Adult
Children of Narcissists have been socialized to accept the
unacceptable.
We
have tolerated hatred, simply for existing, from the people who
should love us for existing.
Not
only were we programmed to experience contempt as normal; we were
trained to internalize the contempt. The narcissist’s goal was, and
always will be, to manipulate their victim into hating themselves. A
self-loathing victim is not a threat. A self-loathing child will
never be competition to the narcissist parent or golden child
appendage because that child will never live up to their potential. A
child with low self-worth will fear outshining anyone because they
will view themselves unworthy of attention. A child who feels
worthless will make the perfect scapegoat because that child will end
up being self-destructive.
Narcissist
parents do not want their children to have any self-respect. They
don’t want their children to be happy or to succeed in life.
Self-respect would mean that we no longer tolerate abuse. Our
happiness and success would cause the narcissists way too much pain.
And, it’s all about them, and protecting the fortress of their
fragile egos. If, against all odds, an adult child does thrive then
the malignant narcissist parent will get their selfish, sadistic
needs met by tearing that child down.
You
can never win with narcissists. The only acceptable state of being
for the adult child of narcissists is to collude in the delusion of
“family” with demonstration of bow and scrape to the Kings and
Queens of the fiefdom. A “family fiefdom” where you must denounce
all your rights and accept your lowly position as second class
citizen wherein you have all the obligations and responsibilities of
a chain gang member, and none of the privileges afforded only to the
narcissists, and sometimes strategically doled-out to their monkeys
and minions.
Sound
like a good deal?
Sounds
like a contemptuous relationship.
Contempt
is not just strong dislike, or hate. It’s a feeling that a person
is beneath consideration, unworthy of respect, notice or concern.
It’s hatred tinged with disgust. It’s growing-up in a home where
a parent screams, “It doesn’t matter what you think! It doesn’t
matter what you feel! It doesn’t matter what you need! You don’t
matter!” It’s growing up in a home where the people who are
supposed to love and respect you, show you everyday and in every way
that they think you are worthless.
Contempt
is about being deprived and denied and devalued. Contempt is the way
narcissists elevate themselves. Making others feel small makes the
narcissist feel like a big shot. Putting you down puffs-up the
narcissist. And again, it’s always about protecting the
narcissist’s infantile ego. The malignant narcissist mother has no
qualms about sacrificing her young in exchange for the power rush of
glorifying her image. And you have to be one sick, insecure bitch to
need to feel superior to a child that you already have unlimited
power over through your role as parent. But we all the know the
predatory malignant narcissist never stops feeding because she is
never satisfied.
When
I was about 20 years old I took the bus to visit my mother. I didn’t
call ahead to let her know I was coming. I just thought it would be
nice to surprise her with a visit. I remember I was feeling a little
down that day. I was probably technically depressed, but I didn’t
know it. All I knew is that I needed a bit of nurturing… from my
mother. Ha! You’re probably wondering what I was smoking. Nothing.
It was just plain old denial sprouting from 20 years of narcissistic
abuse. It was “normal” for me to go to the hardware store for
milk; to try and squeeze blood out of a stone.
I
walked up the pathway to the malignant narcissist mother’s house
and she peeked out the curtain and scowled at me as I approached her
door. I should have turned around and run like hell, but hey, I was
in a fog. Having the malignant narcissist mother shoot me an evil
glare as I innocently came a callin’ was normal. Despite all the
evidence to the contrary, I still thought she would be pleased to see
me and invite me in. I knocked on the door and she quickly opened it
and hissed, “What do you want?!!” My body shrunk and I
started to stutter, “Nnnnothing... I I I just came to see you.”
She grabbed her coat off a rack and angrily brushed passed me and
snapped, “Well, I’m going out!” I stood on her door-step and
watched her storm off to the garage, get in her car and speed away.
It all happened so fast. She was still wearing her slippers. I walked
back to the bus stop and sat down on the bench. A few minutes later I
saw the narcissist mother drive by. She was smiling/smirking and
tapping her fingers on the steering wheel. I watched her turn into
her driveway. She pretended not to notice me, but I know she was
happy I saw her.
THAT
my friends is contempt.
What’s
worse than the actual hatred and disgust emanating from the malignant
narcissist mother is the fact that I didn’t think there was
anything unusual about her behavior. Sure, I was hurt. But I just
chalked it up to her being in a bad mood. Her being nasty toward me
was normal. I was socialized to accept the unacceptable. I had yet to
accept reality – that she was grossly indifferent to the damaging
effect of her self-centered, aggressive, and psychologically violent
behavior. And it was indeed an act of violence. She didn’t actually
run me over with her car, but the incident was most certainly a hit
and run.
The
malignant narcissist’s contempt makes her extremely callous. How
can you give a damn about the humanity of another when you disrespect
all the qualities that make someone human? This callousness is never
more obvious than when you are weak, vulnerable or in need. Malignant
narcissists utterly despise the needy. Their grandiosity makes them
feel that they alone are the only ones entitled to needs. They are in
constant pursuit of every last drop of attention, so if you are in
need of anything this will trigger their contempt which
usually manifests in punitive acts toward the vulnerable. In other
words, you will be punished for suffering.
Here’s
an example: The narcissist has 3 children. One of the children is
very hungry and has nothing
to eat. Two of the children
have full bellies and still have some food left over from their last
meal. The malignant narcissist mother
will give a heaping plate of food to the children who are not hungry
as a reward for not being hungry.
The
starving child will get nothing. In other words, the malignant
narcissist parent will punish the child in
need for being in
need. She
may not actually starve the child to death, but she
sure as hell won’t give the child enough nourishment to thrive. She
will only give the bare
minimum required for
survival and
she will resent having to
give it. How dare you
inconvenience me
with basic human needs such as food, shelter, clothing, medical care
etc.?! Who the hell do you
think you are for needing anything?!
Contempt
= Abuse
I
was around 22 and I had just moved back to my home city. I was
working
at a low-paying job and struggling
to make
my rent. Most
of my
earnings
went toward
rent, and
there
wasn’t
enough
left
over
for a sufficient amount
of
food. So I started to
lose
weight, and I was already on the thin side so there wasn't much to
lose. One
day I
saw
the malignant narcissist sister,
and I guess she reported
back
to the
MN mother
that I looked
skinny. So the two evil bitches accuse me of being anorexic. There’s
no concern for me; just judgment
and
labeling
my need for food an eating disorder.
Next
thing I know I'm having to defend myself to
them and explain that
I can't afford food. They
knew
damn well that I couldn’t afford food; they just didn’t want to
acknowledge it
because then they might have to do something to help me.
So
what did they do? They taunted me about my need for money, for food,
for care and concern.
The
MN sister
was
living comfortably for
FREE in
MN mother’s
large 3 bedroom townhouse. Malignant
narcissist mother
was
laid-off from her part-time job that she did for fun, so she was
receiving unemployment cheques. To her that was
"free" money so she
used
those
cheques to shop
shop
shop.
One day the two malignant
hags
left
a
key
to
their Castle
"under the mat" so
I could enter their Kingdom to
pick-up some mail. I was absolutely
starving at
the time.
I
went
into the kitchen and I saw
a
note stuck
on the fridge from the
MN mother
to MN sister.
It said
have a “wonderful” weekend (the
MN
mother had
gone to
a resort for
the weekend) and her credit card was
attached. The
note went
on to say to buy whatever she likes. Love Mom. The credit card was
for a department store that had an amazing food floor and was
conveniently located near their house. Did I grab the card and get
whatever "I" like? No. But I did go upstairs to peek in the
malignant narcissist mother’s
bedroom. I was astonished. It was like a department
store
from the
1950s
had
exploded. There were boxes EVERYWHERE. Really fancy
boxes sprouting
colorful tissue. I
didn't even know retailers boxed stuff anymore. There were hat
boxes, shoe boxes, clothing boxes, jewelery boxes. Some of the items
were spilling out of the boxes and on display,
strewn across chairs and laying
on
the bed. It looked like a shopaholic
had gone on a major bender. The
malignant narcissist mother
was so cheap, she never
bought like that for herself, so it was this "free" money
from the government (that
she didn't need)
that
triggered
her
extravagant spending spree.
I
believe this whole over-the-top
scene was staged for my benefit. In other words, to make me feel bad
as
well as try to frame me.
The malignant narcissist mother knew I was starving so what better
way to demonstrate her contempt than by letting me see that she was
leaving
her MN frankendaughter a
credit card to
buy food at the swankiest food floor in town. She also wanted me to
see that she was over-flowing with luxury items while I couldn’t
afford a carton of milk. This was also a test. She
set me up to
tempt
me. She wanted to
see if I would take the credit card to buy myself food, or steal any
of her purchases. Despite
being in need, I
had
zero sense of entitlement so I did not
“take” anything. In
fact, it was my lack
of
entitlement and acceptance of a criminal state of deprivation, when
there was so much to go around, that put me in an unnecessary
position of need.
Well,
the two
malignant
hags
were disappointed that they couldn’t accuse me of anything. Can you
imagine the
glee
they would
have
experienced
knowing
that I had to succumb
swiping
a credit card in order to eat?! In
addition to gloating over my deprivation and marginalization; they
would
have relished
in
condemning me
for stealing.
It would have been
a
festival
of humiliation,
punishment
and degradation. It
was a typical no-win scenario designed by a couple of malignant
narcissist sadists.
But
I didn’t bite, so their malicious
need to humiliate me wasn’t satisfied. They
started plotting.
Fast forward a couple of weeks. By this time I had lost a noticeable amount of weight. So the two evil witches used my literal starvation as a means to demonstrate their contempt. They concocted around their bubbling brew of poison a massive insult to me disguised as a "care” package. The MN sister dropped by my apartment with a bag of "food”. Was it nice, healthy, fresh stuff from the fancy department store food floor? Hell to the no! It was all crap. And all the stuff I hated and have always hated. There was some dusty old cans of pork 'n beans, an ancient box of Kraft Dinner, and powdered soup. It was all the shit that no one ever eats, but that just sits and gets dusty at the back of the kitchen cupboards and maybe is given as a donation for food drives at Christmas. And among this Oliver Twist “contempt” package was some cheese. But not a block of cheese in its own package. It was a small slab of cheese chopped from a larger chunk and it looked like some mold had been scraped off. Even the powdered soup wasn't a whole box, it was 2 individual packets taken from a box and it was so old the powder had hardened.
Fast forward a couple of weeks. By this time I had lost a noticeable amount of weight. So the two evil witches used my literal starvation as a means to demonstrate their contempt. They concocted around their bubbling brew of poison a massive insult to me disguised as a "care” package. The MN sister dropped by my apartment with a bag of "food”. Was it nice, healthy, fresh stuff from the fancy department store food floor? Hell to the no! It was all crap. And all the stuff I hated and have always hated. There was some dusty old cans of pork 'n beans, an ancient box of Kraft Dinner, and powdered soup. It was all the shit that no one ever eats, but that just sits and gets dusty at the back of the kitchen cupboards and maybe is given as a donation for food drives at Christmas. And among this Oliver Twist “contempt” package was some cheese. But not a block of cheese in its own package. It was a small slab of cheese chopped from a larger chunk and it looked like some mold had been scraped off. Even the powdered soup wasn't a whole box, it was 2 individual packets taken from a box and it was so old the powder had hardened.
These
malignant creatures
never stop reminding you of
where you sit on the food chain. They
will deprive and marginalize you into oblivion and then hate you for
being in need. They
will demonstrate their contempt for you at every conceivable
opportunity. They will never stop letting you know that you are
unworthy of the good stuff. A
box of Kraft Dinner?!
That garbage
food was a message
to let me know what they think of me. Well, I wouldn’t let those
two
greedy narcissist
pigs dine
at
a
diseased
hog’s
feeding trough. Even
my shit is too good for them to eat.
Malignant
narcissists perceive your time of need with contempt because they see
being in need as being stupid. They believe having a pathological
sense of entitlement makes them smart. The malignant narcissist is
much too special (and predatory and greedy) to suffer through hard
times. Why should she want for anything when she can steal, take,
manipulate, cajole and bully her way into a state of constant
comfort? The malignant narcissist’s selfish, self-centered status
of “entitled” confers in her the belief that she has the right to
get whatever it is she wants. In her mind, she is free to posses it
simply because she wants it. And if anyone gets in her way, she will
use any forces necessary to take what she believes rightly belongs to
her.
Contempt
= Entitlement
The
malignant narcissist’s contempt and lack of respect for others
leaves them feeling empowered and at liberty to exploit and violate
others without worry and without shame. They size up a person’s use
value and base their relationships purely on how much they can get,
take and steal. The flow of their fake love is in direct proportion
to how much they think they can bleed from someone. For example, the
malignant narcissist will love bomb – use affection as a weapon –
to get whatever she wants. It’s the malignant narcissist’s
characteristic contempt for humanity that makes it possible for her
to betray the trust of others and violate personal boundaries with as
much concern as one would put into a crushing a paper cup.
Contempt
= Exploitation
The
malignant narcissist does not take anyone or anything seriously
because she has no respect for anyone or anything. No respect at all.
How can she take anyone seriously when her pervading view of others
is that they are beneath her; a joke, and nothing but objects to have
her way with and use for whatever purposes suits her agenda.
For
example, the malignant narcissist daughter who gratuitously exploits
her mentally and emotionally weak father throughout his life and
takes and takes and takes without a second thought to how her
parasitic and destructive behavior will impact others. In fact, she
will not stop violating her dad just because he is on his death bed
and slipping in and out of consciousness. Indeed, she will use his
vulnerability and impending death to hastily steal a huge asset from
his estate. As his body is shutting down, she will shove documents
under his nose and steer his hand in order to TAKE what she wants
regardless of what her father, who trusted her, intended. With her
cool-blooded contempt, the malignant narcissist will treat her dad in
his final days as nothing but an object to exploit. She will not
mourn the passing of his life. She has a malignant disrespect for
human life. She will cause pain and outrage to others unburdened by
normal feelings of responsibility and accountability because she just
doesn’t care. Do you care what a fly is feeling before you swat it?
Contempt
= Callous
The
malignant narcissist’s contempt means she can’t take others
seriously. She doesn’t take laws of right and wrong and human
dignity into consideration because she doesn’t have the ability to
give a damn. So she’s caught in a lie? So she’s busted for
fraud? So people think her behavior is repugnant? Big deal. So her
denials of her crimes are absurd? So she has caused others extreme
grief and suffering? So what. A malignant narcissist is an
emotionally and interpersonally sick individual who, at bottom, has
no true stake in others. And remember, there’s no shame or
embarrassment in being confronted or busted by those she doesn’t
take seriously. The malignant narcissist’s signature contempt and
heartless disrespect inflates her grandiosity and sense of
omnipotence. This makes her feel fearless. She truly believes she is
invincible. She views herself flying high above everyone and
everything, including morality.
Contempt
= Delusion
The
malignant narcissist is convinced she is as smart, clever, and
cunning as others are dumb, naive or desperate. In other words, the
malignant narcissist’s bloated grandiosity makes her thinks she is
so superior that she is entitled to a life without consequence. She
thinks she’s good. Damn good. Better than everyone. And in
proportion to how brilliant she believes herself to be; she thinks
you are that stupid. As a consequence, the malignant narcissist’s
contempt leaves her at constant risk of underestimating others, and
over estimating herself. But again, no big deal. Her disrespect of
everyone and everything is a mindset steeped in indifference toward
life. What she stands to lose through her abuse of others, is in her
mind, as contemptible as what she stands to gain. A pervading sense
of emptiness and cold detachment colors the malignant narcissist’s
world.
Contempt
= A Barren Existence
So,
in the end, the miserable malignant narcissists can be as
contemptuous of us as they like because we sure as hell are not going
to internalize that contempt. We’ll externalize it by hurling it
right back at them.
We’ll
give the mother fuckers something to hate us for.
Good article Lisette.
ReplyDeleteMan you gave me memories with this one too. I once went in the car for the hour and half trip and then 80 dollars of gas money I didn't really have to visit my mother, and she was "busy" and left while I was there. I had that happen all the time too. The clothes and show off time too always happened, I lived in poverty but she would show her new clothes, jewelry-once a sapphire ring, and stockade of food. We are having a "poor" week now and well with the food pantries while I get some meat from one food coop and decent church meals, its boxed mac and cheese city and pork and beans. I know the churches get what they are donated so don't blame them, but yeah I am familiar with narcs on that one too. I got literal crumbs and castoffs while they showed off.
I once told my momster, I was sick of her contempt and she turned around and wrote why do you hold me in contempt, this was 2012 and I knew I had to get away. She spent her entire life getting others to hate me while she poured it over my head.
They do punish us for suffering mostly suffering they caused too. The sicker I got the worse mine would be and I am sure the same went for yours too.
To be free we have to admit their contempt and utter hatred to ourselves and then we can deal with reality instead of how we want things to be.
I believe both your mother and sister are full bore sociopaths.
Your mother asked you why you hold HER in contempt?! I swear the only way they can communicate with us is through projection. It's like a knee jerk reaction for them to smear who they are onto us.
DeleteThese malignant narcissists mother's are very cruel. It seems the more effort we put into the relationship;the more contemptuous they become.
Yup, the crumbs and the cast offs are their way of saying we are worth less than them. Funny thing is, these narcs seem to need more and more property, cash and possessions in order to prove their worth.
They are predators that's why they attack when we are sick or weak or in need. They can't resist the temptation to strike when they sniff out vulnerability. Like all abusive bullies, they are cowards too.
They are horrible, toxic creatures and not worth the energy involved to domesticate.
Yes she wrote back and totally switched my statement around. It was crazy and yes projection. She would do that in front of other people too. I agree when I was in that "forgiveness" stage it just made her meaner.
DeleteYes I got all the old furniture and cast offs. She thought she was so "generous" wanting me to crawl back for a 20 year old car. Seriously it was a 1999, I own a 2003. She was buying new 50,000 automobiles. She just wanted a new open space in her giant drive way. Mine seemed to look gleeful using me for her trash castoffs. Even my husband at one point said, she's just using us as her trash bin.
Yes they attack, when we are sick or weak or in need. Being disabled with a narcissistic mother is the worse. She was gunning for me from the start. They do need their money and possessions to show off. I agree they are cowards. When I have gone way off, she has backed down, though revenge always came later. The only solution is no contact. I don't miss her at all or her little minions.
They want us to be kind, considerate, generous and caring so they can exploit us, but they hold us in contempt for having the very qualities they exploit to their benefit. You really can't do right by these people - ever. And why should we even try when they only do wrong by us.
DeleteI agree that these oh so superior malignant narcissists see us as nothing but their trash bins. They use us as a dumping ground for ALL of their the junk, including their character flaws, faults and failings and bad acts.
You car story reminds me of a conversation with the nasty MN bully sister. It was during one of the rare times I spoke to her over the last 3 decades. She was selling her crappy car on craigslist. It was the kind of car that rarely started with an engine that was being held together with a coat hanger. And if by chance it started running, it "might" run for a while before it broke down for good. Without asking me if I wanted it, the MN sister "told" me that she was going to give it to me if she couldn't sell it. I had a car. Why the hell would I want her piece of junk? Of course, since the sister is a MN it's all about her and her needs. She didn't want to store the car anymore or pay for it to be scrapped so she thought she would pass her problem onto me and have me take care of it for her. She ended up selling the car to some poor sap and I remember her saying, "I hope he makes it home in the car... I feel bad." As if she felt bad for him! She was proud of herself for selling the guy a lemon for maximum dollar. The narc's words never match their actions. They are true con artists, frauds and swindlers always on the look-out for an easy mark.
Peep, I would like to see your evil mother deal with the cards you've been dealt. I would like to see how all these narcs "handle" the degrading treatment, deprivation and abuse they've inflicted on us. Truth is, they couldn't handle it. Just the thought of them being slighted incites their narc rage. Just the thought of them not getting everything they want when they want it makes them go crazy. Even being called to account for their abuses and crimes makes then retaliate with a vengeance. If you confront them on anything they will go on the offensive and do it all the more. Their attitude is: no one tells ME what to do! I'll show you! I get to do whatever I want! Just watch me!! You're right that they may not do it right away, but revenge always comes if you dare to hold a malignant narcissist accountable.
Yes there is no doing right by them. The good stuff about us they just exploit and mock and they make fun of us for having consciences. You can't win either way. Every contact with a narcissist is a lose-lose battle. You can't convince a shell of any rightness or even get them to 'see' you.
DeleteYes we are their trash bins. Here's some old furniture but um NO to an actual job for your husband [she had the connections to make it happen and did for others] so I guess I got a chair to sit on after the visit to the food pantry. The one newer couch was bought because she was about to marry this guy who saw my apartment with no where to sit. I think I only got help with cars, in my 30s because she feared me at her doorstep. They do dump everything else on us, we serve as the dumping ground and they can rally the troops and deflect negative attention focusing on that "rotten" Peep or whatever ACON.
Yeah your sister ripped that guy off. He probably was poor too and spent his last dime or savings on what he thought was a good used car. They love to do that kind of thing in their cons. I never see narcs without a car, they'll hustle their way into one I guess. My mother had 4 or 5 of them, when I had the car offers I rejected, I couldn't even remember what car it was, does that tell you how many she has. Funny how the ones she offered were always older then what I already had. Some states have lemon laws where that guy could have gotten his money back from your rotten sister and she had money to treat people decently too and didn't need to swindle them but they get glee and delight in screwing people over. Mine for one ancient beyond measure car offer had my brother tell me, "Mom will have the car checked over" I had been three years no contact, I thought "What? take a file to the brake line?" LOL
My brother always had these new cars, even newer models, selling candy door to door with teens, but always something worth at least 25,000 sitting in the driveway, I agree they are all con artists.
My mother wouldn't have lasted one week in the Chicago neighborhood I lived in. One day at this weight and Lipedema, she'd crack up. I told her in the NC letter, after I dealt with gangsters threatening to shoot me [this due to my job working with violent youth] what do I have to fear from a narcissistic woman?" I'd love to see her standing at a food pantry line. She is like a vampire, and even normal aging didn't seem to be happening, you know like an elderly person SLOWING DOWN. They all need their butts kissed 24-7. I consider my mother SPOILED, she was from childhood. Someone needed to tell the brat NO for once or actually stand up, instead of being a bunch of cowards and wimps. I agree when they are called to account they can be dangerous. I know mine wants revenge just as much as yours. I know the snake lies in wait, I hope time is on my side, I am already nearly a senior myself. With yours I hope they are held accountable.
Oh, hell no! You do not want a malignant narcissist "checking over" your car! Especially if you live up a hill! LOL.
DeleteSpoiled rotten brats is what they are no matter what their age. I would like to witness a MN hearing the word "No". It would be fun to witness spontaneous "non-human" combustion.
Just yesterday discovered the name for what my mother was, and what my sister is. And found out that I am a scapegoat child/sibling as both my mother and sister are MN. I had been staying with my sister because she needed help getting her life in order after she kicked out her husband. She had a security company she didn't know how to run, and needed to learn basic grown up life skills as she never had to think for herself. I was in nursing school, and raising 2 kids. So I went and stayed there to help her, and work for her company while she watched the kids. It went to shit pretty quick when she hit my son in the face one night, and I sent them to stay with their dads until I finished school because no fucking way. Then she stopped coming home to watch her kids, and scheduling me off work to babysit because "you live with me for free, you'll do what I tell you." Her kids were not doing well emotionally, and I told her she was fucking her kids up by turning them against their dad and not being home. She literally said "Fuck you skank! You lost your kids, don't tell me how to raise mine!" Um, what? Then "You're fired, and get the fuck out!"
DeleteShe then stole my shoes, anything else she decided she wanted, and threw the rest on the porch for me to get after work. She stole my last paycheck by "deducting" all but $12 of a 60 hour week, and I was homeless. The emails that go back and forth are amazing to read, and I tell her how everything she did is illegal, and she just freaks out about how I'm a druggie and I lost my kids because I'm such a druggie and how my kids would be better with her. I honestly have never seen someone just pull shit out of thin air like that. I have never used drugs, or taken anything that I didn't earn. Ever. By the end she had accused me of theft, and being disrespectful to her kids, and being a druggie. All the things she was guilty of. Spontaneous "non-human" combustion is exactly what it was. I told her that I had enough evidence to take her down, all I wanted was the paycheck I'd earned. She refused, willing to pay half a million in fines rather than lose to me. The emails are hilarious, and show what a MN is like when you confront one.
They do "pull shit out of thin air" so be careful. They lie, deny, blame-shift, play the victim and project all their behavior onto others. So be careful. I would cease all communication with her because your emails could be twisted and turned against you. Your MN sister isn't about to disclose to a "third-party" all of her vindictive provocations leading up to what you wrote in the emails. Do not feed her. These MNs are high conflict personalities and they love drama. They are always at the ready to escalate minor occurrences into huge matters, often involving the police. If I've learned anything, it is that malignant narcissists truly believe that your reaction to their criminal behavior is a crime against poor little old them. They will take your normal reaction to their abnormal treatment of you and use it against you. It's what they do. If your sister is anything like my MN sister, then she has been practicing this con game since birth and she is good at it. That means she is good at not getting caught.
DeleteYes contempt is the main mode of existence of the Narcissist. Your story of your mom's extreme rejecting behavior when you went to visit her, is exactly how my mother would treat me. I would drive 6 hours to see her (as I didn't live at home anymore) and when I'd get out of the car and I'd ring the doorbell of the house, and she'd open the door and push me away with sheer rage and utter contempt towards me. Is this a way to greet your own daughter or anyone when they come for a visit?
ReplyDeleteAlso, as your post perfectly describes, these Narcissist ensure that their children never reach their full potential and end up in a self-destructive state. That's because they invalidate our intuition completely and so we lose our compass and our self-protective mechanism in life. How can we thrive if we are so messed up internally and have no clue how to function in real life. I despise Narcissists with a passion. And what baffles me is these predators end up meeting a partner, breed and create children to torture, yet so many well meaning folks who would like to have children are unable to. It is so unfair! Great article as usual, very empowering. Susan
It's interesting how all our malignant narcissist mothers demonstrated utter contempt toward us when we went out of our way to spend time with them. Peep's mom was "too busy" and just got up and left. Susan, your mother literally pushed you away (what a miserable cow!). And my MNM took off like a bat out of hell and left me in the dust. Do you think they wonder why we don't call on mother's day? Geesh. I used to think I was the only person who had a mother that flew into a rage at the very sight of her daughter. Our stories confirm, once again, that it's not us that is the "problem", it's THEM.
DeleteSusan, it also baffles me how these grotesque predators end up with partners and family and friends and even jobs. But like you said, they create children to torture. I think that holds true of all their relationships. Anyone in their pathological space is going to suffer. It is truly unfair that the scapegoat is shunned and abandoned when it's the malignant narcissist that should be dropped on an ice float and sent away.
It makes me sick too how these worse people breed too. Trust me I have taken that one to God and often there is not just one child they have and mess up but a FEW. Maybe there are more narc mothers now in modern times, because they are the promiscuous ones and not the ones, thinking, "Should I have a baby and could I take care of it properly right now?" but jump on in for the bed time "fun" and or hope in getting pregnant and know they can manipulate a man woven around their little fingers. Broke responsible Gen X and millennials used birth control cautiously and tested the budgets, the narcs all went on a tear. For the Baby Boomer set in the 1950s and 60s, how many of the narcs captured a man with an unwed pregnancy for a shot gun wedding, while the "responsible" girls had to fight harder? I thought about writing an article once but feared I'd piss off too many people LOL it certainly was going to be a kind of biased article but I was going to complain about how many men seemed attracted to narc women and chose their aggressiveness, over the kinder women.
DeleteYour miserable witch of a biological Monster sounds as wretched as mine. Except she will pretend like she is a saint while subtlety destroying in every sneakyy, clever way that she can
DeleteVery insightful! Mv story may not be exactly like yours, but the evil MN monster was none the less out to get me. She was just a master manipulate and liar. It has taken me years to finally understand that she isn't just misinformed but actually hates all 5 of her children and will stop at nothing to destroy their souls while pretending to care and be helpful. It's all just a lie, as she is a person of the lies. Evil incarnate.
DeleteThis is reply to the above too. yeah when mine left, I forgot where she said where she was going. We had driven an hour and half to be there. I went to her local library and bookstores for three hours. I was always put as last priority. Once we came on a visit and she said she had to go visit a neighbor across the street for their house-warming party , of course we could not go with, she didn't want to have them see her fat daughter.I was kind of clueless but one day I sat down and realized the woman had arranged it so we had not been seen in public together since 1994, and once when I took a ill fated car ride with her in 2005, she kept telling me to stay inside the car while she got gas etc. Realizing that woke me up. It did cancel a lot of invites to anywhere public. She told people openly she was embarrassed of me. I do not think she is my biological mother but that whole scenario was even more sickening. [by the way a then 250lb weight loss circa 1999-2001, did not fix any of this, I was still fat enough to be shunned. 40lbs overweight, I was a "too fat" and "disgusting" so that did not change things. I think of how hard I tried and it makes me sick to my stomach. I wish I could go back in time and shake me of back then awake but its better late then ever. I may be in destitution poverty but I won't be Aunt Scapegoat saying thank you for the crumbs.
ReplyDeleteIt's amazing what we tolerated from these perverse emotional abusers disguised as "mothers." The time wasted is astonishing. Not just real time, like the 3 hours you wasted waited for her to grace you with her malignant presence, but the time we wasted in our minds thinking that maybe next time will be different. Or, that they "might" care about us. Having a malignant narcissist mother is a total mindfuck. The way they abuse is so sneaky, so covert and so deniable. I'm just glad we all figured it out and are no longer wasting our time.
DeleteOh my goodness, my MN is the same way. She is the size of a mosquito, and her features are sharp, resembling a hatchet. She thinks all people should be skin and bones, and absolutely hates "fat people", and to her, everyone is fat. A couple of years ago, I made the mistake of agreeing to stay at her home for the night. I was given blankets to make a "cozy pallet" on the small rug, and only rug on her painted concrete floors. I could not sleep on the big, plush couch, or her new lazy boy recliners, because I would "cause sagging." I was miserable! Very uncomfortable! She came into the kitchen in the middle of the night to get the cats ("her boys") a bowl of ice cream. Seeing me tossing and turning, she said, in her most ooey gooey, sickening sweet, and sad voice, "It just breaks my heart to see you on the floor like that, but you are so big, I don't know where to put you." A week later, I found this blog, and it saved my life. I never returned to her house of horrors.
Deletelamamolecule,
DeleteThe description of your MN resembling a hatchet is so visual and so perfect for these MNs; they are always doing hatchet jobs on us behind our backs. It makes me sick that she said, "it just breaks my heart to see you on the floor like that..." She was gloating. They all gloat. I've heard that gooey, sickening sweet voice before and it's nothing but putrid condescension. They carry a knife in one hand to stab us, and then they use the razor in the other hand to *fake* sooth the pain they cause. It's all about their comfort and their needs while we lie dying by the side of the road.
Good by house of horrors, hello house of mirrors!
Describes the monster that claims she gave birth to me. I swear she has to be possessed.
DeleteThese stories are so heartbreaking, sickening and sad. How is it we can all relate so readily to the exact same horrible treatment, practically down to the last detail? Every time I went "home", there was some version of this cold, creepy scenario playing out as well, but I was just too trusting to understand, let alone believe that it was actually contempt. It's hard to choose just one of the many bizarre visits to relate here, but here's one dark moment that I'm so grateful distance kept from becoming routine.
ReplyDeleteWhen I had a baby, my younger sister had a brand new little one too and they were only days apart. I was getting ready to move, again, even farther away from FOO, so I decided to work in a quick visit. I flew with the 3mo baby to see my sister and her new baby since (I thought) we had a close relationship. (That's been proven over the years to not be the case, but I thought it at the time.) "The mother" didn't even entertain the idea of me and the baby coming to her house; she preferred to drive out to the sister's, a few miles away. She arrived with diapers, baby formula, outfits and a couple of baby toys, but she left them in the car. The only reason I knew she'd brought these things was because I heard her whispering to my sister that she'd leave these things FOR SISTER'S BABY on the back porch before she left. OK, I figured it was just a thing they did because they lived so close to each other, my baby didn't like toys anyway... lol
So, my kid was in one of those carrier thingies, happily googling away and "the mother" came into the room carrying sister's baby all close and tight and jiggly and smiling. She looks down at "the other" baby, who she's never seen before, and walks right past him. She wasn't acting angry or moody, she was just completely indifferent to his presence. So I get the little feller out of his carrier and talk her into reluctantly putting my nephew down onto a blanket with toys so she can hold "the other" baby. I handed her "the other" baby and she held him sitting upright, way out on her knee as far as she could without him sliding down her shin. She just stared at him, like she was apprehensively holding some wild animal baby that might bite her. He started to get fussy, probably because he felt like he was going to fall, so I took him back and let her make comments about how some babies don't like strangers. Funny, she had always told me that I never liked being held as a baby...
To see so clearly, NOW, that this crap treatment was narcissistic contempt, Lisette, is messing up all the tidy little packages of bullshit contained in my head. It's going to take a long time to reset my equilibrium, but it's so worth it to no longer have my hopes attached to a lie. I think it was you who helped me see these things in pictures rather than continue struggling with dry, black and white facts. I can now easily compare us (scapegoats) to decidedly icky dolls that, belonging to nasty little girls, were mistreated and thrown in the garbage. But we kept coming back to the house and trying to climb back onto the doll shelf. Their stories about how upset they've been by the icky dolls coming back, keep getting more outrageous and hysterical. They keep hoping to convince everyone they can to rescue them, these poor, poor nasty, little girls, from this nightmare and help them destroy the icky dolls finally, once and for all. If this wasn't your illustrative depiction, it certainly could have been; or some clip from The Twilight Zone.
Thank you once again.
What better way for a malignant narcissist mother to demonstrate her contempt for her daughter then through her child. She held your baby, the "other baby", like it was some alien life form, and your baby was an alien life form - it was human!! These malignant narcissist oddities only warm up to their fellow freaks.
DeleteSo "you" never liked been held as a baby? Yeah right. She, "the mother" never liked holding you! They always give themselves away in their projections. I experienced the same thing from my MNM. She said, "I knew that even as a little girl you didn't like me." HA! Translation: I never liked you, even as a child.
Oh, and I love the way the "mother" so sneakily, yet so obviously, excluded you by leaving offerings FOR SISTER'S BABY on the back porch. Of course you knew what was going on, but this is a perfect example of covert crap treatment the MN could deny by saying, "I left the presents for SISTER'S BABY in secret because I am so sensitive. I should be commended for going out of my way "not" to hurt "the other daughter's" feelings." They truly believe this type of shady behavior clears them of any allegations of abuse/favoritism/exclusion. In their minds, not giving the gifts to SISTER'S BABY in front of you, means they are off the hook for contemptuous treatment. Everything they do is deniable. That's rule number #1 for malignant narcissist mothers and their freaky frankendaughter counterparts.
"It's so worth it to no longer have my hopes attached to a lie." I love that line. Without the understanding of how these hateful MNs operate, we do waste so much time and energy attaching hopes to a lie. It's nice to have that time and energy focused elsewhere, on relationships with normal humans who are capable of love and respect for their fellow humans.
The picture of an icky doll belonging to a nasty little girl who mistreats it and throws it in the garbage and it keeps coming back to the house and trying to climb on the doll shelf is sad but accurate. It IS like a scene out The Twilight Zone or a tragic version of Toy Story.
Hi, it took me sooooo long to realize that my MN mother held me in total contempt. For most of my life I knew something was wrong but little did I know how little my siblings and I meant to her. Except as a form of supply of course. Wow, she really thought I would be around forever, bending over for her twisted abuse. Im in my 40's now, and have been no contact for three years. The best thing I ever did was move 2000 miles away from her and my enabling narc dad. This way I have been able to keep her away from my children, which really pisses them off. As I got older, before I went no contact, the contempt she had for me became crystal clear. Dr Pecks book, People of the Lie and your blog Lissette, helped me survive and understand this. I believe her ultimate goal was complete soul murder. It almost happened, but once I realized my children were at risk, it gave me the courage to not be her rag doll anymore. One way that I began to learn the REAL truth about my childhood, was these comments she would make that were projection, but told on herself. I learned so much once I realized this little trick. I began to think she may have tortured me with cruelty when I was an infant, young child. I began to believe she was evil, and was in a way possessed. One evil comment from her really was the catalyst for me to go NC and understand the enormity of what had happened to me. At my wedding, my enabling narc dad wanted to walk me down the isle, not because he cared about me, but because he wanted to look good and play out his pretend caring father role. Because my parents were divorced this sent my mom into a narc rage. As we walked past her isle of chairs I heard this growling, guttural voice saying " he always treated you like shit when you were a baby" Because I was so used to here rage I only stopped mid step for a split second and kept walking. I was shocked but I wasn't going to let the evil destroy my wedding day. Of course my dad did nothing, and I don't know how many people heard it but no one did anything. She totally got away with it as usual, always playing the victim. I tried to ignore it and had a good time with my husband, though I felt daggers coming from her eyes till she left early. But that comment stayed with me. I then over time realized that the nightmares I had of her, and the sexual abuse I suffered when I was a child by her sibling was not a coincidence. I believe now, she was the one that treated me like shit when I was a baby. I was like an echo coming from the past through my body.This is hard for me to share but it feels good writing the truth, I can live with the truth. I hope maybe this memory will help someone else realize it is possible to feel complete hatred and contempt from your own mother. It is very dangerous to be around, potentially deadly. Thank you for writing on the subject of contempt. It brings a clearer understanding of why my siblings and I have suffered so much.
ReplyDeleteMG
Hi MG,
DeleteIt's nice to read a post from you - I'm assuming you are the same MG who posted comments on my blog a few years ago. Welcome back :)
I'm sorry to hear about your mother pulling such a nasty stunt at your wedding. Did her head spin 360 degrees and did she start speaking in tongue? You should have sprayed some holy water on her (assuming it was a church wedding). I'm glad she didn't trip you up, because that's exactly what she intended to do. I swear, the sight of our happiness brings out the devil in them. Malicious envy says it all. It's disappointing that the bystanders never take these MNs to task for their repugnant behavior. But maybe that's what she wanted; to start a commotion, cause a scene and really ruin your moment. I'm glad you had a good time in spite of her.
I agree the narcissist's projections give them away. You can get a good idea of their internal dialogue through their projections. Whatever they are accusing their target of, they are at least "thinking" of doing it to the target.
Writing the truth does feel good, as does living in the truth about who these people really are. They are extremely dangerous and I am glad to hear you are 3 years into no contact - congrats!
Be sure not to break the no contact rule as I have gone no contact for years only to finally have some contact which I can regret as it was just a set up to suck me in then to lie in wait to really get me.
DeleteThank you for the welcome back Lisette, I am the same MG. It has been a long journey through NC but nothing like my life when my MN mom and Narc dad had access to my mind. You explained it so well in your article: Because I don't have to feel their delusion, exploitation and callousness toward me just for existing. I relate to the staged scene of your mom's shopping sprees you described, and her hatred of your attempt for her attention and respect when you came to her door. It's also amazing to read the comments posted about these MN mothers. Like you wrote:" do you care what a fly is feeling right before you swat it?"
ReplyDeleteI appreciate you sense of humor and laughing has always helped me stay sane. Remembering these many dark moments has helped me throw their contempt right back at them. Cheers
You described my father. Narcissists hate themselves, so they dump their contempt on people who can't fight back, such as their own children.
ReplyDeleteMy sister and I just saw our MN. My sister used the word "disdain": "can you believe how much disdain she feels for us?"
ReplyDeleteWell, yes.
Contempt is better. You're right.
I noticed this time that what a normal persons would call a conversation, the momster (love it, peep!) calls "contradicting me."
She got madder and madder in her alternate reality --which I didn't notice--until she shouted, "these two --[me sand my sister]--contradict me!"
Pathetic.
Also racist. "Well, the Orientals over there said [blahablab]"
Me: "it's Asian, if you're unsure of the exact country"
Momster: "NO, IT'S ORIENTALS!!!"
Being white is her favourite thing.
Awful awful awful.
I want to say that I'm sorry you were starving :(.
ReplyDeleteThere's so much deprivation. Shoddy gifts, cheap food, nasty jabs. Combined with extravagant gifts and meals for others (my cousins, especially). It all sends the message that we're contemptible, dirt-dwelling, filthy. It's taken me 10000000000s in therapy to undo that. So cruel to make a daughter a proxy in suffering. So bewildering for us daughters.
Reading your blog is like aloe vera to a blistering sunburn of being treated with utter contempt. Recently, I had the jarring and humiliating experience of being treated this way by an N sister, I did not (not sure why this escaped me for so long) clue in that she is a Narc until having to spend three days that felt like an eternity in hell with her in a hotel room while dealing with preparations for MN mother's palliative care and other practical concerns.
ReplyDeleteThe "I must have what I want, me, give me what I want now, gotta have what I want now, at all times, feed me, feed me, feed me and my insatiable need to have now!!!!" while sucking up all the air in the atmosphere. This was a feat in itself given that MN is a crown witch of sucking everyone in a mile radius dry, but N sister like a pro waited and bided her time (albeit with the usual beady eyed hateful glare and rage at being called upon for the slightest lifting of a hand to do anything) until the Queen got hers to start her own "I will take all I can get" campaign.
Looking back with some clarity, as during this it had the effect on me of being bombarded. What person can think straight when literally not given a moment's peace and worse yet when conscientiously getting things accomplished is interrupted, thwarted, blasted with inanities and drummed up crap, incessant chatter, and when that doesn't work to make you throw your hands up in the air, a "look-at-me" pittyfest over nothing. Nothing. I am convinced now this manufactured noise from N sister was all to sabotage anything I was getting done. How do I know this? Well, somehow it comes out in the wash, particularly after I had been home for a while, away from her and her barrage of "I will F up 2+2 if it's the last thing I do just to spite you." other family members - my husband and daughter - started to see what all was going on. I finally called her on her BS when I clued into many betrayals, sabotages, outright lying and attempts to malign me. Way to unleash the beast. I did just that. At least now I know what she is. A monster. But monsters are imaginary. As is her all of Fire breathing at me.
It is a way for me to heal and regain my sense of personal worth and power to see her as this. She tries to dragon lady me just like the old witch did, complete with enlisting flying monkeys to destroy me and yes she does have this motivation. She showed it. But, I know her sick game now. And I don't play it. I am not a game player of her fubar demented non-reality. Yes. Contempt. It really is all they feel for those who aren't deficient in what they must know deep down inside they are deficient in.
Lisette,
ReplyDeleteYour story of having desperation and need rubbed in your face and taunted in such a despicable and cruel way is heart-wrenching. As an ACON, to me you show you tremendous courage to tell the truth. I have read how others who were targets are aware of the sick rule of silence. Of course silence lets this continue and gives the abusers the power to keep on keeping on with their pathological cruelty. It is an amazing thing to say it like it is, even when it opens wounds and humiliating experiences. Good for you, for not caving. And thank you so much for sharing your life. It means a lot and you are doing a great service.
Thank you for the kind words, they couldn't have come at a better time. Also, thank you for sharing your insights and experiences. I have found your comments very helpful and very validating.
DeleteI'm sorry you were cursed with a MN sister. I feel your pain.
You're welcome, Lisette. I found your blog by way of The Narcissist's Child Blog, which was validating reading as well. I am happy that you find my comments helpful and validating. I worried that I was saying too much and posting too much all of a sudden. Actually, thought I would be told to shut up, as neurotic as that sounds. It is a process to slough off this toxicity and good to have a place where others understand. When you say you feel my pain, it helps. I am also sorry that you and all of the contributors to this blog were cursed with the same suffering.
ReplyDeleteThank You for sharing. You are a very special person.
Delete"Mother", "Momster", "The Mother", this must be the coping mechanism of distancing ourselves from such a painful reality. This blog is ruthless. But cutting ties with MN parents is a ruthless and isolating business. Necessary and so painful.
ReplyDeleteWhen honey drips from my mothers tongue, a knife in the back is sure to come. pitting her children against one another. Poisoning her husband against his own children, parents, siblings - anyone who poses a threat to her throne of rule.
The subtlety of it all is so damned confusing, disorienting, and mind-shattering. madness wants to seep in, until you realize you were not the crazy, unlovable, whore, who made her look good while you played the perfect role of beautiful, adoring, obedient, submissive, daughter.
She would praise me for the prop I was, and prey on my sensitivity to be a good person by getting me to believe lies about myself. I was a virgin, yet, she was calling me a whore, so it must be true. I was having a panic attack, but she told my dad I was faking, so I must have been faking while I was gasping for air and feeling like I was having a heart attack.
The truth became a lie, and lies became the truth, and they would alternate on a whim to suit her need for control and power and self-worth.
And I, alone, truly escaped, looking into that mirror that shows me the ugly truth. But I stare it down every day. And this, keeps me from going five minutes down the street to knock on her door to seek comfort, acceptance, and "love". Because, I literally WOULD have to deny who I am, as stated by my mother, father, and thirty-five year old sister mooching off of them, "You will need to get on your knees and ask OUR forgiveness and God's forgiveness for the things you write about before we ever see you again." I was accused of things I had never done, and they denied obvious factual things, e.g. moving, jobs, bankruptcy, to try and get me to believe my memory could not be trusted. My mother plays god and tries to speak for God.
Religion and Narcissism is such a dangerous combination.