The Cluster B Glossary is a collection of terms used in reference to individuals that exhibit traits of 📝Cluster B, including 📝Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD) and 📝Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD).
Glossary
B
- 📝Boundary Testing — Behaviors that intentionally provoke or challenge established boundaries to assess whether a person or relationship is safe, consistent, or likely to become abandoning.
D
- 📝Distortion Campaign — A systematic effort to discredit or undermine a person who has attempted to establish boundaries or exit a relationship.
- 📝Distortion Coalition — A phenomenon in which multiple individuals collectively engage in a 📝Smear Campaign against a single person perceived as capable of holding them accountable.
- 📝Drama Triangle — A model in which the subject perpetually positions themselves in the "Victim" role, forcing others into the roles of "Persecutor" or "Rescuer."
F
- 📝Flying Monkey — A third party recruited—knowingly or unknowingly—by someone with Cluster B traits to act on their behalf in sustaining or escalating relational drama.
H
- 📝Hoovering — Manipulative tactics used to re-engage a former partner after a breakup or period of distance, named after the vacuum brand for the emotional "sucking back in."
S
- 📝Smear Campaign — A coordinated effort to damage a person's reputation through the spread of misleading or false information.
V
- 📝Victim Narrative — A defense mechanism and manipulative strategy in which the aggressor frames themselves as the oppressed party to evade accountability and garner sympathy.
W
- 📝Walking on Eggshells — The experience of constantly monitoring one's behavior to avoid triggering an unpredictable emotional reaction from someone with Cluster B traits.