Covert Narcissism and Fight or Flight: 8 Tools for Lowering Your Baseline (Part 2)

Covert narcissism doesn't just create crisis moments — it leaves your nervous system stuck in a chronic state of hypervigilance long after the argument ends. You can get good at managing the spike, catching yourself mid-reaction, and still lie awake at night with your jaw clenched and your shoulders up around your ears for no reason at all.

In this episode on narcissistic abuse recovery, Renee explains allostatic load — what happens when a nervous system adapts to years of walking on eggshells, gaslighting, and unpredictable moods in a covert narcissistic relationship, and never fully comes back down. She breaks down what chronic hypervigilance actually looks like from the inside, what it does to the body physically, and introduces eight new tools for lowering your baseline over time: Worry Spot, Villain Voice, Letter to Future You, The Doorway Reset, The Off-Duty Ritual, Compliment Jar, The Do-Nothing Timer, and The Petty Playlist.

This is part two of a two-part series on covert narcissism and fight or flight. If you haven't heard part one, start there for eight in-the-moment crisis tools built for the spike itself.

If you've been listening, learning, and starting to see the patterns of narcissistic abuse in your relationship — but still feel stuck in the same cycles of emotional dysregulation and self-doubt — that's not because you're missing information. It's because this isn't something you're meant to untangle alone. If you're ready to take the next step toward healing, I invite you to check out my coaching program at www.covertnarcissism.com. And if this episode helped, please subscribe so you don't miss what's next.

The information provided by Renee Swanson, Covert Narcissism Podcast, and CNG Life Coaching is for educational purposes only and is not to be used for diagnosis purposes and is not intended to be a substitute for clinical care. Please consult a health care provider for guidance specific to your case. This material discusses narcissism in general. Renee shares stories from her personal experiences as well as from those she has talked with for several years. Her material does not claim that any specific person has narcissism and should not be used to refer to any specific person as having narcissism. Permission is not granted to link to or repost this material to support an allegation or support a claim that any specific person is a narcissist. That would be an unauthorized misuse of the material and information provided.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.