Around 1% of the entire population is diagnosed as having narcissistic personality disorder (NPD). NPD is defined as a mental health condition in which people have an unreasonably high sense of their own importance, according to the Mayo Clinic. But within this, several different types of narcissists find unique ways to manipulate you.

The most common type is the grandiose narcissist. These people are textbook examples of narcissism, with high levels of charisma and success in life. Conversely, there are also vulnerable narcissists who control you with a victimization mindset. Another type of narcissist is communal narcissists. This type acts in a way that serves others, only so that they get satisfaction from the praise of doing so.

There are also dark empaths, who score highly for dark personality traits. These narcissists act in a natural way to get relationships, but they have above-average emotional intelligence in order to manipulate people. Finally, the most severe type of narcissist is malignant narcissists. Malignant narcissists act in a manipulative and vengeful manner with those with whom they have close relationships.

If this sounds like your husband or wife, you may need to separate yourself from this person as soon as possible. In the separation, it’s important that you make all new contact information, make copies of bills, and separate important correspondence to your new contact information. For the legal aspect, Nussbaum makes it easy and safe to separate from a narcissistic spouse. Regardless of whether you are starting to separate from a narcissist or have already moved out, it is important to get a legal separation to make sure that the narcissist can’t control your life.