That’s true, and it takes someone with a very calculated, manipulative mind-set (such as a narcissist) to decide, “Well, that didn’t work, I’ll try different method. Maybe that’ll get to him/her.” For me that would be the opposite of the silent treatment. When two of my work colleagues had an altercation, the instigator stormed into the room where I was working and loudly abused the woman sitting in the cubicle next to me, I could feel my stress levels and heart rate go straight through the roof, as well as a beginning of a headache, even though she didn’t say anything to me. It was a high-pitched, screamy, fishwife voice, something I’ll never forget. As an introvert, silence is easy for me to deal with, but raised voices? Not so much.

There’s always mind games going on! Yes, people often reveal their own fears through what they use to attack others with.

Fast forward to adulthood and it still doesn’t phase me. But another thing I observed is that people who use that tactic tend to be have a very strong need to have a feeling of belonging with others and they assume (at first) that it will hurt their victim just as much as it would hurt them. Any narcissist worth their salt would change their tack once they realized that particular mind game wasn’t working. That’s why they need to have a lot of weapons in their arsenal.

Putting a live huntsman spider on my head or dropping it down my blouse would have a more satisfying outcome for a narcissist. Let the fun begin!