The Consequences of Ignoring Those Narcissistic Red Flags

The Consequences of Ignoring Those Narcissistic Red Flags

There was a time when red flags were just colorful and things I figured I had no control over – particularly when I was a child living under the roof of my narcissistic family’s rules. Yet, as I grew older, red flags were warnings that I could not often ignore when they were glaring loudly right at me. To ignore those red flags was to incur the punitive damages that went along with them, and there were many.

Just speaking from my experience, one of the major consequences of ignoring those narcissistic red flags is that I have remained in narcissistically abusive situations longer than I wanted to be in them. If I had addressed the red flags as I saw them, I would have saved myself so much more time than having to linger in situations that I wanted to be free from sooner.

Most narcissists that I went no contact from resulted from me being in situations for too long and being pushed to the limit to make a decision. By this point, my energy reserves had been spent, and I was too exhausted to even care anymore regarding what happened (even though I did care). I just no longer wanted to put up with the intense drama that narcissists always swept into my life.

Another consequence of ignoring red flags is that future warnings became harder to see or hear because I was so accustomed to ignoring them in the first place. It is one thing to get burned because I do not see the heat coming at me, but it is another thing to see the heat and still get burned because I do not avoid what I know is coming. Repeatedly disregarding the warnings always led to my discernment becoming weaker. I found myself questioning more because the answers I needed were no longer clear to me.

Still another consequence of ignoring red flags is that I found myself facing more issues with other people with narcissistic traits … so that when it rained, it surely poured, and all problems I faced felt compounded. I found myself unable to escape the drama these narcissists and other toxic characters would bring into my life until I faced the issues head on.

Ignoring those narcissistic red flags has been costly on so many levels all while ruining my peace and sense of safety. Now, I am much more watchful and careful about discerning the intent of the people who come across my path. I realize that my life is only a priority for me, and I need to honor it and take care of it for a long time to come.