03/18/2026
Hi, it’s Juliana!
Narcissists often blame others for the things that go wrong in their life.
They need to look and feel perfect at all times to feel good about themselves.
So when things go wrong, even something as small as dropping a spoon, they’ll often find a way to blame you so they can protect their “perfect” image.
This can really mess with your sense of responsibility.
What do I mean?
When someone is always finding a way to make things your fault, even when they’re not, it conditions you to automatically blame yourself for other people’s mistakes and problems.
There are a lot of ways this can show up, but one of the most common is over-apologizing.
This is when you say “sorry” unnecessarily or excessively, especially in situations where you haven’t done anything wrong.
If this is something you struggle with, one of the most helpful things you can do is give yourself the time and space to determine if something is actually your fault.
This doesn’t mean staying silent until you figure it out.
It means saying something like “thank you for listening to me” instead of jumping to “sorry for talking so much.”
Or “excuse me” instead of immediately apologizing for everything.
It’s a lot like using salt on food.
You can always add more, but it’s really hard to take it away once it’s there.
You can always apologize later, but it’s really hard and awkward to take an apology back once you’ve already said it.
So try creating a short list of responses you can use anytime you feel the urge to say sorry.
This should give you the time and space to figure out whether or not it’s actually your fault.
If you need someone to talk to about all of this, you can always send me a DM or schedule a session with me.
My team and I help people heal from narcissistic abuse, and many of us have experienced it ourselves, so we’re here if you need us.
To your healing,
Juliana ❤️🩹