Is Ghosting Always Narcissistic?
Ghosting gets thrown around as one universal behavior, but in narcissistic and toxic relationships, it can mean very different things. Sometimes it’s punishment, sometimes it’s manipulation—and sometimes it’s a survivor trying to escape harm. This video breaks down the many forms of ghosting so you can understand what’s actually happening, not just what it looks like from the outside.
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DISCLAIMER: THIS INFORMATION IS FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY AND IS NOT INTENDED TO BE A SUBSTITUTE FOR CLINICAL CARE. PLEASE CONSULT A HEALTH CARE PROVIDER FOR GUIDANCE SPECIFIC TO YOUR CASE. THIS VIDEO DISCUSSES NARCISSISM IN GENERAL.
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Not necessarily. Ghosting often stems from anxiety, conflict avoidance or immaturity, not just narcissistic traits.
Well avoiding conflict is something codependent ppl fear
But also narcict fear conflict
@happy9110So does just about everyone. To some degree.
I ghosted a narcissist and now they think I’m a narcissist
Of course they do, that’s in their playbook
Of course they do, that’s in their playbook
🤣 yup, they do that👍🏻they flip it
That’s them flip flopping!
Projection
Ghosting is the only way to successfully get rid of a toxic, narcissistic person. I encourage it! 😂
I find ghosting very satisfying. And I am punitive. I have only done it to narcs and it does seem to freak them out for awhile because they really cannot believe their gaslighting is visible, that they are not being given space to continue their bs and that they are not needed. Mean people deserve to have the floor boards removed once in awhile.
This. Really.
It’s been my experience as well.
Going this route makes sense, as long as those who believe they’re truly in the right in doing and being so certain of themselves, choosing to ghost anyone has likely been used on occasion to manipulate or inflict emotional distress, as a revenge tactic…where it’s the narcissist doing the ghosting, by dissing someone they feel resentment toward, hurt by, feel overlooked, etc. thinking that they’re ‘gonna show them!’, when the person being ghosted may be oblivious of their feelings, or entirely undeserving.
Not everyone who decides to relentlessly pester you (I don’t think) determines they’re a narcissist, without it having been officially diagnosed.
It’s an all-around huge bummer for all involved that it’s had to come to that, when it does.
@kls3609it is a bummer for some but an abusive, stalking ex is definitely not someone I feel bad for ghosting! ❤
Doctor Ramani, just wanna say: you look SMASHING in those specs!!
Absolutely agree ❤
Agreed!!!
People disappear not because they lack words, but because words have historically failed them. When dialogue no longer leads to safety, clarity, or repair, silence becomes the nervous system’s last boundary.
What we call “closure” is often just the ego demanding one final sense of control. Real closure happens internally, when someone no longer needs to be understood by the person who couldn’t hear them in the first place. That distinction changes how we interpret absence, not as cruelty by default, but as a signal of relational collapse.
I’ve been exploring this inversion, projection vs abandonment … on my channel.
If you stop responding to a Narcissist, they’ll find another supply.
Recently ghosted someone for my own peace and sanity. Didn’t even actively dislike them. Just not somebody I could relax around due to stark differences in personality. I’m doing everything i can for mine and my family’s day to day sanity. I can’t take on a pet project of helping another person sort out their own brains right now. I hate it, but it is what it is.
Exactly! Ghosting, silent treatment, and no contact or low contact are different things. And motive and execution matter. The projection of what the narcissistic/antagonistic person’s motives would be with whatever you have done, is what often trips everyone up.
Thank you for this. I always feel guilt when I go silent bc I know how painful silent treatment is and don’t want to hurt anyone, but I go silent when I feel I’ve tried all forms of communication and don’t feel safe. There literally feels like there is no other solution at that point.
Several years ago, I suffered from severe depression and disappeared, literally deleted every single account. Just a survival mode on, no tactics at all. Being alone, reading books and learning to grieve and survive, instead of responding” I am great” to the question “How are you” when I was not. It was easier and more relaxing for me. I didn’t want to lie, but I couldn’t feel happy at that time either. So it was a hard but a not bad decision for me. However, I do feel guilty. Thank you for empathizing and understanding.
I only ghost toxic people. When I see the warning signs I dip out the back door never to be seen again.
They need to be that’s Just 😊❤❤❤❤❤
The last one is me. Several personal traumas created severe social anxiety and loss of physical and emotional energy to casually communicate. People might not want to judge when they don’t know a person’s story.
I regret not ghosting narcissists. I’ve politely cut ties but they still get mad…ghosting is a safe option sometimes.
I have disappeared from “friends”, family, employment….ALWAYS, and frequently unknowingly, left for my own protection. The familial guilt would pull me back, so I quit the guilt. When someone not only reciprocates NOTHING, but actively seeks to do harm, I have no reason to feel guilty.
we only ghost the narcissists and their enablers😢
Not just them, but pretty much to anyone who is insensitive to repeated communication. There are non-narcissistic people who mean well, and believe they have your best interests at heart, but they never listen to you, no matter how often you tell them.
If you’ve spent months or years trying to be heard and then finally pull the plug, it’s not ghosting. Even if the narc says it is. The problem is they weren’t listening.
I had to ghost both of my sisters after my ex wife turned them into flying monkey’s..
After I had decided to make my own decisions one of which was to leave my ex wife, they tried to guilt me into staying witth her just a little longer and they didn’t like it when i said no.. I was being emotionally abused and I needed out.. They were very toxic to me and making all sorts of assumptions about my motives. I decided to ghost them because they were clearly not in my life to support me, but to support my ex wife after she ran to them in their secret group chat playing victim.
I ghosted them to protect my own well being.
I think it’s incredible that people feel so entitled to my company and time that they have a bad word for me choosing not to give them that anymore.
I’ll ghost to protect myself or because I’m done with someone. Anyone who wants to project some kind of gameplaying onto me is probably just another person I should ghost.
Ghosting triggers me so hard because it reminds me of my mom giving me the silent treatment. I feel so abandoned
Going ‘no contact’ with a manipulative, dishonest, gaslighter is about finding self respect and being ‘done’ with abuse.