SEVEN SIGNS YOU ARE DEALING WITH A NARCISSIST

By: Khalif Barkhadle,
Digital Journalist

Published On: 24th February 2025

A conversational narcissist isn’t just someone who dominates a discussion; it’s someone who drains the life out of a conversation, turning it into a monologue where they are the only voice that matters. You don’t just talk to them; you endure them. By the time it’s over, you feel exhausted, unheard, and questioning why you even engaged in the first place.

Number One: You may talk for hours yet get nowhere. It’s like running on a treadmill: you’re talking, they’re talking, but you’re not going anywhere. The conversation loops back to them over and over again. You share something personal, they hijack it and turn it into their own story. You try to introduce a new topic, but they subtly dismiss it and steer everything back to their world. It’s never a dialogue; it’s them holding court, and you’re just there, trapped, listening, nodding, and waiting for an exit that never comes. This pattern is insidious because, at first, it might seem like they are engaged. They’ll nod, react, and even feign curiosity, but the moment you let your guard down, they’ll spin the entire discussion into something about them. Your experiences become their experiences; your pain becomes a setup for their hardships; your excitement is immediately overshadowed by their own, more important stories. It’s a psychological trap, making you feel like you’re engaging while they slowly erase your voice