Hoovering is a manipulation tactic used to “suck” victims back into toxic relationship cycles. Someone who hoovers fears that their target will “get away” from them, so they may engage in love bombing, feigning crises, stalking, or smear campaigns in order to suck up all their target's time, energy, and attention.
They will use hoovering to manipulate you back into a relationship. For example, they may promise to change, threaten you with self-harm or suicide, or proclaim their love for you (even though they have struggled to show their feelings before).
The Five Reasons That Narcissists Hoover
They have an insecure need to be accepted by society. To feed their insecure need for power and control. They are addicted to the highs and lows of a dysfunctional relationship. To regain control of the narcissistic supply.
Coined after the Hoover vacuum, hoovering is a calculating scheme commonly used by narcissists to "suck" you up into their orbit and get you back into their life. It's an energetically draining dynamic that perpetuates a toxic pattern of idealization, devaluation, and discardment.
Scott goes on to explain that phrases like, 'Call me back or I'm going to take these pills,' 'I'm coming to your house if you don't respond to my text' and, 'I'm so upset, I really need you,' are all examples of hoovering, especially when the other person has made it clear they're trying to disengage from further ...
Controlling the topic of conversation
A conversational narcissist will do their best to limit the discussion to topics where they are knowledgeable and can take up the most airtime. If the conversation strays to other subject matter, Durvasula says, they tend to disengage incredibly quickly and visibly.
"You're a bad person." "Nobody else will ever love you." "I'm the best you'll ever have." "Have fun being alone for the rest of your life."
The best way to deal with hoovering is to cut all contact with the narcissist. This may be difficult, but it's the only way to protect yourself from their manipulative behaviour and psychological abuse. If you're currently experiencing hoovering from a narcissist, you need to steel yourself not to respond.
At the end of a relationship, narcissists may become combative, passive-aggressive, hostile, and even more controlling. People with NPD often fail to understand other people's needs and values. They are hyper focused on their egos, but do not account for how their actions affect others.
It's a form of abuse where you Hoover yourself.
The term is coined from the famous Vacuum Cleaner, often referring to the abuser trying to “suck” you back into the abuse.
No matter how low the narcissist in your life might make you feel, if you're fulfilling their needs in some way, they want you about. Being highly skilled in manipulation, they will do all they can to reel you back in, including hoovering.
A true narcissist is unlikely to become an empathic and selfless individual. However, if a narcissist believes their behavior is harmful to others and themselves, wants to change, and is willing to actively participate in therapy, some change can occur.
If you first try ignoring them, they will probably doubt your endurance and ability to stay strong. They will engage a combination of hoovering tactics- sweet talking, gaslighting, reaching out to others- all to get you back into their orbit.
A monumental weakness in the narcissist is the failure to look internally and flesh out what needs to be worked on. Then, of course, the next step is to spend time improving. The narcissist sabotages any possibility of looking deep within.
When a narcissist has their hoover rejected it contradicts their sense of self, bruises their ego, and triggers their need for narcissistic supply. You can expect to experience a lot of rage, but if you maintain firm boundaries, you'll be able to escape their abuse, rebuild your sense of self, and successfully heal.
Some of the most common weird things covert narcissists do to manipulate their victims include: hoovering, gaslighting, guilt-tripping, love bombing etc. This post will help you understand the covert narcissist better.
One effective way that a narcissist can draw someone back into their realm is to say, “I love you.” If you're especially important to a narcissist, they'll say and do just about anything to get you back, including using those powerful three words.
The yellow rock method is a spin on the gray rock method. It involves adding some niceties to gray rock communication. Its name comes from the idea that a yellow rock appears friendlier, warmer and more inviting than a gray rock.
Examples of narcissistic rage range from intense outbursts and sudden fits of anger, to passive-aggressive acts such as simmering resentment, icy silence, deliberate neglect, or cutting sarcasm.
They mimic your behaviour and ignore you right back – at first, a narcissist won't try to reach out and find out why you're ignoring them because they don't care about your feelings. They will want to 'one-up' you by doing more of the same or at a higher intensity. This is them trying to reassert their power.
Here are some narcissism red flags to look out for: Lacking empathy. They seem unable or unwilling to have empathy for others, and they appear to have no desire for emotional intimacy. Unrealistic sense of entitlement.
Overview. Narcissistic personality disorder is a mental health condition in which people have an unreasonably high sense of their own importance. They need and seek too much attention and want people to admire them. People with this disorder may lack the ability to understand or care about the feelings of others.
They don't stop talking
Since narcissists are constantly seeking approval and favor from their audience, Behary says their constant talking will sound more like a lecture than a conversation. "There's so much showing off and wanting to appear to be very smart, special, knowledgeable, and intuitive," she explains.