Adult Copycat Narcissists
The most extreme adult copycat narcissists I dealt with have gone to great extremes to keep me a part of their lives. Some have set up shop as me on social media. Others adopted my style of dress, mannerisms, and personality traits in the hopes that they would exude to others whatever it is they believed I had about myself that could draw the same types of reactions from others. Still, others believed that they could replace me in my absence only to be told by others that they simply did not have the same spark as me to embody whatever they were attempting to carry on without me.
Examples of Copycat Narcissists
The Sinister Minister
The narcissist I dubbed The Sinister Minister copied me under the guise of becoming my best friend. I should have known something was off when no more than a week or two into our getting to know each other phase she was claiming me as her best friend. I could not even say the same about her because it simply was not true. She was moving our friendship to the fast and furious zone, and in no time, I found her copying aspects about my personality I had not even had time to share with her yet.
We worked together, but for some reason, she did not want colleagues to know that we were good friends. She always kept her distance from me unless I could serve a purpose for her. I did not catch on to this at first until I began to notice how she went from love bombing outside of work to subtly devaluing me with narcissistic jabs and digs while we were at work or around colleagues. Yet, she would tell colleagues that she aimed “to be like me”. In fact, she would say she aimed to be like me all the time. The more I heard her say this, the more ingenuine her words became. I actually felt like she was subtly mocking me.
As our so-called friendship progressed, so did her need to copy me. I never completely understood this. This lady is remarkably attractive, married, and extremely creative. Yet, figuratively, I could not move an inch without her attempting to move with me. She would go out of her way to purchase material things that I possessed just so she could say that she possessed the same thing, and if I did not have something, then she would belabor the point on why I needed to have it. If I objected, which I most often did, she would preach about how I was wrong or would regret it later and then punish me with her many phone games of hang-ups, silent treatments, and faulty phone troubles.
The Sinister Minister was sinister in her narcissistic abuse tactics against me. She clearly wanted me to be beneath her even though she copied me. Yet, when I decided to relinquish my duties on the job and resign, she reacted in devastation. She basically told me that I had foiled her plans. I was dumbfounded.
According to her, I should not have given up so easily [just as another narcissist had said to me], but I was certain this was only because she would have to find a new source of supply that she could copy, paste, and repeat. With me not being around, I believe she knew that I would eventually no longer want to entertain her as a friend, and fortunately for me, that is exactly what happened. I let go of her as a friend.
In fact, her behavior towards me became more contentious to the point that I felt suffocated by her. She attempted to insert herself in my neighborhood because she claimed that she wanted to be a part of it. She actually joined my neighborhood through an app even though she lives many miles away from my neighborhood. This narcissist told me out of her own mouth that she wanted to see what it was like to live as me. She wanted to have the chance to interact with my neighbors as me.
Strangely, this was not the first time I heard her say this either, but something in the way her voice sounded the last time she said it caused me to pause and take a deep listen to the alarm ringing inside of me. I noticed that something about her entire demeanor had changed during this time too. The love she professed to have for me felt more like her hatred of me. In the end, I cut her out of my life with a swiftness, and I never looked back.
The Identity Thief
Another narcissist I call The Identity Thief was notorious for copying me. She stole my life stories and recanted them to other people as her own life stories. She frequently posted whatever I said to her onto her social media page as if she had said it. No one was the wiser because we did not share the same friendship circle. In fact, she made sure that I did not know any of her friends because had I met them, she would have had to portray herself as someone else while in their presence. She could not very well be me with me there. Her cover would have been blown.
It was The Identity Thief who frequently talked about me living with her. Although she is married, she would talk about how she was closer to me than to her own husband. She literally said that she wished that she could “have me all to herself at all times.” At first, I took her to mean that she found companionship in me because of the feminine aspect of our friendship … that there was some type of bond she could not get from her husband, but the more she talked about me being an integral part of her life, the more I realized she was literally attempting to establish a weird dominance over me.
I never sensed that The Identity Thief had romantic feelings for me at all, but I did believe that there was something clingy and even psychotic about her behavior. When it appeared to her that I was advancing in areas of my life, she kicked up her mimicry times one hundred against me. She went into overdrive by copying and monitoring everything I did to the point that I had my car and home checked to make sure that she did not have a tracking device monitoring my movements. I felt like she was stalking me.
Because of my interactions with The Identity Thief during the greatest moments of her mimicry, I felt pressured into making a choice to stand my ground in keeping my identity intact. I almost had a nervous breakdown when I once walked out into the waiting room of therapy to see that she had become a client of my therapist … stealing my original timeslot in an attempt to keep tabs on me. For me, that was the last straw. I also lost trust in my therapist because The Identity Thief was always a topic of my sessions. Despite confidentiality, I did not trust that the therapist would not have been conned by this narcissist into giving up details about my sessions.
I was glad to finally go no contact from this narcissist. I felt like we had a long enduring friendship, but what we had was a toxic trauma bond or soul tie. I cut myself away from her because I finally realized that her empty promises to change were simply empty promises. I no longer wanted to be a part of her life, and I no longer wanted her to be a part of my life. Out of all the toxic connections, this one seemed to be the one I teetered back and forth with breaking away from because The Identity Thief was such a covertly malignant and manipulative schemer. Plus, I had known her the longest. I did consider her a friend who really was not my friend. I guess I was just too comfortable with the familiar.
The Professional Gaslighting Narcissist
The Professional Gaslighting Narcissist copied me just to one-up me. She could not stand to see me have anything that she did not have in her possession. This also included my personality traits. She did everything she possibly could to sabotage me on the job because she was unable to make my personality her own. Because she could not control me, she did all that she could to destroy me. She allegedly created circumstances that would lead to an attempt of my untimely demise.
With her, all I ever had to do was mention something I had an interest in doing. Then, not a moment afterward, she was already on top of my interest attempting to make it her own. In fact, I always knew when she was ready to pounce on anything I had to say. I could literally see the wheels turning within her eyes. Her eyes would become wild and transfixed, and right in those moments I could see the plots of her schemes developing right before my own eyes. Nothing seemed to excite her more than to copy me. When any of her attempts against me failed, she was never able to hide the disappointment in her eyes.
I love the travel, and I will often take solo trips. My favorite types of trips are solo road trips. Although she takes road trips, she always has family in tow. I often have no choice but to travel alone because it is just me. I will never forget a road trip I took that trailed nearly 1400 miles and took me three days. As a precautionary measure, I texted her periodically to let her know of my whereabouts and that I was safe. Of course, at the time, I had no reason to believe that she was anyone other than my friend [before I realized she is a narcissist]. So texting her throughout the trip was something we both thought was a good idea.
When I returned from the trip and described elements of the trip to her and two other people, I noticed how her facial expression seemed gutted with anguish. The other two people could not believe I was so brave and bold to travel alone. When I saw the PGN’s reaction, I literally toned down the details of my trip in an attempt to make it less exciting. It was not until I had mentioned that if it were not for keeping her notified of my whereabout during the trip, I may not have been as safe. When I said this, her face beamed because in some way, this mean that she had been a part of a trip that I had taken even though I was alone.
Narcissists Can Copy But Never Replace The Original
The truth of the matter is that each of us has individual characteristics that make us unique. Narcissists can copy us, but they can never replace the originality of who we are as individuals.
Narcissists can copy all of the aspects of our personality, but they will never be able to duplicate the essence of what makes us who we are.
You are original, and you will be forever you.
My Voice Unchained 