A Brief Synopsis on The Dark Triad

I'll preface this by saying; I am a narcissist. For years, I have struggled to understand my own psychology and my own predatory tendencies to the people around me. Part of my methodology for protecting the people I care about is by explaining how narcissism appears in the context of any sort of relationship. However, there is an area of 'dark psychology' that goes beyond strictly narcissism and is called the 'Dark Triad'.

The 'Dark Triad' consists of three key personality traits that I am going to touch on briefly. If you find yourself in a relationship questioning the intentions of your partner, keep a copy of this handy. It may save your life in more ways than one.

The 'Dark Triad" is composed of narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy. I'll touch on the key aspects of each briefly.

Narcissism

• They have self worth which goes above and beyond what most would consider normal, sometimes going so far as to believe they are truly the most important person in the world and all other people are inferior in some way.
• They literally believe they are a better species of person. This characteristic often makes me think back to Hitler and the Nazi regime.
• If you are dealing with a narcissist, they will have rapidly changing behavior that follows their current self-image.
• Narcissists cannot deal with any sort of criticism or dissent and will often become angry or malicious when challenged in this way.
• They have a need for constant praise and will tailor their lives in a way which maximizes the praise they obtain from the people around them.

Psychopathy

• Superficial charm characterizes psychopaths. Get the picture of the crazy killer out of your head. It's wrong. A true psychopath is charming, handsome, well-groomed and can easily convince you that they are worth your time. It is all fake.
• Psychopaths lack many of the most common human emotions such as empathy, compassion and remorse.
• These people are able to hide their intentions from almost everybody. What they verbalize is often far from their true desire.

Machiavellianism

• These people will focus on themselves almost exclusively.
• They are obsessed with self-image and their biggest concern will be how they appear to others.
• People with Machiavellian personalities always have a strategy or some end-goal with the way they approach life and ask themselves "how will this action benefit me and how will it impact my public image".
• They tend to exercise power and cruelty over compassion.

While each of these personality traits can be devastating to a relationship, they can be quite dangerous as well. Each of these people are capable of physical harm and are almost guaranteed to cause emotional harm. Occasionally, you will come across a person with all three of these personality traits or a combination of any two. It is a dangerous situation and one that should be discussed with whatever support you have in place.

Narcissists, psychopaths and Machiavellian personalities are all masters of manipulation. They will do whatever they can to accomplish their self-interests. The hardest thing you will ever do, is accept that someone you care about exhibits these behaviors because it will forever change the dynamics of whatever relationship you are in. Remember, your own health and wellbeing must be considered, no matter how unimportant it may seem at the time.

Hopefully this helps someone in some situation they have no control over. It is rare that someone recognizes their shortcomings and flawed personality and can make changes to counteract the behavior. It takes active work for many years. Ultimately, the most important factor you need to consider in these circumstances is your own safety or the safety of others involved, such as children.