Red Flags
One of the books I read to learn about narcissism, how it shows up in relationships and how to break free, was Psychopath Free by Jackson MacKenzie. In the beginning of the book, it has a chapter called Spotting Toxic People and describes 30 Red Flags often seen in narcissists, sociopaths and psychopaths. I could identify N in each and every one of them. It was really the first time I felt validated about what I had been going through and was continuing to go through at that time. I highly recommend reading the book, and I will go through a few examples of how the 30 red flags showed up in my relationship. 1- Gaslighting and crazy-making. N had the habit of “disappearing “ and not answering texts. When I would ask what he was doing that he couldn’t answer, he would accuse me of not trusting him, being overbearing, too anxious, not trusting him. He would use his mental health issues as a need for space or time “alone”, and since I’m in healthcare, he would accuse me of ...