So, sort of an amusing discussion happened this morning in my SPAN group. One of my admins said that having gone to the dentist proved to be more enjoyable than actually hanging out with her toxic narcissist.
That sparked her idea of a blog post entitled “Things I’d Rather Do Than Hang Out With a Narcissist,” which is here – and it also led me to create this video (remainder of post is below the video).
This post is a list of activities submitted by members of the group as well as from another group of clients I polled today.
- Go to the dentist
- Clean the bathroom
- Watch TV
- Work
- Sleep
- Hang out with literally almost anyone else
- Give my dog his ear medicine
- Hang out alone
- Cut my toenails
- Dye my hair
- Do the dishes
- Sweep the floor
- Mop the floor
- Do laundry (even the folding part)
- Take a bath
- Give my dogs baths
- Mow the lawn
- Clean the rain gutters
- Pack my crap
- Clean my room
- Make my bed
- Stand on my head
- Take a long, hot shower
- Talk to a bill collector on the phone
- Redecorate my neighbor’s house
- Get a mammogram
- Go to a PTA meeting
- Go to the grocery store
- Drive around in my car, singing at the top of my lungs
- Go yard-sale-ing.
- Swim.
- Ski.
- Dance.
- Scrapbooking.
- Watch YouTube videos.
- Learn to sew.
- Reorganize my pantry.
- Shop for tools.
- Fill out long, tedious forms.
- Get my legs waxed.
- Climb a hill.
- Ride a horse.
- Trim the weeds around my sidewalk.
- Paint the fence.
- Scrub the sink.
- Alphabetize my spices.
- Learn a difficult language – like Japanese.
- Clean the vents.
- Edit a photo.
- Scroll through my Facebook timeline.
- Tweet strangers.
- Fill up shopping carts on my favorite sites but never buy anything.
- Take online classes.
- Start a club.
- Feed my kid’s whole class for dinner.
- Go to the gyno.
- Run up and down the stairs 100 times.
- Go roller skating with my kids.
- Squats.
- Bake a cake.
- Carve a turkey.
- Brush my hair.
- Do 100 pushups.
Okay, that’s my list for today. What would you add? What are some things you would rather do than hang out with a toxic narcissist? Share your thoughts and experiences in the comments below.
Related articles
Angela Atkinson is a Certified Life Coach and the author of more than 20 books on narcissism, narcissistic abuse recovery and related topics. A recognized expert on narcissism and narcissistic personality disorder who has studied and written extensively on narcissistic relationships since 2006, Atkinson was inspired to begin her work as a result of having survived toxic relationships of her own.
Atkinson offers trauma-informed coaching and has certifications in life coaching, level 2 therapeutic model, CBT coaching, integrative wellness coaching, and NLP. She is a certified trauma support coach and certified family trauma professional. She also has a professional PTSD counseling certification. Her mission is to help those who have experienced the emotional and mental devastation that comes with narcissistic abuse in these incredibly toxic relationships to (re)discover their true selves, stop the gaslighting and manipulation and move forward into their genuine desires – into a life that is exactly what they choose for themselves.
Along with her solution-focused life coaching experience, Atkinson’s previous career in journalism and research helps her to offer both accurate and understandable information for survivors of abuse in a simple-to-understand way that helps to increase awareness in the narcissistic abuse recovery community. Atkinson founded QueenBeeing.com Narcissistic Abuse Recovery Support, the SPANily Narcissistic Abuse Recovery Support Groups and the Life Makeover Academy. In her life coaching practice, Atkinson’s clients enjoy her personalized approach that allows and encourages them to become the best possible versions of themselves and to succeed in doing what they love most. She offers individual and group coaching for victims and survivors of narcissistic abuse at NarcissisticAbuseRecovery.Online and NarcissismSupportCoach.com.
