The narcissist's fantasy world

 Narcissists live in their own "fantasy world". Narcissism is a continuum disorder. There are healthy levels of narcissm. The person that I had maintained contact with was a malignant narcissist, also known as a sociopath. These types of narcissists live in a fantasy world so, they can "reinvent" a false self. They try to invent someone people would look up to like a war hero, or a person who might have participated in helping during a disaster such as 9/11. The "false self " is the character that they have invented. Unbeknownst to those close to the narcissist, this character is just a charade. The narcissist will tell lies to build up the character and attract admiration and attention. The narcissist knows if their "true self" were to be discovered that the charade would be up and their "fantasy world" shattered. They will go to great lengths to keep the charade up, such as silencing the victim through verbal assaults (narcisstic rage) and threatening them. They will also become involved in smear campaigns, claiming the victim is psychologically ill, or a drug addict, or alcoholic. The irony in this, as that these things are exactly what the malignant narcissist's "true self" is composed of. It is called "projection". They project all their maladies onto their victim and take on the role of victim. Pity is one of the best weapons in their arsenal. My ex is a "psycho", she makes up all these things about me. She just wants me back....etc, anything to discredit the real victim and be able to keep the "false self" intact. This projection will also be part of the Narcissits bait for a new victim. Now, that the Narcissist has projected all his bad traits onto someone else, he feels good about himself. First, he has defeated his victim by blaming her for everything, and believed he has "won" over her by verbally assaulting her to her face and to anyone else that will listen. Secondly the Narcissist now feels good enough to try and procure a new victim, one that has never been privy to his narcisstic tirades, his pathological lying and webs of deception. He will also play the "pity" card to aid in this procurement of a new supply of a fresh victim. You will notice that most Narcissists have a series of short lived, superficial relationships. As soon as their "true self" emerges the devaluation and discard stages begin. He will do anything and everything to protect his "false self" and since he lacks empathy and a conscience, that means discarding anyone he feels threatened by like a piece of used chewing gum.

Here is a good article describing traits of those with Narcissistic personality disorder
http://newsandtribune.com/columns/x519390954/JOHNSON-A-narcissist-s-world