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The “No Contact” Rule for Leaving a Narcissist

The No Contact Rule for leaving a narcissist means exactly what it states: no contact. No emails, no texts, no late night dial and hang-ups, no drive-by’s, no contacting by proxy via friends, no Facebook or date site stalking, no leaving notes on his car or apartment door, no sending letters by mail……NO NOTHING. And it’s fucking hard! That said, it is definitely not impossible. 

In my third book, Narcissist Free, I stress that No Contact also doesn’t apply only to when you leave the narcissist but also to when the narcissist leaves you which is more likely to happen in a Discard when you least expect it. When you’ve decided that enough is enough with his pathological relationship agenda…when you start daydreaming about being narcissist free of the anxiety…when you start doodling the words no contact all over the place….when you have all of these fine agendas in place but still can’t leave the narcissist and then he leaves you, you can still go no contact because you know he’ll be back someday – and when he does, you don’t have to be there. You can turn his silent treatment into no contact in the blink of an eye in your own mind – but you have to know the difference. In your mind, it has to be for good!

When normal relationships end, it isn’t always necessary to deliberately enforce a no contact rule. Typically, the relationship ends, and there is the usual heartbreak, maybe even some contact in between to tie up loose ends…but when a narcissist is involved, nothing is as it seems (because it was all smoke and mirrors anyway). Chances are you’ve always had that nagging, uncomfortable feeling anyway so it’s now time to erase him off the planet (hey, that sounds familiar – kinda like he does to you…yeah, that’s it!). The narcissist, as you know, will hoover or check back in periodically to make sure you’re still hanging around waiting to be his narcissistic supply again. He wants you to be suffering – that’s the whole point of the game.

The more you suffer, the more he knows you really care….the more alive he feels. Your misery is his lifeblood.

zari-ballard-consultNo contact allows us to breathe, to relax in our own skin, to realize that we are worthy individuals outside of the reality the narcissist creates for us. Even if he leaves you, that should mean for you no contact game on! And make sure the door hits him on the way out! Then, bolt down the hatches, put some compassionate girlfriends on speed dial, delete his email address, delete his phone number (he’ll probably be changing it anyway – my did it every single time!), and start the no contact agenda…one painful day at a time. Giving up the need for closure and cutting the asshole off at the knees is the only way to save the rest of your life. This is one situation where no pain, no gain is a truism!

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34 Comments

  • Sara

    November 26, 2015 at 8:07 pm Reply

    When you’re going through it, you can be blinded by your own love for them. When they begin ignoring you, your first instinct is to blame yourself. But 4 years later, time after time, you will catch on. Hopefully sooner if you listen carefully. Chances are they never listen to any of your concerns, it’s a relationship of illusions you desperately want to believe. But believe this…deep down they are in it for them and you don’t really matter. No matter how good you are to them it will NEVER BE RECIPROCATED and no matter how long you wait. Move on! Cry your eyes out find yourself in the other side of that long dark tunnel you’ve been living in and NEVER GO BACK. Or you will repeat it over and over until you can barely believe in love anymore.

    • Zari Ballard

      December 7, 2015 at 2:28 am Reply

      Hi Sara,

      Wise words that say it all! Thank you for sharing:)

      Zari xo

  • Rob

    September 21, 2015 at 7:04 am Reply

    Amazing, amazing, amazing

  • Moski

    June 30, 2015 at 10:40 pm Reply

    I went into the relationship with my ex warned by several people that he was not a nice person. It was hard to accept their allegations because he was amazing to me at first. It was intense. Great looking ex professional athlete, smart, sweet, witty…Prince Charming that totally adored me. What these well intended individuals couldn’t have known and it was months before i realized was that he was also: 1) an alcoholic 2) a cluster of cluster b disorders (narc, bpd, psychopath). What’s sad is even after witnessing the most bizarre behavior…I always took him back because we were heavily invested. Over the next 3 years I broke up with him numerous times because of his cheating, endless litany of lies, gaslighting only to give in when he came crawling back. The recent finale was horrifying even for him. Im going on 3 months of no contact which has it’s blessings. I’m enjoying my freedom, friends and family but im still angry at myself because I was stupid enough to be so deceived. Such betrayal is hard for me to understand since I was in his words “the love of his life”. Peace and resolve is probably a few more months away for me. I have good and bad days and moments when I really miss him. Reality is that there is no going back and I need to be strong enough to never let him and his evil into my world ever again. It’s so hard…even for a strong and informed woman. This site has been invaluable in educating me on his disorders. I see the patterns clearly now. The site also strengthens me when I get weak or doubt myself. Thank you for caring.

    • Zari Ballard

      July 14, 2015 at 3:52 pm Reply

      Hi Moski,

      Thank you for writing and I’m grateful that you found your way to my website. If you can, please download my book When Love Is a Lie from Amazon because I think it’s exactly what you need right now. We can’t beat ourselves up for having loved these people because, seriously, it wasn’t our fault. How were we supposed to know if we’d never experienced the dynamics of this kind of relationship. It’s not abnormal to assume that the person that we love and who supposedly loves us back is telling us the truth. Narcissists are very good at what they do or they wouldn’t be narcissists. They are very convincing. I can’t even count the times I took my back over and over rather than fathom that he really meant to do what he did! It can be a very passive-aggressive kind of evil.

      I apologize for taking so long to respond and I hope you are doing okay. Keep reading here and at similar sites and please do get the book if you can. It will give you a new perspective on the situation, I guarantee it.

      Stay strong and write anytime…I’m here to support you:)

      Zari xo

  • Amy

    June 4, 2015 at 3:37 am Reply

    How do I know I’m not the narc? He told me million times he doesn’t want me. But I kept chasing. He kept responding and when he responded it was like telling me there’s a chance I can edge my way back in or he would try again. After all, Why wouldn’t he just cut me off if he didn’t want me? Maybe I’m the one who was being that relentless returner who wouldn’t go away? He stopped responding to me days ago, so 1 day ago I finally gave up. He was really nasty to me but claims I was nasty to him which was true both ways. I just hope I’m not the narc in this. Although I’d love the chance to hang up on his call if he ever

    • Amy

      June 4, 2015 at 3:39 am Reply

      Tries contacting me again. Just to say bye I’m better than the lost soul u told me I am.

      Ugh.

      • Zari Ballard

        June 5, 2015 at 6:08 pm Reply

        Hi Amy,

        Oh my…ignore the bastard. PLEASE BLOCK HIM from being able to contact you so that this doesn’t happen. Until you do that, you will never be able to move forward. Block every access…phone, text, social media. if he writes, return to sender. It’s the only way!! if you can, read my book Narcissist Free which will help you get past this point and on with your life. No more!

        Stay strong!!

        Zari xoo

    • Zari Ballard

      June 5, 2015 at 5:55 pm Reply

      Hi Amy,

      No, you’re not the narc. I guarantee it. Please, if you can, download my book When Love Is a Lie from Amazon because it will confirm what I am saying. In this book, I explain my 13-year nightmare with a narcissistic boyfriend and the games that he played and how I reacted to every one. I did exactly what you did and he responded as well…that’s all part of it. Everything is about making us appear – even to ourselves – as the crazy one, the one who won’t leave them alone, the Drama Queen.

      I assure you…the way you are feeling right now is just what he intended. However, the truth is that YOU were never the problem.

      Zari xo

  • Annette Mercado

    May 13, 2015 at 6:20 pm Reply

    This website is a blessing to me! I go to sleep reading it and wake up reading it! Everything make so much sense! I have been with a Narcissists for 4yrs. The last draw was on Mothers day when i suspected something when he did not pick up phone and I called him on it. He had a blowout like always and. Allied me crazy all via text! Never returned my call but sent 45 nasty texts and broke up with me all via text! Keep in mind its Mothers day and I am a mother of two girls! Motherfucker had was ruthless and did not care! I never responded blocked everything! Been on my 3rd day of no contact and as I always predict his next move shows up at my home when I am at work dropping off a stairmaster machine! Woopy! Like i am suppose to be happy to be given a handme down! I blocked everything except text. So this is how i find out he was at my home. He says pick up phone as he knows he is blocked and couldn’t get through. Never responded to text and now i sit here at home and tell myself. The nerve to come by with no invitation. But then again that is him. He comes back like nothing wrong ever happened! He is mentally sick no remose. He has done this so many times. It makes me sick to my stomach. I don’t sleep for 3 days i go through the grieve and just when i am feeling relieved and feel strong he pops up. I just ordered your books. I am so feed up it dissent hurt anymore. Like I am jaded now and its ok to be treated like this. No its not fucking right!

    • Zari Ballard

      May 31, 2015 at 3:25 pm Reply

      Dear Annette,

      I apologize for taking so long to respond. I’m trying to catch up today and I’m typing like a mad woman. I wanted to say that your letter made me laugh right out loud because it, of course, resonated with me. Mine would disappear every October and not come back till right after New Years – he did this without fail FOR 13-YEARS! He made SURE to leave for all the holidays. I, too, spent many Mother’s Day crying because he’d vanish just days before. he changed his phone number so many times that I’d get confused as to what number he did have when he returned. Fuckers! Please…download my book When Love Is a Lie from Amazon and have a great laugh. We lived the same life with apparently the same guy. My book will empower you to stay strong when the inevitable tap comes at the front door. Mine would disappear…say, for a week…and then return, angry that the door was locked! It was ridiculous!

      And that sixth sense that they have, knowing the precise moment when you start to feel better so they can show back up – it’s not a psychic ability, IT’S DEMONIC! LOL Understand this and keep it in your mind: a narcissist only returns again and again to ensure that you never move on from the pain he has caused you. No matter what he says, understand that this is the ONLY reason. He is unfixable and incapable of loving anyone. It’s all a Lie and you deserve to be happy, girlfriend!

      Oh I just see that you ordered the book – please let me know what you think. You will see yourself on every page. Stay strong and write anytime you need to. I’m here to support you….

      Zari xo

  • Cara

    February 19, 2015 at 8:40 pm Reply

    I was in a situation two months before this last Christmas, some friends set me up with a friend. I found out later he was in Flordia the night he was texting me to meet me, getting to know each other, at his ex fiancé’s house. This was later I found this out, On first date November 7th Friday night went to eat, and the whole time ex kept texting him and he told me and did not reply. Then I go back to his place to meet my son and leave, he has pictures of him and his ex all over living room. I couldn’t get out of there fast enough, next day asked me out again, I said no. Told him that those picture were a red flag. He told me his daughter put those pictures out because the ex fiancé was like a mother to her, well they been broken up three years but he still went to see her some and she came down some too (8 hours). He then started with the Roses once a week, coming over once a week and then the promise ring at Thanksgiving and the diamonds to follow. I broke it off when I found out there was still communication with him and the ex fiancé. He claimed he told her stop. After Christmas things changed fast. He was back in contact with ex fiancé, using excuse that his daughter was living near by, she had run away to be with boyfriend. I broke up again, and he ran straight to flordia to see the ex using excuse about finding his daughter to bring home. Never did. Got back together two weeks later and then he dumped me right before Valentine’s Day, went back to ex in flordia. While together he would always defend the ex fiancé. He would get mad at me and blow up at me for being opinionated and he had a bad sex addiction. He hurt me so bad this last break up, was so ugly and mean to me. Two weeks later I get a text saying he found his daughter in Flordia and she was back home. I NEVER RESPONDED AND WON’T…..

    • Zari Ballard

      March 5, 2015 at 8:06 am Reply

      Hi Cara,

      Thank you for sharing and I hope you are doing well and sticking to No Contact. These monsters will stop at nothing to break us down but if we are aware of what’s happening and watch it happens with NO BLINDERS, we will prevail. Nothing is as important as the truth (something a narcissist knows NOTHING about) and these people will lie even when the truth is a better story. I, too, was dumped right before Valentines Day almost every single year for many, many years. Think about the intention of someone who does this and it can give you the chills. Hopefully, your ex is still in Florida making someone ELSE miserable (because, believe me, he is) and you are moving on to find your happiness.

      Stay strong and I’m sorry it took me so long to respond! Feel free to share anytime…I am here to support you:)

      Zari xo

  • Chachi

    February 3, 2015 at 7:35 pm Reply

    Hi Zari..I’ve written you before but I’m sure you already know this. I was doing fairly well, told the narc in my life exactly what I thought of him..really blew up at him and believed I was done with him and his bullshit. After a couple weeks passed, I began to feel really bad about the hateful things I said to him and I sent him a text and apologized. He thanked me and then said my christmas card was on it’s way..he is the only one who sent me a christmas card two days after christmas. I thought to myself, why bother now. Anyway, he turned 52 in January and I thought it would be a nice gesture to send him a birthday gift…even though he never even wished me a happy birthday on my birthday. I got him a 20 dollar gift cad to walmart and felt bad as he told me he was turning his cell phone off as he needed a new card and couldn’t afford it and that he wanted me to write him a letter instead to let him know how I made out with my surgery of having my gallbladder taken out. So, I sent him 20 dollars along with the walmart gift card. As for my surgery, I wrote him telling him how it went and thought he cared and would reply back. I got no letter. He got my gifts on a thurday. By Saturday I had still not heard from him…no thank you for the gifts..no reply about my surgery. So, saturday night i sent him a text asking him if he got the gifts. Oh yeah, I opened the cards last night, thank you. Was very thoughtful of you. I thought to myself, you had all night friday and all day saturday to thank me and u didn’t. but, I bit my tounge and let it go. The next day I was angry that he had not thanked me on his own, that I had to ask him if he got the gifts and sent him a text saying i bet you would never have thanked me for the gifts if i hadnt asked if u got them and you wouldnt have inquired about my surgery if I hadn’t told you once again how it went. He texted me back saying, I don’t know what you want from me, I’m damned if I do talk to you and I’m damned if I don’t. I don’t like getting into long conversations with you as it always ends in a fight and it’s a lose lose situation 4 the both of us. I told him I wasn’t looking for a fight. Out of frustration, I wrote him a long letter and said I always initiate the conversations and I feel he only talks to me by texting me back because he doesn’t want to hurt my feelings and tell me he doesnt wanna be friends. I said that’s it, isn’t it? You don’t want to be friends. Two days pass and it’s snowing out…we got about 3 inches but it was enough for the roads to be slippery. He texts me without me texting him first. He says ” if you pick me up now, I will spend a few hours with you”. I was on facebook at the time and told my friends and they all said don’t go, he wont care if your in an accicdent, the roads are bad. So, I ignored his text and said nothing. Ten minutes pass and he texts me again saying ” once in a lifetime…” Again, I say nothing and ignore him…he’s always ignoring my text messages when he doesn’t know what to say so two can play at that game. Fast forward two days…now we have a blizzard here in the northeast. I always stay with my older sister whenever there is a storm and the narc knows this. I am outside during the blizzard shoveling and all of a sudden this eskimo comes out of nowhere and starts talking to me saying” having fun shoveling the snow” and it was the narc in my life! He walked 7 miles in a blizzard and he said he wanted to see if I was staying at my sisters so he thought he’d walk there to see. I told him he is crazy to be out walking in a blizzard and he laughs and said it’s the best time to walk, no cars on the roads. We stood there and talked like old friends. There was no mention of the text messages that I ignored two days earlier. After 30 minutes he said he had to be on his way and I said i’d text him later to see if he got home ok. So, I did. And he texted me back saying he was home safe, thank you for your concern. Then said he was going to go shower so we ended our texting for the day.I was flattered that he walked all that way in a blizzard to see if I was at my sisters. I began to think, he DOES care about me, he DOES like me. Foolishly, I text him a couple days later and ask him if he would join me for dinner at this chinese restaurant I go to every friday night. I said I would pay for the meal and drinks. The narc loves to drink…booze. I thought, he wont turn this offer down. I said i would pick him up and bring him home immediately after dinner unless he wanted to go back to my place…big mistake saying that as it gave the impression I wanted sex and what I meant was for us to go to my place and sit and talk and have a few laughs. Anyway, the narc says ” BIG PILL to swallow. have to think about it. wasn’t expecting that from you”. I tell him take all the time you need to think it over, no pressure. Well, two days pass and he has not texted me with an answer. So I text him. He says my sister and my ex girlfriend both say you are looking for a fight. I don’t trust your motives, I’m sorry. I became angry and my blood pressure went up. Then it turned into a fight. He ended it by saying ” it’s an endless fight, it’s over”. And he stopped texting me. I was extremely upset and felt like throwing in the towel…all I wanted was his company at dinner…and I told him that/ I told him I didnt mean anything sexual about going to my place, just wanted to shoot the shit. Even said he could bring a friend to dinner. He said nothing back to me. I called my sister and told her I felt like taking a bunch of Percocets that I had left over from my surgery. said I didn’t want to feel the pain anymore, can’t beleive he’s hurt me AGAIN. so tired of him hurting me over and over. He wants me to kill myself, he wants my very soul. My sister came over and sat and talked with me for an hour. Then she took me to the hospital where I spoke with a crisis councelor. The councelor told me the narc in my life doesnt want a relationship from me..all he wants is small talk. When he sees you in public he talks to you because it’s the polite thing to do. He respects you and doesnt want to hurt you. He didnt want to use you and thats why he didnt go to dinner and back to your place. I felt better after talking to the councelor and went back to my sisters and stayed the nite at her house. I sent the narc one last text. I said ” this is the last time you will hear from me. You want small talk and I want more. Friendship. and to love and be loved back. I am getting a new phone. I am letting you go. You don’t want my friendship and dont want to hurt my feelings.I can’t have ANY contact with you in order for me to let go and move on completely so please forgive me the next time our paths cross and I avoid you. I will never forget you. See you in the afterlife. When I got home I wanted to give his sister and his ex girlfriend a piece of my mind for getting involved and for telling the narc to end it with me…I wrote them on facebook and told them both I wanted to go to dinner and have his company, I wasn’t trying to pick a fight with him. Etc. I called his ex girlfriend a drunk C*nt among other things. I know they arent back together dating cuz on facebook her status is single. But, he sees her daily as he drops off an elderly man at a place she works as a CNA at. I can only imagine the shit he has said about me to his ex and to his sister whom he lives with. They have brainwashed him against me. He has no mind of his own I guess. Zari, I’m trying my best to break all contact with him. Well, Saturday at 7: 30 his ex read my message on facebook. At 10:45 that same night, the narc sends me a text. Says my sister and my ex girlfriend told me ” IT’S OVER, END IT WITH HER NOW. SHE WILL GET USED TO IT”
    I say nothing back to him as I have already told him the last text I sent was the last time he would hear from me. 5 Minutes pass and he texts me again saying ” I HAVE NO CHOICE, THEY WILL KILL ME” I ignore his text. then he says ” they are screaming AT ME TELLING ME TO END IT WITH YOU. i AM BEWILDERED. I continue to ignore his texts. He says it hurts. then he says in another text you are a woman of understanding so I find solice in that. Thank you chachi. another text,We tried, chachi. Then at midnight he said ” phone off till next week, goodnight”. Which tells me he is running low on minutes on his cell phone as he doesnt have unlimited texting like I do. I said nothing at all to anyone of his texts…it was SO hard for me to not say anything but I know I must have NO CONTACT now…for my own sanity. I know the hardest day is yet to come. I will hear from him again…maybe when he gets more minutes and can text again. Or maybe I won’t hear from him for months from now. But, He ALWAYS waltzes back into my life when HE wants to. It’s always on his terms. We both love to walk and I know it’s only a matter of time where I am out walking and he will be as well and he will strike up a conversation and make his small talk and act as if we are best buddies, like nothing ever happened ..like we never had an argument. I told his sister and his ex to mind their fucking business, that he has a mind of his own. But, apparently, he DOESN’T. He is letting the two of them dictate to him who he can and cannot talk to. Who the fuck are they to tell him to end it??????To tell him he MUST detach himself from me. My sisters think they are jealous of me for some reason and are insecure as well. I wish I understood why he sent me the text asking me to pick him up, that he would spend a few hours with me..once in a lifetime….why say that? Why lead me on? That wasn’t an answer to the letter I had wrote him. And when I say nothing, he decides to get my attention by walking to my sisters in a fucking blizzard??????????????? What the hell is he trying to prove??? That he’s fucking nuts? One of my sisters says he’s stalking you. She is the one who also believes his sister and his ex girlfriend are jealous of me. I wonder how he is feeling since I ignored all those texts saturday night. I hear narc’s hate to be ignored. It makes me wonder what he is gonna do next…he will up the antics to get the attention he is wanting. I dont know why he said ” my phone will be off til next week, goodnight” does he think I will text him between now and then?????????? It’s as if he didn’t comprehend the last text I sent him where I told him it was the last time he’d hear from me. what does he want from me??????? hasn’t he hurt me enough? and can’t he think for himself????????? shit, my sisters tell me what to do too but, I don’t listen to them, I do what I want. he has gotten so many outsiders involved and they all think I am always picking a fight with him. I don’t GET that part. How is asking him to dinner picking a fight? I wish I knew what he wants from me. Some say he wants nothing from me. But if that’s true, why the fuck did he spend an hour and fifteen minutes saturday nighht sending me numerous text messages? all I know is I MUST CONTINUE TO IGNORE HIM AND CONTINUE NO CONTACT. God, I pray I am strong enough to stick to it this time…so sorry this post was so long…I didn’t want to leave anything out

    • Zari Ballard

      February 15, 2015 at 7:25 am Reply

      Hi Chachi,

      Yes, of course I know who you are and I’m grateful for the update. But this, again, shows you what an asshole and master manipulator this guy is and always has been in your life. I, too, pray that you are strong enough to stick it out. When you told him that he just wants to be friends and you want more, that is the bottom line. He’s just not the type of guy who would ever give that to you or it already would have happened. Please stay strong and do not contact him anymore…not for a holiday, a birthday, or to give him updates on your situation. Oh and I hope you didn’t do anything for Valentines!!!

      And you can’t keep trying to figure out why he does what he does (i.e. walked to your sister’s…although your description of him coming out of the snow like an eskimo was pretty funny) because nothing narcs do make sense. We can’t even begin to explain their twisted behaviors. Keep strong girlfriend and let this be the last time he can ever affect you in any way. Block him and do not contact him again!

      Love always,

      Zari

      • Chachi

        February 15, 2015 at 8:08 pm Reply

        Hi Zari..I have a safelink wireless cell phone and unfortunately, they don’t have a block number feature. I continued to ignore him and he began texting me at one in the morning trying to get a reaction out of me. After three nights of this, I caved in and told him to stop harassing me and to stop texting me. Again, he would text me the next day at 6 am just to say he is getting a new phone and he wont be texting me anymore…so then I would tell him again to leave me alone and stop texting and harassing me. He tried saying I am the one who initiates the conversations and I told him, Ed, you texted me when I’ve told you over and over to leave me alone!! He tried saying I am always looking for a fight but it’s him who does that. Finally, after I told him six different times to leave me alone, he finally stopped. It was like he had to have that last word. I know I will hear from him again so I’ve got to stay strong and not give him that contact he wants. When I run into him in the future when I am out walking, my brother in law told me to not say a word to him and just keep on walking…walk right past him…as if he isn’t standing there in front of me…he said that will bust his balls the most. I told ed I cant have ANY contact with him in order for me let go completely but I don’t think he gets it. I know how he thinks..when he’s had enough space, he will hoover all over again. THAT’S when I will have to ignore him the most

        • Zari Ballard

          February 23, 2015 at 11:17 pm Reply

          Hi Chachi,

          You’ve got the right idea. Now just stay on the right track and you’ll be fine. This guy has never been good for you and was a predator from the start many many years ago. Just because, for whatever reason, he is finally starting to give you some attention now after all this time, it is negative attention. You don’t deserve that for sure and you certainly don’t want that, right? Let it go and just keep going on your way. You’ve been doing so great and he has no right to ruin it. It’s seems that’s all he knows how to do!

          Stay strong!

          Zari xo

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