It’s true that the longer you’re around a narcissist, the more you learn about their patterns of behaviour. The person they portrayed when you first met them is not who they really are. So if you find yourself in this situation, what’s the best way to proceed?

“If you are dealing with a narcissist that you can’t cut ties with, it is important to understand that they will never change, nor will they ever be able to see the damage their behaviour causes,” says Davies. “Narcissists don’t know what they’re doing or why they do it. They also don’t know how to stop or change their behaviour.”

With a narcissist, he says, it’s important to understand that they can’t love you back in the same way as you love them: “Narcissists are unable to see beyond themselves and what they need at any given moment. They don’t consider how their actions affect others and they don’t care about anyone but themselves.”

However, as Fraser advises, it’s important to stop focusing on the narcissist. Stop analysing their behaviours and trying to figure them out and shift the focus onto you and your wellbeing instead.

“We can’t change them, but what we can change is how we feel about them,” she stresses. “They will continue to do what they have always done, but if we take responsibility for ourselves and our healing and take care of those buttons they are pushing, there won’t be any buttons left to push. They’ll have to find someone else to do it with, but it won’t be you.”

Do narcissists actually care about other people? 3 experts break down the psychology