This is a great article but I would not say this is the behavior of a narcissist. Personality disorders come in more flavors and the threat of suicide does not speak narcissist. Helping people leave these relationships means understanding why the threat is happening — fear of abandonment. Planning an exit strategy can be very different depending on the diagnosis. Let’s all try to be more thoughtful when throwing out diagnoses- a simple change from narcissists to abusers would probably speak to more people.

Threats of suicide are part of a DV risk assessment. More people need help strategizing and safely exiting these relationships than to know what their diagnosis is. Threats of suicide and access to a firearm speak to the need of professional intervention regardless of what type of abuser the person is.

Narcissists are not the only abusers on our world…