Member-only story

5 Tactics Narcissists Use To Groom Their Targets

Manya Wakefield
4 min readJul 19, 2019

Learn to spot the the manipulation tactics commonly used in the cycle of narcissistic abuse.

It happens so fast. You meet someone and to your astonishment they are the embodiment of everything you hoped to find in a romantic partner. Incredibly, they feel the same about you. There’s an exquisite sense of fulfillment, as if a quiet, sacred loneliness — the kind only a kindred spirit could touch — has been transformed into a profound, unparalleled connection.

This is the view from the lofty pedestal where every victim is placed during the love-bombing stage of the abuse cycle. Like turkeys fattened for a holiday feast, they’re groomed and manipulated leaving them vulnerable to exploitation by a psychological predator disguised as a partner.

The aim of love bombing is to create an unhealthy dependency in the victim, and establish a power dynamic where one person holds dominance and the other becomes increasingly submissive. Manipulators achieve this by skillfully contorting themselves into their victim’s ideal partner. Thus, the victim’s defenses are lulled to sleep, while their self-worth is elevated to such a great height that a fall would be catastrophic.

After Love Bombing: The Inevitable Fall

--

--

Manya Wakefield
Manya Wakefield

Written by Manya Wakefield

Internationally recognized coercive control expert. Founder of Narcissistic Abuse Rehab (2019) and the Coercive Control Legislation Global Database (2020).

No responses yet