Do Narcissists Realize They Are Projecting?
The invisible mirror of trauma, the mind's warped clockwork of abuse.
Whenever I discovered a smear campaign in which I learned that everything that was done to me was being ACCUSED of me or when I listened to someone I love accuse me of things I'd been thinking about them ("You never support my accomplishments" or "Are you cheating on me?"), I would immediately think that this level of malice was intentional and diabolical.
They must KNOW what they're doing, right?
Nope.
Anyone who’s been abused by a narcissist and wants to understand how they work need only examine their questions about narcissists applied to themselves.
WHEN YOU WERE IN A RELATIONSHIP WITH THE NARCISSIST, DID YOU KNOW YOU WERE PROJECTING?
Because you were.
And therein lies all your problems.
The myth of Narcissus is really very appropriate in explaining this disorder.
The narcissist is a mirror.
You walked right up to them, saw yourself, and PROMPTLY FELL IN LOVE.
A narcissist has no stable identity, only a mask. Their true self is the abuser. But the mask is a mirror.
They design it by mirroring you.
You (like them) can’t or don’t love yourself at your core. So you project yourself onto them, and love yourself through them.
WITHOUT THEM, IT FEELS LIKE YOU’LL DIE.
Because they're running away with your identity and self love.
You can only love yourself through another person pretending to be you and reflecting yourself back to you.