Never offering praise or encouragement only ever criticism.Relentless nit-picking and micromanagement in a work setting.Cheating on you and then waving the new person in your face to make you feel there was something wrong with you that made them cheat.A very common tactic in toxic intimate relationships. Constantly comparing you unfavorably to others ( triangulation).Constant overt or subtle criticism of your body, appearance or clothing.Here are some ways they can play on this vulnerability: They can see if there’s a self doubt there, a nagging sense that you aren’t good enough, either in a specific context, or just low self esteem in general. The Not Good Enough Button – Psychopaths & narcissists can also very quickly hone in on insecurities regarding your talents, competencies and skills. Let’s run through each of the buttons we listed above in more detail, and include some examples of how this manipulation can play out.ġ. Some Common Buttons Narcissists & Psychopaths Like to Push Let’s look in more detail at how they push these buttons in us, as well as some general principles we can follow to stop them getting away with it. Thankfully, with an increase in knowledge of personality disorders and increased knowledge of ourselves, it is possible “flip the script” on narcissists and psychopaths and become immune to their petty mind games. Toxic, disordered people love to sniff out and poke at these wounds and fears, so it is vitally important to be aware of these tactics and increase our own self awareness, so we can understand how our weaknesses can be used against us. A desire to be seen as conscientious and never cause trouble.A naturally defensive, self blaming disposition.A sense of being left out, excluded or isolated.A sense of not being adequate or good enough.Here are some common buttons they like to push in others: It is also important to understand one’s own vulnerabilities, to understand what weaknesses psychopaths and narcissists can exploit in you. They love to see others down.īecause of this, it is important for anyone involved with these personality types to a) understand the nature of these disorders, including what drives them, and b) take steps to control one’s own emotional reactions in the face of the toxic mind games they will play in an attempt to provoke you. They love to push the buttons of their victims psychologically and sit back and watch the negative reaction unfold. The Cluster B personality disorders (psychopaths/sociopaths/narcissists/borderlines/histrionics) are by their nature provocative, dramatic and reaction seeking. Sociopaths learn what makes you “tick” and then experiment with how much they can get away with doing it.” But with a sociopath or narcissist, they’ll start doing more of it. “Normally when you tell a partner that something is upsetting you, they work on doing less of it.