More Warning Signs to Avoid this Type of Guy in a Relationship

He is obsessed with his image and status symbols.

A narcissist has been socialized to identify with a judgmental social system where love is given or withheld based on external criteria. If you're beautiful, thin and smart, you will be loved. If not, forget it.

Therefore, a narcissist is obsessed with his physical image. He will spend hours at the gym, salon and tanning spa to maintain an image of perfection he believes is essential to his survival. He is preoccupied with status symbols, designer labels, expensive homes and fancy cars. He has an external locus of control and only feels alive when validated by the outside world.

He craves attention from others and if he doesn't get it, he feels dead inside. This is because he has no real sense of self.

He becomes controlling or overly-possessive early on in the relationship.

As you know, a narcissist is very insecure. He projects a puffed-up ego in order to overcompensate for his lack of self. He appears confident, but deep down, he is quite the opposite.

Therefore, he will come on strong in the beginning. You will notice he has a need to control and possess you very early on in the relationship. He will text and call you frequently and expect you to respond to him immediately. If you do not respond timely to him, he will lose interest

A narcissist wants to be with someone who will cater to his needs and stroke his ego at all times. He may ask you to be exclusive with him much sooner than you would expect.

He lacks empathy

The key indicator of narcissism is lack of empathy. The only feelings a narcissist experiences are the primal gut instincts we all need to survive, such as fear and rage.

A narcissist lives in his own reality and sees others as nothing more than objects to be used for his benefit. The bottom line is it's all about him….nothing more, but certainly nothing less. A narcissist cares for no one but himself. However, he is smart enough to know this is not normal or healthy

Therefore, he mimics emotions and fakes empathy in order to hide this from you. Watch closely, you will begin to see his lack of empathy when he is tired, his defenses are down or when you are sick or in distress.

Listen to Lisa E. Scott at http://www.AllAboutHim.com where you can follow her on her weekly radio show - All About Him - building awareness on narcissism, offering advice on spotting a narcissist, and a support group call the Vain Forum, which is a message board and blog to help women get out of their narcissistic relationships that are holding them back.