Showing posts with label Shahida Arabi. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Shahida Arabi. Show all posts

Saturday, June 1, 2024

The Narcissistic Conspiracy: Scapegoating, Smear Campaigns And Black Sheep – How Narcissistic Groups Bully Their Chosen Victims:


By Shahida Arabi
October 5, 2018

When we speak about narcissism, we often focus on the individual. He or she is narcissistic. He or she is a victim of a narcissist. Yet what about those victims who are bullied and targeted by groups filled with narcissistic individuals or in a group where the narcissistic pack leader has toxic enablers? What happens when there is a conspiracy led by an entire group against one individual?

Contrary to popular belief, narcissism can and does run in group dynamics too – it just plays out on an even more massive and destructive scale. Rather than one partner abusing another, there is an entire group working to undermine and plot against a chosen target.

This is especially harmful to any chosen victim because research shows that social rejection activates the same areas of the brain as physical pain (Kross, et. al 2011). Theoretically, being emotionally abused by a manipulative group can be at times just as painful as being physically assaulted.

The frontrunners of such a group use enablers or what is colloquially termed “flying monkeys” to ensure that the recipients of such bullying are properly silenced (Stines, 2017). This is also known as “mobbing,” where a toxic individual enlists the help of others to carry out his or her vicious campaign and dirty work against another individual (Duffy, 2013).

We see this unhealthy, abusive dynamic play out within the realm of the narcissistic family unit, friendship circles, workplaces and anywhere there is a possibility for bullying. This form of conspiracy may not be technically “illegal,” but it poses great harm to those who are targeted. The target suffers through unbelievable emotional, verbal, perhaps even physical abuse at the hands of the toxic group, who uses them as a scapegoat for the group’s problems and deviant desires.

Therapist Christine Hammond (2017) writes that:

“The purpose of a scapegoat is to pass responsibility onto someone else. Usually this person is unsuspecting at first and agrees because they are trying to get along with others. This technique of passing the buck is very common with narcissists, sociopaths, and addicts. Narcissists can’t allow their ego to be tarnished by an error. Sociopaths do it for the sport of it.”

For an excellent example of how a narcissistic group dynamic can undermine and scapegoat one individual, one needs to look no farther than the devastating bullying Today Show co-host Ann Curry suffered under the reign of Matt Lauer (who has now been exposed as a sexual predator) and her colleagues back in 2011.

According to Vulture, executive producer Jim Bell reportedly launched what was known as “Operation Bambi,” a mission to eradicate Curry from the team, early on in her employment (he denies this, of course). She was subjected to not only Lauer’s mistreatment but also exclusion, taunting and bullying by her other colleagues as a result. In 2012, a clearly traumatized Curry was forced to leave the show in a highly televised exit despite the fact that she was, and remains today, a highly talented, empathic and one-of-a-kind journalist. In fact, NBC lost more than a fifth of its audience after her departure.

This example illustrates something deeply important: groups with one or more sociopaths do not target people who are incompetent. On the contrary, they target those who threaten the status quo in some way.

Curry represented the type of conscientious, empathic and sincere person that juxtaposed Lauer’s own predatory personality and threatened the group dynamic of keeping toxic behavior under the wraps. Since the corporate world tends to favor and promote sociopathic individuals, they chose Lauer’s preferences over Curry’s potential and incredible abilities to connect with her viewers in a deeply compassionate way.

To make the conspiracy all the more effective, the victim is further silenced by what makes them so special in the first place – their ability to be discerning, their sensitive nature, their compassion, is used to paint them as unhinged should they dare speak out. The victim’s own wounds are played with. The narcissistic group feeds upon the victim’s insecurities and vulnerabilities to ensure that the victim feels too powerless to complain or take action. They identify the wounds and weaknesses of the target. They also use the target’s strengths against him or her.

They emotionally blackmail their targets. They exhaust their targets. They gaslight their targets into believing that the abuse isn’t occurring. And ultimately, they bully them into contributing to the group’s deviant agenda.

The manipulative leaders of narcissistic conspiracies find ways to covertly abuse the victim so they can escape accountability for their actions. The victim is made to feel like and look like the “crazy” one – and everyone is able to avoid individual responsibility for inflicting harm and participating in the conspiracy.

In all narcissistic “conspiracies,” this scapegoat is a “black sheep” who is treated like an outsider of the group. This chosen black sheep is then terrorized, taunted, excluded, persecuted and becomes the site of many projections or unfair blame for the mistakes of the narcissistic group. The group has no problem using the victim to advance their agenda or add to their resources, but they fail to recognize or reward the efforts of that individual in a fair way. In fact, the harder the scapegoat works to win the approval of the group, the more the scapegoat is persecuted.

Since the group is usually led by one or more narcissistic or sociopathic individuals, very little mercy or empathy is given to the victim. The victim suffers emotional terrorism at the hands of ruthless individuals who prey on his or her vulnerabilities and weaknesses. Narcissists and sociopaths usually choose those they are envious of and threatened by. These victims are exploited for their strengths, but demeaned, teased and made to feel like outsiders, just as Curry was. The alienation takes a toll on victims of group bullying, as they may isolate themselves even more just to avoid further persecution.

How And Why Is The Victim Chosen?

The target that is chosen to be bullied and ostracized from the group is one that is threatening in some way. It could be because they threaten the narcissistic leaders or enablers in their intelligence, appearance, resources, determination, ambition, social aptitude, wealth, independence – or whatever other quality that evokes their envy or fear.

In the dynamics of a family with one or more narcissistic individuals as caregivers, the scapegoat is the child or children who are most devalued and demeaned, made to feel less than. These children are often outspoken, sensitive, empathic and have integrity. They present a threat to the existing dysfunction of the toxic family unit, so they are inevitably punished. They are pitted against the “golden children” (children who are excessively overvalued and spoiled in exchange for their blind obedience) and triangulated so that there is a sense of competition, distrust and supreme allegiance to the narcissistic parent or parents in the household.

In a group that is not familial, such as friendship circles or the workplace, the chosen victim is usually someone new to the group or a long-standing member who “dares” to question the authority of the narcissists or sociopaths within that group and is thus excommunicated.

These victims may at first be idealized and love-bombed. They are subjected to praise, laser-focused attention, gifts and false promises to lure them into the group. They are “groomed” to feel like a part of the group, which often has many cult-like qualities which discourage dissent and discussion.

There are implicit rules to never unmask the toxicity of the group or its decisions. Questions are always met with ambiguous or vague answers or outright reprimands and punishment. The victim’s duty is to keep quiet, remain a scapegoat and not make a fuss about carrying out dirty work for the group.

So long as the victim abides by these silent rules, they win temporary safety through their obedience. The authority of the narcissistic members of the group is upholded as the final say, regardless of fairness or equity. As soon as the victim starts to question the dynamics of the group, however, or the group feels like the new victim might potentially “overthrow” the hierarchy in some way, the victim is then “put back” in his or her place.

They may be publicly humiliated in front of other members of the group, they may be dismissed, they may be shut down and stonewalled. They may have an ongoing smear campaign against them by the leaders or enablers of those leaders regarding their character, stability and ability to be within the group. It is easy to make the victims of group bullying seem like the unhinged ones – the most abusive people, the leaders of the group, work hard to drive their targets over the edge and push all of their emotional buttons.

Groupthink and The Bystander Effect:

Not all group members of the cult-like conspiracy are unempathic, but when they participate in enabling behavior, it creates a collective consciousness, what psychologists call “groupthink” in which a narcissistic unit works together to render the victim powerless enough so that the victim either feels unable to exit or even becomes “trauma-bonded” in some way to the group as a way to survive (Rosenblum, 1982). Those who see the victims being bullied and yet fail to do anything about it usually encounter what it known as “The Bystander Effect,” in which individuals feel as if they don’t have to intervene, especially as the group gets larger, because personal accountability is diminished (Hortensius & Gelder, 2014).

The chosen target usually has empathy, resilience and is authentic in their integrity. They are agreeable, kind and conscientious to a fault, which makes them ideal prey for sociopathic predators. They are open and willing to consider other perspectives, so they are taken advantage of easily by narcissistic leaders and their enablers. This is very threatening to a group that works best without integrity or fairness. These are all qualities narcissists look for to ensnare their victims, but of course, most narcissistic groups realize that such qualities also make these victims powerful as well. Truth-tellers are commonly scapegoated in groups where there is toxicity brimming beneath the surface.

The target fulfills the following roles:

 As a convenient scapegoat. They take the blame for any errors or mistakes the narcissistic group or leaders don’t want to be held accountable for.

They become the outlet for any projections, rage, dissatisfaction that the group wants to dump on them.

A target for an ongoing smear campaign in which the narcissistic individuals involved spread rumors, gossip and misinformation to make you look like a “troublemaker.” This ensures that other group members also fear calling out the toxic dynamics of the group because they don’t wish to be associated with you or your “antics.”

To obscure the truth and further the group’s selfish agenda, whatever that might be.

They stroke the narcissist’s ego – they are made to feel diminished so that the narcissists in the group feel superior. It feels especially gratifying for them to take down a person who is more successful and well-liked (at least initially before scapegoating begins) than they are.

They are used to strengthen closer alliances among the already existing cliques in the group. Membership in the group is emphasized and seen as exclusive and coveted because there are “outsiders” who can’t get in.

If you are a victim of scapegoating or a black sheep, take heart. You were chosen because you have the qualities that narcissists lack. You were chosen because you were threatening. You were chosen because you were powerful. They saw that power in you, and they wanted to take it away.

Though it appears now that wolves in sheep’s clothing rule the world, it is actually scapegoats who have the power and ability to lead others – authentically.

When the black sheep finds community, validation and resources to help them thrive after the experiences of being persecuted and alienated, they reconnect with the amazing qualities that made them a target in the first place. Rest assured that karma does come for those who conspired against them – and predators like Lauer are always eventually exposed in due time.

Scapegoats can and will rise above the conspiracy – and they can grow stronger in spite of it.

References:

Duffy, M. & Sperry, L. (2013). Overcoming Mobbing: A Recovery Guide for Workplace Aggression and Bullying. USA: Oxford University Press.

Hammond, C. (2017, August 24). How not to be a scapegoat. Psych Central. Retrieved March 22, 2018.

Hortensius, R., & Gelder, B. D. (2014). The neural basis of the bystander effect. The influence of group size on neural activity when witnessing an emergency. NeuroImage, 93, 53-58. doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2014.02.025

Kross, E., Berman, M. G., Mischel, W., Smith, E. E., & Wager, T. D. (2011). Social rejection shares somatosensory representations with physical pain. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 108(15), 6270-6275. doi:10.1073/pnas.1102693108

Rosenblum, E. H. (1982). Groupthink: One peril of group cohesiveness. JONA: The Journal of Nursing Administration, 12(4). doi:10.1097/00005110-198204000-00007

Stines, S. (2017, May 17). The Narcissist’s Fan Club (aka Flying Monkeys). Psych Central. Retrieved March 22, 2018.

Shahida Arabi is the author of Power: Surviving and Thriving After Narcissistic Abuse.



In support of Narcissistic Abuse awareness and recovery.

June 1st is World Narcissistic Abuse Awareness Day (WNAAD).

Recommended websites for research and recovery:

http://www.wnaad.com/

http://flyingmonkeysdenied.com/

http://www.innerintegration.com/

http://www.drgeorgesimon.com/

https://kimsaeed.com/

https://www.psychopathfree.com/

https://eclecticalu.blogspot.com/

https://micheleleenieves.com/

https://www.thriveafterabuse.com/

Twitter hashtags:

#AbuseByProxy #Adultery #AgainstBullying #BackStabbers #ClusterB #CPTSD #Enablers #FlirtingIsCheating #FlyingMonkeys #Gaslighting #HealingFromCPTSD #IAmEnough #IAmStillStanding #IfMyWoundsWereVisible #Infidelity #MicroAggression #NarcissisticAbuse #Narcissism #Narcissist #NarcissisticPersonalityDisorder #NarcissisticSupply #Psychopath #PsychopathFree #SmearCampaign #Sociopath #ThrivingAfterNarcissisticAbuse #TwoFaced
 #WNAAD

6 Secrets The Narcissist Hopes You Never Learn:

by Shahida Arabi
December 1, 2017

We all know that that malignant narcissists (narcissists who also have antisocial traits) are manipulative and can even fool experts, psychiatrists and the most experienced of law enforcement officials. Yet there are six crucial truths about these types of manipulators that can come in handy when it comes to resisting their tactics. Use this information wisely and you can find yourself cutting the cord to a toxic relationship with one that much more safely:

1. They will unmask themselves much more quickly when they think you’re not aware of who they truly are.

Direct confrontation of their narcissism will result in further manipulation and narcissistic rage, which can cause you to remain entrenched in the cycle of abuse.

If you suspect you’re with a narcissist, the better route might be to prepare mentally on how to leave while collecting more information about their characterWatch out for the red flags and when you see them, self-validate without relying on the narcissist’s counter-explanation (which is likely to be filled with a whole lot of gaslighting, projection and half-truths). Their actions and pattern of behavior will tell you far more than their words ever will.

Pretend to be the naïve lamb rather than the wise lion and you’ll get yourself a manipulator who won’t work as hard to conceal their contempt, their malice and their joy at bringing others down. Their mask will slip all the more frequently because they don’t feel as invested in managing their image around you. They will assume you’re gullible enough to believe in their façade, which satisfies their need to feel grandiose and superior to you.

This will also give you the ability to observe their behavior more carefully because it will be less filtered by their attempts to charm you. By the time your abuser has realized that you’ve caught on, you’ll be well on your way out the door. That is why I always recommend that when victims recognize that they are dealing with a narcissistic partner, to never confront them using the term “narcissist.” It will only cause narcissistic rage and backlash that can convince you to retreat.

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“Hell hath no fury or contempt as a narcissist you dare to disagree with, tell they’re wrong, or embarrass… What is really at the core of narcissists is an instability in their ability to feel and sustain feeling bigger, larger, smarter and more successful than everyone else which they need to feel stable.  Narcissistic rage occurs when that core instability is threatened and furthermore threatened to destabilize them even further.”
– Mark Goulston, M.D., Rage – Coming Soon From A Narcissist Near You.

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Rage isn’t the only response narcissists have to your awakening of the truth. In response to your public acknowledgement of their narcissism, some narcissists will work that much harder to groom you and re-idealize you, thus making you more confused about the nature of their true character.

They will do everything possible to punish you or coerce you into staying – including love-bombing you again to make you remember the good times. During the same time they’re throwing in crumbs of affection, they’re also plotting on how to best covet what resources of yours they can get before the relationship is over.

As you prepare your exit as quietly as possible (preferably with the help of a good lawyer and a safety plan) – you have a better chance of departing safely with your sanity and your finances still intact. Sure, they may think you’re a fool for the time being, but once they realize you secretly had the upper hand all along, they’ll be outraged for completely different reasons – namely, due to the loss of control.

2. One of their biggest fears is being caught and held accountable – so always document their abuse whenever possible.

Recently we’ve had a string of predators being exposed for sexual assault and harassment. It is no coincidence that many of these predators finally ‘fessed up because of being held accountable on a much larger scale this time around. Perhaps the cultural climate protected them decades ago, but when a NYTimes exposé shares the stories of numerous victims stepping forward, it’s a lot more difficult to gaslight everyone you’ve victimized into thinking they’re “crazy” or “oversensitive.” Not only do victims have more evidence, they also realize they’re not alone.

You can use this knowledge of a covert predator’s fear of exposure to your advantage. Document all incidents of abuse so that you have it on hand should you ever need to go to court, take legal action, or for the purpose of getting a restraining order.

Narcissists care deeply about their status and reputation, so if they feel they may be exposed as culpable for their crimes, they’ll scurry quickly because they will consider you a “high-risk” victim. They’re paranoid about being caught – so even just dropping a subtle hint that you mean business (for example, noting that you’ve been speaking to someone else about what’s been happening – preferably someone they can’t manipulate) can cause them to flee quicker than you can say “gaslighting.”

On documenting abuse that is not physical, Heather Debreceni, former sheriff and professional divorce coach advises:

“The best way to protect yourself: writing or journaling as much as you possibly can…download your text messages and keep them in a file. Keep your messages brief and factual, and avoid emotion, whatever you do. Emotion can’t be proved in court, but facts can. Some states also allow you to record phone conversations, so you can record threats from your abuser.”

As Debreceni notes, it is important to stay calm yourself whenever reacting to a narcissist’s provocations through text, phone calls or e-mails because the narcissist is also trying to ensure that they also have you on the record – whether they’re trying to depict you as an unfit parent or a crazy ex (while they’re the ones stalking you), remember to always appear stoic and stick to the facts when communicating with them.

Whether it be photographing injuries or stalking behavior, taking screenshots of online messages, recording phone conversations (if permitted by law in your state), saving text messages, and voicemails and/or keeping a journal of abusive incidents, it can all serve you in the future should you ever want to take legal action or even if you just want to reconnect to the reality of what you experienced.

3. Your indifference is their kryptonite.

Forget any type of petty revenge you may be plotting; malignant narcissists see all of your emotional responses to them (whether positive or negative) as attention, and they live for that shit. Instead, refocus on yourself and on rebuilding a better life (not for the narcissist, but for you). It won’t be long until you’re moving forward, kicking some serious ass and thinking less and less of the person who once terrorized you.

If you do you choose to grant them access to your emotional responses, rest assured they will use it to bolster themselves and feed off of your energy. As narcissism expert and author Dr. Martinez-Lewi puts it:

“When we live with a narcissist – mother, father, spouse, sibling or are involved with them, our psychological energy is continually sapped. Some victims of narcissists describe this process as trying to destroy and annihilate them, taking what is most precious inside away with their cruelties, chronic deceptions, hidden agendas, humiliations, threats and ambushes.”

That’s why it’s so important to go No Contact (or Low Contact if co-parenting) to prevent their parasitic ways of feasting on your empathy. By that time, you simply won’t care what they’re up to or who they’re with because you’ll know for a fact that they’re repeating a similar abuse cycle with their newest victim. And ironically, it is in that state of utter indifference that the narcissist becomes most powerless, because they know they are no longer able to control you.

4. They’re not hoping you’ll come back to them so they can give you the good relationship you truly deserve. They hope you’ll come back to them just so they can have the final say and re-traumatize you further.

Narcissists hate being “discarded” first because it represents a loss of power and a threat to their perceived superiority. After all, if you were the one who initiated the breakup, it means they didn’t get to have the complete emotional control they feel entitled to in their relationships. They need to have the last word; they need to feel like they’ve terrorized you to such an extent that you would be unable to move forward after being in a relationship with them.

So that’s why they really come crawling back and ask for a second, third and fiftieth chance. It’s not because they miss you. It’s because they miss feeling like they own you.

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 “When the narcissist senses that you are leaving the relationship, they will try to suck you back in…  This is a common pattern in abusive relationships.  There’s an abusive episode, then a reconciliation phase, then a buildup of tension, then another abusive episode.  The cycle doesn’t end.  With a narcissist, the blowup gets worse each time you reconcile.  And that blowup is coming.”
–  Dr. Stephanie Sarkis, So You’re In A Relationship With A Narcissist, Now What?

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5. You’re not inferior in any way to their other victims or new targets.

Remember that narcissists don’t see their relationship partners as people – they see them as objects, as sources of what psychologists call “narcissistic supply.”

However, they’d like you to believe that the reason they’re picking on you is because you’re more disposable, less than or somehow defective. That’s why they’ll compare you to their exes or their new targets. In order to resist this form of crazymaking triangulation, remember how the narcissist talked about their ex in the beginning of your relationship, in the early stages of idealizing you.

Chances are, they called their ex-partner “crazy” along with a whole other plethora of disparaging narratives – which is what they’re probably now doing to you as they relay their distortions to their latest target.

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Narcissistic supply is the form of exchange that a narcissist will accept from those he is in a relationship with to gratify his insatiable needs; but this supply is not love, because narcissists are rarely capable of receiving love. 
– Shari Stines, Psy.D, Love and the Narcissist.

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They always repeat the cycle with others.  To them, you are no different, even if they’d like you to think otherwise.

6. They’re not really that humble or remorseful – and pity is one of their greatest ploys.

Narcissists project an image of themselves as very charitable and humble human beings in the beginning of every relationship. It’s what makes them so compelling and charismatic to society. It’s what disarms law enforcement and their harem, allowing them to skirt the law with a slap on the wrist and no more than a dent in their reputations.

Even the most hardened police officers can witness an impressive performance of faux remorse from a narcissist they’re meeting for the first time and find themselves thinking, “Aww, how noble.” You look at the same performance after years of being with them and see a snake attempting to put on a furry dog costume.

Don’t get me wrong: some people truly are modest and humble, which can be wonderful traits. Narcissists, on the other hand, use the image of modesty to mask their true haughty interiors. A narcissist who is truly arrogant and contemptuous may hide it well during the first few months of a relationship (though there may be tiny tells through their facial expressions, covert put-downs and so on) but their belief that they are inherently superior will eventually reveal itself.

Another tactic narcissists bank on when manipulating you involves the art of the pity ploy. Narcissists will try to latch onto your sympathy when they see no other recourse or even as a primary tool to sweep you off of your feet.

That’s why they give you half-assed “apologies” without a concrete change in their behaviors or a true acknowledgement of the harm you must have suffered. That’s also why they present you with sob stories from the onset of the relationship so you’re inclined to see them as victims rather than the true perpetrators.

It’s why they these types of manipulators can even be self-deprecating as a way to pull off their “little boy” or “little girl” act. Seemingly defenseless people are always more appealing to our natural compassion, after all – and so their crocodile tears and pity ploys work – and they work really, really well.

Dr. Martha Stout, author of The Sociopath Next Door, notes that an appeal to your sympathy is actually one of the most powerful ways a manipulator with antisocial traits gets away with his or her abusive behavior. As she writes:

“If, instead, you find yourself often pitying someone who consistently hurts you or other people, and who actively campaigns for your sympathy, the chances are close to 100 percent that you are dealing with a sociopath… I am sure that if the devil existed, he would want us to feel very sorry for him.”

In order to be a strategic survivor, you have to be able to recognize a manipulator’s pity ploys immediately and resist, especially when there is no actual change in their harmful behavior when they’re called out.

When you start to see how fake their so-called remorse truly is, you’ll find you have much less sympathy for their excuses for horrendous behavior. This will bring you farther away from your idealized notions of their fabricated conscience and that much closer to forging your freedom from the narcissist.


Shahida Arabi is the author of Power: Surviving and Thriving After Narcissistic Abuse.


In support of Narcissistic Abuse awareness and recovery.

June 1st is World Narcissistic Abuse Awareness Day (WNAAD).

Recommended websites for research and recovery:

http://www.wnaad.com/

http://flyingmonkeysdenied.com/

http://www.innerintegration.com/

http://www.drgeorgesimon.com/

https://kimsaeed.com/

https://www.psychopathfree.com/

https://eclecticalu.blogspot.com/

https://micheleleenieves.com/

https://www.thriveafterabuse.com/

Twitter hashtags:

#AbuseByProxy #Adultery #AgainstBullying #BackStabbers #ClusterB #CPTSD #Enablers #FlirtingIsCheating #FlyingMonkeys #Gaslighting #HealingFromCPTSD #IAmEnough #IAmStillStanding #IfMyWoundsWereVisible #Infidelity #NarcissisticAbuse #Narcissism #Narcissist #NarcissisticPersonalityDisorder #NarcissisticSupply #Psychopath #PsychopathFree #SmearCampaign #Sociopath #ThrivingAfterNarcissisticAbuse #TwoFaced 
#WNAAD