When it comes to narcissists and psychopaths, hardly anything good comes to mind; whatever you think of them, it’s always negative and poisonous. All they do is hurt people, exploit them and make their lives a living hell.
But after everything is said and done, there is one thing they do that makes them even more dangerous and some of the most dishonorable and unethical people out there. That is their tendency to live a parasitic lifestyle at the cost of their victims.
Now when it comes to being toxic, both psychopaths and narcissists more or less float in the same boat, but if you look a bit closer, you will see that there are a few elusive differences between the two. And the potential reason behind this is that they have different needs, and look to exploit their targets for different motives. Using other people for their personal agendas is a given, but their parasitic lifestyle aims to meet some very specifics needs in their minds.
What Does A Parasitic Lifestyle Really Mean?
Just like a parasite depends on a host for its survival, the same goes for a narcissist and psychopath too. They are notorious for exploiting others and feeding off them to fulfill their own personal needs. Narcissists and psychopaths are always looking for prey to feed on, and once they find the right people for this, they latch onto them with all their might, and gradually work towards sucking the life out of them to fulfill their own devious intentions.
Most of the time, such people tend to be the most attracted to empaths, and highly sensitive people, because of all the goodness, and kindness they have within them. Empaths and sensitive people make for an excellent source of narcissistic supply for toxic people. However, there are some differences between parasitic narcissists and parasitic psychopaths, and that’s because their core needs are different, and hence, their ways of hurting people are also different.
5 Reasons Parasitic Narcissists Are The Way They Are
Narcissists are extremely insecure people on the inside, who show themselves to be the most accomplished and best people on the outside. It’s all a facade to cover up their exceptionally high levels of inferiority complex.
They know they are low-vibration people, and their sense of self-worth is even lower, and that is why they always target innocent people who they can feed off of, and feel superior and good about themselves.
Related: Traits of a Narcissist and A Psychopath And What Makes Them Different From Each Other
1. Constant importance and attention.
If there’s one thing that narcissists just cannot survive without, it’s their constant need for attention. When a narcissist doesn’t get this, they wither like a flower without water. This is one of the biggest reasons why they always target empaths because empaths have a lot of love to give to others, and no matter what the narcissist does, an empath does not give up on them.
They get their ego stroked, their demands met, and all their wishes fulfilled; it’s a win-win situation for the narcissist, but an extremely degrading and painful one for the empath.
2. Craving for validation.
Another thing that narcissists just can’t survive without is their constant need for validation. Narcissists normally have disturbed and traumatic childhoods, which is the cause for the overwhelming sense of inferiority within them. In order to compensate for this painful reality, and not face it, they build an entirely different reality for themselves.
Now in order to keep on believing this delusional identity and reality, they crave constant validation. As long as they are getting this from their targets, they are happy and fulfilled, and this leads to their parasitic lifestyle becoming even more dominant and hard to get away from, from the perspective of their targets.
3. Their needs always matter more.
No matter what kind of a relationship you might share with a narcissist, always remembers that their needs will always be more important than anybody else’s, including yours. Be it a narcissistic parent, narcissistic partner, or a narcissistic colleague at work, their expectations, problems, and demands should always be given the most priority, no matter what happens.
Narcissistic parents will impose their unfulfilled dreams on their children and pressure them to fulfill them. Narcissistic partners will always want their targets to put them and their needs first, even at the cost of their sanity and emotional health. Narcissistic colleagues will always expect you to do their job for them, and make sure that you do it well. What you need or want never matters in the slightest, it’s only their needs that do.
Related: Why Are Narcissists So Dangerous For Us?
4. Halo effect phenomenon.
One of the most notorious things that narcissists tend to do is surround themselves with powerful and influential people so that they also feel the same. They know how low their self-worth is, so they try their best to mingle with important people, in order to feel important themselves. Climbing up the social ranks, and being with someone with high social status is one of their biggest dreams, so it’s no wonder they do this.
By attaching themselves to wealthy and powerful people, they create the effect that they are important too, otherwise, why would such influential personalities hang out with the narcissist? They create a Halo effect like this for themselves and look to gradually get in the good books of such people.
5. Extremely entitled and lazy.
Narcissists are extremely entitled and lazy, because of their inherent superiority and a strong belief that they are too good to do stuff that other people do. So naturally, they will expect their victims to do everything for them, and they won’t lift a finger. According to them, they deserve to be pampered all the time and are too wonderful to work for anything they want.
Narcissists stay miles away from doing household chores because they feel they are too good for such menial and ordinary stuff, and will always expect you to do everything. They are only supposed to be fed and spoiled by their loved ones, which unfortunately, is you.
5 Reasons Parasitic Psychopaths Are The Way They Are
Psychopaths are extremely toxic people, and not to forget, dangerous too to quite some extent. They always want the power and control to be in their hands, and you will have to do exactly as they say and when they say it.
You have no other option other than to abide by their rules and demands, while they will sit around and order what you need to do to make them happy. For psychopaths, people are like objects who they can exploit and use in any way they want.
1. Zero empathy.
This one is a no-brainer. Psychopathy and lack of empathy go hand in hand, and that’s why they are the way they are. They don’t feel remorse, guilt, or shame at all, and are some of the coldest and calculated people you will ever meet in your life. They never care about other people and their emotions, because they are simply a means to an end for them; fellow human beings are like their own personal toys with whom they can play whenever they want and then dispose of them like garbage the moment their needs are satisfied.
A psychopath will go to any lengths to meet their needs, and they won’t even think twice about hurting and harming someone else in order to do so. They are exceptionally dangerous people who you should stay away from, at any cost.
Related: 3 Rare Things They Don’t Tell You About Psychopaths
2. Get bored easily and lose interest quickly.
Psychopaths function on constant stimulation, and without that, they get easily bored and start to lose interest in everything they do. That’s why chances are you will never find them working a 9-5 job where they have to do the same thing over and over again, day in and day out. Because their volatile and disinterested attitude will either get them reprimanded every second of every day or get them fired.
At the same time, they cannot fathom the scenario of living a middle-class lifestyle or living in poverty, and that’s why they look for ideal victims to latch on to and feed off till the end of the time. Unfortunately, they always end up finding someone or the other, despite having a toxic personality. How? Scroll down to the next point.
3. Dangerously manipulative and exceptionally charming.
Being manipulative and charming are two of the biggest weapons in their arsenal, as far as trapping victims is concerned. Psychopaths always end up finding the perfect people for their parasitic lifestyle, because unfortunately, they are blessed with amazing conversation skills and sparkling personalities. But this is all a facade, which they put on in order to prey on vulnerable and innocent people.
They know exactly what to say, how to say it, and how to present themselves in front of a host so that they fall for their charm and end up getting attached to them. For psychopaths, it’s all about setting the trap with their charm and manipulations, baiting their victims, and finally reeling them in and then feasting on them. Most of the time, psychopaths do this with rich and wealthy people, because money matters a lot to them; they can live off their whole lives on someone else’s money. And if the money and luxuries run out, they simply seek out another victim.
4. Irresponsible and zero motivation.
Psychopaths have zero motivation, and are extremely irresponsible; they would any day choose to feed off other people than do something noble and worthwhile. Exploiting others is their favorite thing to do, and when they see they are getting to live a good and comfortable life by doing this, why would they even try to live like decent human beings?
For them, the norms and rules of society don’t matter at all, and they don’t hesitate to take part in criminal and unethical activities if it means they will get something useful out of it. No wonder, most gangsters, serial killers, terrorists, and criminals turn out to be dangerous psychopaths; decent human beings never knowingly and voluntarily get involved in criminal activities.
Related: Narcissists And Psychopaths Love To Stay Friends With Their Exes
5. They have no goals in life.
When you add lack of goals with lack of responsibility and accountability, you have got a recipe for disaster, and that is when you know, you have a psychopath in your hands. They never plan for the future, never look at the bigger picture, have no ambitions and goals, and believe that they can cruise through life simply by feeding off other people.
They fail miserably at holding onto jobs, have no personal properties, no bank balance at all, and are always looking for other people to do everything for them. Their only way of surviving in life is by exploiting and taking advantage of other people and their resources.
10 Signs You Might Be The Host In A Parasitic Relationship
Look out for a few more signs that might point towards the possibility that a narcissist or psychopath is living a parasitic lifestyle at your cost.
1. They refuse to fend for themselves, and always depend on you for everything, and all their needs.
2. They have to be the center of attention all the time, and in case they are not, they will make your life a living hell.
3. They will get extremely aggressive with you (verbally, emotionally, psychologically, physically), if you ever question their motives and behavior.
4. They never help you with the household chores, but after you have taken care of everything, they end up taking the credit for it.
5. They take care of their personal needs by spending all your money, and if you ask them not to, they start to torment you.
6. They don’t care about your feelings, and emotions at all.
7. They always make you feel emotionally exhausted and mentally drained whenever you are with them or around them.
8. They never hesitate to verbally and emotionally abuse you, if things don’t go their way or you don’t do what they want you to do; they even physically abuse you at times.
9. They never take your opinions and advice seriously, and think they know best, but if something goes wrong, they are quick to blame you for all of it.
10. They don’t think twice before leaving the relationship if they feel there’s nothing more to gain from it. How bad you feel, or how much pain you might be in does not even cross their minds.
Related: Narcissists, Sociopaths, And Psychopaths- Why Is Love Not For Them?
Sometimes, you don’t realize the truth of it all before it’s already too late. Narcissists and psychopaths are so devious, charming and manipulative, that before you know it, you have fallen into their trap, and you can’t get out of it. It doesn’t help that the methods used by them to exploit you are extremely degrading and mind-twisting. They wreak havoc on your mental and emotional health, and gaslight you enough to make sure that you never realize their truth.
However, if you keep these pointers in mind from now on, you will be able to protect yourself from such dark and poisonous people, and their parasitic lifestyles. And if you notice some of these traits or all of it in someone close to you, then you need to slowly take a step back, pack your bags and run for your life. Leave them alone, and no matter what happens, do not look back!
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