How Does The Narcissist Act When They Are Sick?
How does the Narcissist act when they are sick? Narcissists can be pretty demanding and thrive upon attention. But what happens when they get sick?
If you had this experience of being with your ill narcissistic partner, then you might be aware of how demanding and difficult they can be to handle. They would want your unlimited and undivided attention and you need to be resent to fulfill the smallest of their demands until they get better.
Caring for a sick narcissist can take a toll on your health as they can be demanding and needy. Everyone is a little needy, cranky, and demanding while they are unwell, but with narcissists, everything is a little extra and thus they require double attention and double care and you may also have to face their grumpy mood swings just because they are sick.
They would behave as if they are sick because of you or you owe them your care just because they are vulnerable and sick. So if you ever had this experience of having to care for a narcissist, then you might be well aware of their behavior and impossible to deal with nature.
Not all narcissists can be this taxing while they are sick, but most of them are. It also depends on the type of narcissist you may be dealing with, but for all narcissists ultimately it is all about the narcissistic supply even in their ailing days.
Dealing with a sick person is difficult as it requires a lot of care, patience, and work. The situation gets tougher when you are dealing with a sick narcissist, as they may be the most challenging people as they demand extra care, undivided attention, and focus.
Rather than being humble for the caregivers, they would be demanding things as they feel entitled and seek advantage of others by providing their ailment as their excuse.
They may manipulate others, abuse them, and shield their nasty behavior through their illness. They may also avoid responsibilities and just laze around to avoid work.
Thus sick narcissists are the most difficult people to care for as they may take it for granted under their belief of entitlement. They may be ungrateful too.
How does the Narcissist act when they are sick?
Sick people are usually vulnerable and humble, but not narcissists. They may be the most difficult people as they do not acknowledge your efforts and put unrealistic demands when they are sick. Let us know a few ways the sick narcissist acts,
They act superior
Narcissists like power, and when they are sick, they might act even more superior. They suffer through a superiority complex, which gives more air to their belief of being entitled and important than others.
They may suddenly become a healthcare expert and would research a lot. They would even try to lecture their caretakers as they think they know the best and are experts as they are suffering through it. Thus they may also not accept advice from others.
Their ailment would give them the power to put themselves above others as they are the “survivors” or think they are above average, as they were able to get through such difficult times and thus they have the power to use people.
They may believe that as they are sick, they should receive special treatment from the caregivers, more attention from the people around them and everyone should just focus on catering to their needs as they are entitled to receive such extra care due to their illness.
They use sickness as an alibi to dodge accountability and responsibility
Narcissists pretend to be perfect, charming, the best, and easy-go happy individuals, whereas in reality, they are not. But eventually, all of this fades away with age.
For instance,
Narcissists usually use these to charm and lure their victims especially their looks and their charm. They hold up their mask of fake personalities to defend and protect their manipulative side. But as they age, this mask too eventually falls off.
The same can be used for their sickness. They might use their sickness as a protective shield for their nasty, toxic, and abusive behavior toward others. They might not hesitate to manipulate those who care for them in their sickness and they may use the discomfort of their sickness as an excuse for their unlikable behavior.
They might lash out at the caregivers and then hide behind the shield of their illness. If the caregiver refuses them something for their own good, they might behave rudely and then just try to cover it with their ailment.
They may never admit that their behavior is nasty, all they would do is cover it up or blame shift onto others. They do this to maintain their perfect image. Thus they would never be held accountable for their actions and avoid responsibilities when they are sick.
They get a free ticket to gain empathy while they are sick
Narcissists would find an unavoidable way to seek empathy from others while they are sick. Being sick means gaining empathy, and gaining empathy is directly proportional to gaining attention, thus some narcissists enjoy being sick. Attention is like a life force that helps them keep up their act of being the perfect human.
They might garner sympathy from everyone be it publically or at home. They may also post pictures of them being sick and suffering to collect empathetic reactions, texts, and comments from people who cannot reach them physically.
For narcissists, gaining empathy or sympathy is like gaining power. Nothing else matters to them anymore as they feel they are the center of attraction for all and even in sickness their charm is still working on people.
Some narcissists even stage being sick to gain attention, empathy, and care from others. They just wish to be the center of attention among others.
When others are available to them, serving them and doing as they say, what else can a narcissist want more? Thus being sick and garnering empathy makes them feel empowered and thus it boosts their ego. This gives air to their belief of being entitled, powerful, and special and makes them feel like the earth revolves around them.
They use sickness as their biggest excuse
Narcissists would use their illness to avoid their responsibilities and be as lazy as possible. They may keep piling up their work or delegate their work to others despite knowing that the other person might get burdened by overworking.
Narcissists, especially covert narcissists love to use their illness as an excuse to get things done without lifting a finger. They might sit back, relax, rest, and watch people do their work. In some cases, even while the narcissist is healed from the sickness, they might still pretend to be sick to avoid working.
They might not do anything not even the simplest of the tasks. They might enjoy their time being sick as they get to run away from chores yet they obtain attention and care from others. What else could they ever ask for?
Narcissists try to avoid responsibilities even when they are not ill, so how do you deal with a lazy and sick narcissist? This may sound like a lot of work, as the lazy narcissists get lazier with illness, but there are ways you can deal with them. You need to make sure you are not very lenient with them and do not get tangled with their fabricated truths.
You must care for them, but also not that much that it starts affecting your well-being too. Ask them to do a little work as they start getting better under your care.
Apart from lazying around, narcissists use their sickness to demand special treatment from their partners or their caregivers. They believe that they are superior and thus need to be treated specially, especially when they are sick.
They might call you from the other end of the house to do trivial tasks for them like handing them water, passing the remote, or enwraping the blanket. They may make unreasonable demands to eat something that you might not be able to cook at the last minute. They may not do the smallest of their chores like combing their hair or placing the used utensils in the sink after a meal.
When you ask them to do these trivial tasks on their own or refuse to cook something that they demand, they may tag you as the abusive one in the relationship.
They may play the victim
Narcissists have a false version of their own reality where they are the kings of their world and everyone else is merely their subject. They demand to be treated specially. Their beliefs are delusional, unrealistic, and unreasonable.
So when they get sick, they may act as a victim to keep things going the way they should be. They want to be the center of everything, have the spotlight, and get attention from others.
They may use their sickness to organize a pity party for themselves. They may manipulate others around them to do things for them immediately. If someone denies them, they immediately face the narcissist’s criticism or make it to their hate list. They may also punish you by putting you through emotional turmoil.
They may use emotional blackmail to get their way. They would play the victim especially when they know the other person is highly compassionate and can fulfill their needs of seeking empathetic reactions.
Thus narcissists use their illness, to play the victim and get things done the way they want.
How to deal with a sick narcissist?
Dealing with a sick narcissist is never an easy task. Sick narcissists are the most cunning, manipulative, and abusive people. Being sick is like a perk for them rather than suffering as they manipulate and use people to serve them.
Thus caring for a sick narcissist may be like a nightmare for you. But some ways can help you deal with them efficiently,
Try to be empathetic – Being compassionate and the bigger person can help you to notice the deep-rooted insecurities that may be traumatic for them. So being compassionate and maintaining empathy can help you to help them get well.
Do not get involved in power struggles with them – Narcissists like power and control, and they may do anything to be in power and control. So all you need to do is maintain your calm and avoid getting into power struggles with them.
Practice self-care too – Prioritizing your wellness, your health, and your care may help you maintain your health while caring for them. Try to balance and not get swayed into creating for them that you harm your health.
Seeking support – In tough times of sickness, do not hesitate to reach out to your family and friends to cope with the challenges that may arise while caring for the sick narcissist. Having someone by your side would provide you with moral and physical support.
Focus on Facts – Narcissist tries to get the focus on them by exaggerating their illness and its effects. Do not get carried away in their emotionally blackmailing statements, instead focus on facts and save yourself from their drama.
Final Thoughts
Dealing with a sick person is difficult as it requires a lot of care, patience, and work. The situation gets tougher when you are dealing with a sick narcissist, as they may be the most challenging people as they demand extra care, undivided attention, and focus.
Rather than being humble for the caregivers, they would be demanding things as they feel entitled and seek advantage of others by providing their ailment as their excuse.
They may manipulate others, abuse them, and shield their nasty behavior through their illness. They may also avoid responsibilities and just laze around to avoid work.
Thus sick narcissists are the most difficult people to care for as they may take it for granted under their belief of entitlement. They may be ungrateful too.
Thus caring for a sick narcissist may be like a nightmare for you.
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.
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