The Narcissist and Coronavirus
What. A. Crazy. Week.
Many of us are already living every day with a heightened level of fear andpanic due to the chaos that we are subjected to at the hands of a narcissist.Add the threat of Covid-19 coupled with the world as we know it shutting down, andit’s a Molotov cocktail thrown right at our feet.
I do not have the answers, and I have yet to find anyone whodoes.
What I do know:
The narcissist smells fear and uncertainty from milesaway.
There are more gray areas right now then I haveever seen in my life.
The narcissist absolutely thrives in gray areasand they are skilled at finding loopholes.
I have seen and heard it all over the past few days – the big one is narcissists wanting to label school closures as “extended spring breaks” which, shocking, works to their advantage if this is their year for spring break. I have heard about children on planes, against the healthy parent’s wishes, headed straight for coronavirus hot spots. Many law firms are transitioning to work remotely, and entire court houses are closing. So many unknowns and it is all unprecedented.
I reflect on my own custody battle and I can only imaginethe narcissistic feed this pandemic would have given Seth and the chaos it wouldcreate in our shared parenting situation. Being a germaphobe who works in the biotechindustry, he would have planted his “Mr. Know-It-All,” hat squarely on his headand begin speaking down to me. He would probably be sending me YouTube videoson proper hand washing techniques and he would press to know how many 10-galloncontainers of hand sanitizer that I was stockpiling. NOT stockpiling mass quantitiesof hand sanitizer? GASP! He would then surely begin attacking my poor planning whichequates to me being an unfit parent. Merely reflecting on this makes my headspin. ANY opportunity to attack and the narcissist is waiting with batedbreath.
What I also know:
Children are watching us. What they will remember about this time in their lives is how they felt. They will remember the emotional climate in their homes during the coronavirus pandemic. Our children are watching us and they are learning how to respond during times of stress and uncertainty. Personally, I want to model resilience. I want to show my children that I am empowered and positive despite the chaos brewing all around me.
I created a YouTube video today to discuss this topic in detail. Click here to watch.
PS Please make sure you are subscribed to the OMB YouTube channel – I offer so many free resources from tips on communication during a child custody battle to strategies for mediating with a narcissist.
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