Shahida Arabi

When the narcissist first love-bombs you, they seem to have all the time in the world to communicate with you. After they’ve “hooked” you, however, their communication patterns shift abruptly in ways that give you emotional whiplash. An expert reveals the eight most common red flag text messages from narcissists and what they really mean.

Research shows that women benefit less than men from marriage. But why would that be? Getting married, choosing who to marry, and deciding whether to have children are some of the most important decisions you can make and can affect the rest of your life. Here are four questions to ask yourself before making these life-changing decisions.

Watch out for these ten red flags of narcissists and manipulators on dating apps, especially if you’re a woman.

As a researcher specializing in narcissism and psychopathy, I have noticed there are six common stages of trauma bonding that survivors of narcissists often go through before they become sufficiently “hooked” into the toxic relationship cycle.

Studies reveal that smart and successful women trigger a man’s ego – but why?

To you, dangerous people feel like home. You “thrive” in fantasy relationships because you feel safe with people you know you have no future with. You fear abandonment yet abandon yourself.

Mate poaching or partner poaching is when someone deliberately and knowingly pursues those who are already in a committed romantic relationship. It is associated with darker personality traits. We’ve all heard the phrase, “A real man (or woman) can never be stolen.” While that may be true, that doesn’t mean partner poachers won’t try regardless of whether or not their intended target reciprocates.

As a researcher specializing in trauma, I find that survivors of trauma often identify both the positive and maladaptive elements of their trauma responses while still validating the pain they experienced.

Although neither narcissism or psychopathy can be diagnosed in children, research shows there are often early warning signs that point to harmful behaviors and traits that can persist into adulthood.

Law and Order: Special Victims Unit is one of the most captivating crime drama television shows, spanning an impressive 24 seasons.

Children of narcissistic parents can suffer long-lasting effects in adulthood that affect their self-esteem, mental health, their susceptibility to re-traumatization, and emotional regulation.

As a researcher specializing in narcissism and psychopathy, I’ve written before about the manipulation tactics of female narcissists and how they can affect their loved ones in majorly harmful ways.

The problem with always feeling responsible for being the bigger person and “mature” in every situation and emotionally bypassing is that you never assign blame to the true perpetrator and end up punishing yourself due to misplaced self-blame.

Micro-betrayals are the seemingly “smaller” transgressions that act as the ominous harbingers of the greater betrayals to come. They can build up over time to become major red flags.

There are certain seeming “green flags” that are actually the dating red flags of a narcissist. The last one may surprise you. Love bombing is viewed as “finally” meeting your soulmate.

Are you what researchers call a “highly sensitive person”? High sensitivity is an innate, genetic trait that appears in 15-20% of the population.

The INFJ (standing for Introversion (I), Intuition (N), Feeling (F), Judgment (J)) is the rarest Myers-Briggs personality type, making up 1-2% of the population.They have a “darker” side that allows them to harness their traits powerfully to seek justice.  Here are five things you must never ask an INFJ to do.

If you want to fool a narcissist to keep yourself safe, here are ten clever ways to do so.