Narcissism is a personality disorder in which a person feels important, wants admiration and does not show empathy towards anyone. While male narcissists may be more commonly discussed, female covert narcissists can be just as manipulative and harmful. Female covert narcissists may exhibit their traits in subtler ways, making them harder to detect but equally damaging to those around them. Here are signs of a female covert narcissist that you should not miss, shedding light on the covert narcissist traits in females.
Signs of Female Covert Narcissist
Here’s the list of some signs of female covert narcissist that you might be affecting you mentally.
1. She Uses Her Pity-Seeking Behavior
One of the primary traits of a female covert narcissist is their ability to portray themselves as victims in various situations. They manipulate others into feeling sorry for them, making it easier for them to gain sympathy and attention. They skilfully portray themselves as victims to gain sympathy and attention from others. By adopting this role, they manipulate and control emotions, ensuring they remain at the center of focus. This tactic allows them to maintain an aura of innocence while subtly exercising power over those around them, perpetuating their narcissistic tendencies.
This pity-seeking behavior helps them maintain a sense of control over others’ emotions, ensuring they remain the center of attention.
2. There’s Empathy Deficiency
A female covert narcissist may appear compassionate and understanding on the surface, but beneath the facade lies an inability to genuinely empathize with others. Though they may appear understanding on the surface, their emotional connection to others is shallow. They struggle to genuinely empathize with others’ feelings and experiences. Instead, they often manipulate situations to serve their self-interests, disregarding the impact on others.
They may mirror empathy to blend in with social norms, but when it comes down to understanding and supporting others emotionally, they are usually lacking. This lack of authentic empathy enables them to maintain control over relationships and exploit others for their own benefit.
3. Manipulation Is Normal To Her
Female covert narcissists are masters of manipulation and gaslighting. They twist facts, distort reality, and make others doubt their perceptions, leading them to question their sanity. They skillfully distort reality, causing their victims to doubt their perceptions and sanity. Through emotional manipulation, they exert control and dominance over others, all while projecting an innocent facade. By sowing seeds of doubt and confusion, they ensure their victims remain under their influence, perpetuating a toxic dynamic that serves the narcissist’s need for power and admiration.
This form of emotional abuse allows the covert narcissist to assert control over their victims while maintaining a saintly image.
4. She Uses Grandiosity Masked by Humility
Unlike overt narcissists who openly display grandiosity, female covert narcissists veil their arrogance behind a mask of false humility. They downplay their achievements, projecting false modesty to gain admiration and praise. Underneath this facade lies an inflated sense of self-importance, feeding their need for validation. By appearing humble, they manipulate others into perceiving them as approachable and kind, while secretly maintaining a superior self-image.
They may downplay their achievements, feign modesty, and appear self-effacing to garner admiration and praise. This manipulation tactic enables them to retain control over their relationships and maintain their covert narcissistic tendencies.
5. She Is In Devaluation of Others
A female covert narcissist often devalues those around her to elevate her own sense of superiority. They may appear meek and unassuming, but underneath, they harbor a deep sense of superiority. Through subtle comments and dismissive behavior, they demean and belittle others to bolster their own self-esteem. This devaluation allows them to exert control over their victims, reinforcing their covert narcissistic tendencies while maintaining an image of false modesty.
This behavior can manifest in various ways, such as making demeaning remarks or dismissing others’ opinions and feelings.
6. She Is In Constant Need for Validation
While they might not overtly seek attention, female covert narcissists still require constant validation and approval. They may rely on others’ opinions to reinforce their self-worth and may become upset if they don’t receive the expected admiration.
7. She Uses Emotional Manipulation
Emotional manipulation is a hallmark of a female covert narcissist. They use guilt, fear, and other emotional tactics to control others and get their way. While they may appear modest, they crave admiration and approval. Their covert tactics include fishing for compliments or subtly eliciting praise from others. This need for validation fuels their self-worth, allowing them to manipulate those around them into providing the constant attention they desire.
They are experts at pushing people’s emotional buttons to serve their own interests. Behind the mask of humility lies a calculated effort to maintain their fragile ego and preserve their covert narcissistic traits.
8. She Is Mostly Jealous Of Others
Underneath the surface of a female covert narcissist lies an intense feeling of envy and jealousy towards others. While they may appear unassuming, they harbor intense feelings of resentment towards others’ achievements and happiness. They may disguise their envy, but their competitive nature and need to outshine others become evident.
They may secretly resent others’ success or happiness and harbor a competitive nature, even if they hide it well. This jealousy allows them to undermine others subtly, preserving their covert narcissistic traits while presenting a facade of false modesty.
9. She Lacks Genuine Interest in Others
Despite their ability to feign interest in others, a female covert narcissist’s concern is often superficial. They might ask about others’ lives out of politeness, but they are not genuinely interested in the responses unless it pertains to them directly.
10. Idealization and Devaluation Cycle
Similar to other narcissistic personalities, female covert narcissists tend to follow an idealization and devaluation cycle in their relationships. They might initially idealize someone, placing them on a pedestal, but later devalue them if they don’t meet their unrealistic expectations.
11. She Martyr Complex
A female covert narcissist may develop a martyr complex, positioning themselves as self-sacrificing and burdened by the needs of others. This further reinforces their self-perceived superiority while manipulating others into feeling indebted to them.
12. She Has Boundary Violations
Respecting personal boundaries is not a strong suit for a female covert narcissist. They may invade others’ privacy, share confidential information, or insist on being involved in every aspect of others’ lives to maintain control.
13. She Lacks Accountability
Accountability is a foreign concept to female covert narcissists. They struggle to take responsibility for their actions and often deflect blame onto others or external circumstances.
14. She Is Sensitive to Criticism
While female covert narcissists may appear strong, they are highly sensitive to criticism. Any negative feedback can be perceived as a personal attack, leading to defensive behavior or victimization.
15. She Lacks Genuine Empowerment for Others
A true leader empowers others to grow and succeed, but a female covert narcissist lacks this quality. Instead of lifting others up, they may undermine their confidence and independence to maintain control and dominance.
Understanding the signs of a female covert narcissist is crucial to protecting oneself from potential harm. These individuals may not display the typical grandiosity associated with overt narcissists, but their manipulative and exploitative behavior can be just as damaging. By understanding the covert narcissist traits in females, we can safeguard our emotional well-being and build healthier relationships based on mutual respect and empathy.
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