem, power, and authority. Narcissists can be unpredictable, manipulative, abusive, authoritative, and controlling, but there are a few ways to communicate with them and also take your power and authority in the relationship back. Doing this might create a narcissistic collapse as a narcissist cannot bear losing their control and power.

Dismissing or correcting them

When you correct the narcissist, they would not like it that someone is pointing out their mistake they would get pissed or this demotivates them resulting in a narcissistic injury. The narcissist has an intimidating habit of making everyone listen to what they say. They consider that what they say is only of great importance and that other people lack the level of intelligence they have.

They have an opinion on every topic or every action of yours. They would badger you with their opinions and perspectives disregarding yours. So cutting them or dismissing their comments would just piss them and their reactions would be full of arrogance as their fragile ego would be hurt.

Not responding to them immediately

A negative reaction is an obvious reaction from a narcissist when you do something which is unpleasing for them. When you ignore a narcissist or their texts, they might fake apologize if your relationship is just beginning, but if you have already been with them and there is another reason for you ignoring them, then expect negativity and negative reactions from them. When you fail to reply immediately or delay replying to them, that is when you have to face the unwanted trouble of them troubling you constantly. But if you constantly ignore their texts or calls, this would hurt their pride thus creating a narcissistic injury, which can result in narcissistic injury.

Some other triggers that may also create narcissistic collapse may include,

Getting constructive feedback which they may feel as criticism
Not getting a promotion
Being caught cheating on their partner
Not getting an expected raise
Expecting changes in the relationship
Their advice being ignored or rejected
Their partner leaving them

Signs of Narcissistic Collapse

These signs may be observed in both covert and overt narcissism respectively.

Agitation and restlessness – Narcissists may become increasingly agitated and restless as their facade begins to crumble.

Irritability and anger – As the narcissist’s made-up world begins to fall down, they may become even more irritable and angry.

Anxiety and Depression – Narcissists may experience anxiety and depression as they struggle to maintain their sense of superiority.

Loss of interest in activities – As their so-called made-up world seems falling apart, narcissists begin to lose their interest even in the most basic and daily household activities or any activity that they previously enjoyed. They are unable to perform even the simplest of the day-to-day chores efficiently when they go through the collapse phase.

Escalating substance abuse – Narcissists may resort to means like drugs, alcohol, or any kind of addiction. They may escalate their substance abuse to cope with the feelings of inadequacy that follows along with the collapse phase.

Decreased work performance – The narcissist’s preoccupation with their own problems may lead to a decreased work performance and thus may result in a declined promotion or irregularity of work opportunities.

Thoughts leading to self-harm – In some cases, the collapse of a narcissist’s world can lead to thoughts of suicide or self-harm.

Delusions – As their shiny facade starts diminishing, narcissists may become increasingly delusional.

Narcissistic Collapse Forms

Withdrawal

The most common reaction of an individual who is not prone to creating loud or aggravated is withdrawal while facing any difficulty. Withdrawal is more relatable to the covert or shy type of narcissistic personality. While the sign of narcissistic collapse among overt narcissistic personalities would include a loud and outrageous reaction rather than a silent withdrawal.

Gaslighting

Abusers; especially people suffering from personality disorders like narcissism, tend to gaslight their victims while suffering through narcissistic collapse. For example, narcissists might gaslight you and make you believe that you are the cause of their suffering. Whereas in reality, they would be tricking you, manipulating you, and abusing you to do so. They would be the root cause of your problems but instead, they would make you believe the vice versa.

Mental Breakdown

When a narcissist is going through the collapse phase, they may have a mental breakdown which may make them feel isolated and disinterested in everything and everyone around them, pulling themselves back from performing even the basic daily chores, feeling left out, unable to make decisions or even provide a viable reply to a question. They may also be having outbursts of rage, emotions, fear, crying, and feeling helpless.

Impulsive Reactions

Narcissists may be perceived already as impulsive individuals they make many decisions that may result in short-term gains and long-term harm. They make many decisions in haste and without giving much thought just to impress or appeal to others with their decisions. An individual who is suffering from narcissistic collapse may provide many impulsive and thoughtless reactions like rage outbursts, excessive shopping, or buying unnecessary things, binge eating, crossing the street without paying much attention, rash driving, and many more.

Excessive Complaining

Everything at one point starts seeming unfair to the narcissist. This is one more sign of narcissistic personality disorder. Their complaints would be never-ending just like their abuse. During the narcissistic collapse phase, the narcissist would become extra irritating, would have hatred, and also would loathe the circumstances more than ever.

Depression

Depression is more relatable to the covert or shy type of narcissistic personality. Many covert narcissists face depression while going through a collapse phase. Overt narcissists would not opt for such reactions or have depression. Their go-to reaction is having a rage outburst or just lashing out at people without any specific reason.

Can a narcissist recover from the collapse? – What to expect from a narcissist after the collapse?

Narcissists have their own fantasy world, where they are the kings or queens of their made-up reality. They live in their world of entitlement which boosts their ego and also they treat you the way they do- manipulative, toxic, and negative.

So can a narcissist recover from the narcissistic collapse?

As the saying goes, “Every cloud has a silver lining“, in the same way, there is hope and possibility of changes and chances for everyone. Narccicsts are humans after all and every human is capable of changing, healing, being a better version of themselves, and living a happier life.

So, Yes! there s a chance that a narcissist can recover from collapse but only if they truly wish and desire to. With the help of their loved ones even a mental disorder, can be treated though not cured completely. Therapy is the best option for treating or at least dealing smoothly with a mental disorder like narcissism. All you need is patience, care, and understanding for people to heal from their narcissistic personality to a better and positive version of themselves.

In Conclusion

A narcissistic collapse occurs when a person with narcissistic traits experiences a significant blow to their self-esteem and sense of self-worth. The collapse can be triggered by various events such as loss of status, relationship breakdown, failure in achieving goals, and so on. Narcissistic collapse refers to a mental state in which a person with Narcissistic Personality Disorder experiences a significant and sudden loss of self-worth or self-esteem.

The person’s inflated sense of self-importance and grandiosity are shattered and they may also experience depression, shame, anxiety, and a feeling that they are unworthy or a sense of worthlessness. Narcissistic collapse or such a situation may arise when the individual experiences a significant failure, rejection or criticism. This may also happen due to certain losses like monetary loss or any significant loss. This situation can create emotional turmoil for the narcissist and they may go through a rough patch of sadness and distress.

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Ella Carrillo

Hey Reader, I am Ella, an Online and Offline Therapist holding an experience of 6 years in this field.

From Relationship, Depression, and Personality Disorder to Narcissistic problems, I have helped a lot of people find their solutions. Upon gathering a number of common problems that people face, I decided to put the information on this blog so that anyone can get their answers easily.

How To Make A Narcissist Collapse? (Experimented)

What is Narcissistic Collapse?

What causes Narcissistic Collapse?