Do we trust our bodies as much as we ought to? I would probably say no, especially when the heart wants what it wants.
We don’t pay attention to how our body responds to people that we encounter.
Instead, we put ourselves through the same old things in order to try to do what we think makes us happy.
Dating a narcissist is one of those times.
Your body knows you’re dating one before you do. It knows something isn’t right. Here are 6 signs to prove it.
#1 Increased anxiety and nervousness
Do you ever get that ‘on edge’ feeling? People I’ve worked with attest to having them, but never really placing them.
When your mind cannot compute what’s going on inside your body, it’s often because you’ve somehow been taught to not relate your feelings or emotions to anything remotely close to the narcissist.
It’s just you.
You’re anxious by nature.
You’ve always been a bag of nerves.
You’re shy. It’s just who you are.
Nobody is meant to be a bag or nerves. And anxiety – while it’s a healthy emotion that in small doses can work well with stress – is not meant to cripple us.
If you’re seeing these doses in your body, something is off whack. The misalignment can feel palpable when you can pin it to an event or person.
The conscious catalyst is missing, and so you just learn to adapt to this new way of life.
But you shouldn’t.
Your body knows when it’s around somebody who dysregulates your nervous system, and those responses are stored in your body for the next time you see them.
Narcissists will increase anxiety levels because when with them, you just don’t know what your days are going to look like.
Will it be good? Will you do or say something wrong? Will they not talk to you for no reason? Will you be criticized or mocked in some way?
No day goes by without a little piece of you disappearing further from yourself. It’s an identity crisis that nobody is talking about near enough.
I don’t think that’s a good way to live, do you?
#2 Frequent stomach and digestive issues
You know when people tell you to trust your gut? This is what they mean!
The gut is pretty much the second brain of the body due to the connection it has with the nervous system and how connected they both are to the vagus nerve.
We think we are with a nice person, but our gut is flaring up and telling us there’s a problem.
And you put it down to butterflies or some food you ate, but in reality, the gut is trying to send you a message that you’re so far ignoring.
If you zone in on it, you’ll see what the problem is.
The gut acts like an inner voice, and I totally get that it isn’t audible, so it shouldn’t really count as a voice.
But that’s why we have to remain connected to ourselves. What’s really going on inside does not have to be the same as what’s going on outside.
Listen to what it has to tell you when you’re around people who are narcissistic.
It never lies, no matter how much you try to push the feelings and sensations down further into the pit of your stomach.
Know that it’s okay to explore what you’re feeling, before the narcissist sucks that permission out of you.
#3 Sleep problems or insomnia
We forget just how precious sleep is to us, don’t we? I think we fully take for granted the beauty of heading to bed every night for rest and recovery.
The more we get, the better we feel the next day. The less we get, the cloudier we become.
Our mental health suffers. Our memory dims. We rely heavily on autopilot just to be able to get to bed the next night, and if that is a poor night’s sleep, we find ourselves in a less than ideal situation.
If your sleep begins to shift and become disturbed, there’s going to be a reason for it.
While you may not yet be consciously aware, your body will be. You’d do yourself a great favor if you tuned in and started to pay attention before you run yourself into the ground.
We don’t sleep well when our body is on high alert. If we are anxious of any sort, the body will quickly learn to stay awake and look for potential signs of danger.
It always wants confirmation that anxiety exists, and before you know it, not sleeping in itself will become your anxiety issue.
#4 Persistent fatigue and low energy
Everything turns down several dials when you meet a narcissist. You’ve got all the time and energy in the world for them, but once you’re home and alone, there’s a feeling that your soul has been drained.
You put it down to feelings of love and happiness, but there’s something amiss.
Your body is trying to tell you something, and I hate to break it to you, but that something has to do with the narcissist you’re spending all that time with.
It knows before you do that you are off balance, but more so, you are being told by your body that you’re off balance.
This fatigue comes from trying so hard to please and put up an image of wanting to impress and be impressed by the narcissist.
You’re trying hard to make them happy, but it’s not natural. If it were, it’d not be so difficult to do, would it?
Something to think about.
#5 Muscle tension and physical pain
We aren’t supposed to remain in positions of tensity. We’re not meant to live locked in rigidness.
That’s why our body finds ways to let us know when we feel sensations of tension or physical pain. What is it about narcissists that do it to us?
When you’re around somebody toxic, although you don’t realize it, they give off the energy that alerts your nervous system to stay on edge.
You perceive them to be people you cannot relax around due to how self-conscious they make you, or due to those little comments they make that unsettle.
Guess what? The body really does keep track of everything, and it will let you know when something isn’t right by giving out these pains as signals.
#6 Rapid heart rate or chest tightness
That’ll be the anxiety kicking in. What do you mean you’ve never had anxiety before? Even more of a time to worry then, isn’t it?
If your heart is rapidly beating around somebody and your chest feels tight, you body is sending you the message that you need to run.
This is that whole fight-or-flight situation many people ignore, but these are built in systems we’ve had as humans for thousands of years.
They saved us from attack and danger once upon a time, and those reactions still exist.
Only this time, the bear is the smiling charmer who is trying to seduce you.
You might awnt to turn on your heel and make a run for the neatest exit.
