The 10 Odd Bathroom Habits Of A Narcissist, According To Experts
Strange as it may sound, there are some specific bathroom behaviors common among narcissists.
Halfpoint via Canva Everything a narcissist does is calculated to take control and make you feel powerless. According to experts, the odd bathroom habits of a narcissist offer insight into who they really are. They might seem charming and confident to the outside world, but in private, they’re cruel and emotionally abusive.
A narcissist’s odd bathroom habits reinforce how manipulative and egotistical they can be. They do everything they can to destabilize and isolate you. When it comes to exerting their power, nothing is off-limits for a narcissist — including how they use the bathroom.
Here are 10 odd bathroom habits of a narcissist, according to experts
1. They interrupt your time in the bathroom
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Narcissists are threatened anytime you display your independence, even when you’re just going to the bathroom. They can’t stand the idea of you spending time on your own, which is why they interrupt you whenever you’re in the bathroom.
As Narcissistic Abuse Recovery Professional Danish Bashir revealed, narcissists will use any excuse to disturb your private time. They might knock on the bathroom door, call your name, or find themselves "conveniently needing something that’s inside.” They take away any semblance of peace you might find while you’re brushing your teeth or washing your face.
“The second you take two minutes, they’ll panic, complain, or demand your attention,” Bashir explained. Narcissists ignore your boundaries, even in the bathroom, as a way to exert their power over you and prove they’re always in control.
2. They take a long time in the bathroom
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According to Bev, a mental health coach, the bathroom habits of a narcissist are “too wild and weird and nasty” to wrap your head around.
“What you’ll find when you’re dealing with a narcissist is that they’ll spend forever in the bathroom,” Bev said. They’ll shut themselves in the bathroom for hours, which allows them to act out without you knowing. If they’re unfaithful, the bathroom becomes the place where they conduct their affair. They’ll send texts and set up secret dates, all behind your back. They won’t hesitate to barge in on you when you’re in the bathroom, but if you encroach on their precious private time, they’ll go into a full-blown rage.
Narcissists don’t care that the bathroom is a shared space, their needs are always the top priority. It doesn’t matter if you’re running late, they’ll take as much time as they want. When you make plans, they’ll wait until the last possible moment, then pretend to have an upset stomach, so you can’t question them. If you ask them to hurry up or be considerate, they’ll find a way to twist your words and blame you for having basic needs.
3. They disregard basic hygiene
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According to NPD Experts, a narcissist's charming facade will quickly fade once you share living space, and “their quirks start to reveal themselves in unexpected ways,” including their odd bathroom habits.
“The bathroom, often considered a private sanctuary, becomes a battleground of bizarre behaviors that leave you baffled, frustrated, or even disgusted,” including their utter disregard for bathroom maintenance and personal hygiene.
When it comes to their bathroom routine, a narcissist’s superiority complex overrides their vanity. They hold themselves above everyone else and they think they’re too special to do the most basic things. Danish Bashir, a Narcissistic Abuse Recovery Professional, revealed that “they often refuse to flush, skip washing their hands, and leave empty toilet paper rolls for someone else to replace.”
“Their delusional thinking convinces them they’re ‘too clean’ to need basic hygiene,” he explained. “They’ll trim their hair, leave the mess behind, toss their clothes on the floor, and treat the bathroom like a disaster zone, completely disregarding anyone else who has to use it.”
4. They sabotage your cleaning efforts
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Narcissists take pleasure in undermining your inner peace, which is why they put extra effort into any behavior that makes you upset. Bashir shared that “one of their favorite ways to assert control is to undo your hard work,” especially when it comes to keeping the bathroom clean.
“If you’ve just cleaned the bathroom, they’ll intentionally mess it up to make you feel unappreciated,” he explained. “Whether they shave and leave their hair everywhere, splash water around, or use the toilet carelessly to create a mess, they ensure your efforts feel wasted.”
“This is a deliberate tactic to make you feel small, insignificant, and exhausted,” Bashir concluded. Narcissists do whatever they can to break you down and leave you feeling powerless, so they can keep controlling you.
5. They use the bathroom to avoid you
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Among their many odd bathroom habits, a narcissist will weaponize their bathroom use to exert their power. As Bashir explained, “A narcissist’s bathroom habits conveniently align with avoiding tasks or responsibilities.”
“The moment you ask for help, whether it’s with the kids, house chores, or errands, they’ll suddenly ‘need’ to use the bathroom,” he shared. “They’ll hide there for as long as necessary, often using imaginary stomach problems as an excuse.”
Narcissists make using the bathroom into a power struggle, to prove that they’re more important than you. “It’s not just avoidance,” Bashir continued. “It’s their way of saying your needs don’t matter and their convenience comes first.”
6. They leave a mess
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Every time a narcissist uses the bathroom, they manage to make a major mess. They splash water on the floor when they wash their hands, leaving puddles in their wake. They leave soap scum in the shower and hair in the drain. No matter how many times you ask a narcissist to rinse out the sink after they finish shaving, they’ll conveniently keep forgetting.
“A psychologist would emphasize that these behaviors stem from a fundamental lack of empathy,” NPD Experts said. They leave their mess for you to clean up, “reflecting a broader pattern of expecting others to cater to their needs, while offering nothing in return.”
“Narcissists struggle to consider how their actions affect others, viewing shared responsibilities as beneath them,” NPD Experts explained. “Instead of cleaning up after themselves, they expect others to pick up the slack, reinforcing their belief that they deserve special treatment.”
Narcissists are self-obsessed to the point where they can’t see beyond their own needs. If you dare to ask them to clean up after using the bathroom, their explosive anger will reveal itself in all its ugly, toxic glory. They’ll inevitably find a way to blame you for the mess they’ve made, because they refuse to take responsibility for their own behavior.
7. They take up unnecessary space
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If you’re sharing a bathroom with a narcissist, you might notice that they take up more space than they actually need. They fill every shelf up with their products, which means you can’t fit your own things in. They leave their toothbrush on the edge of the sink. They leave towels crumpled on the floor. They don’t make any effort to be considerate or make room for you, because they don’t care about anyone but themselves.
According to NPD Experts, narcissists “behave as though the rules don’t apply to them, especially when it comes to communal areas like the bathroom.”
“For narcissists, the bathroom isn’t just a functional space, it’s an extension of their inflated sense of self-importance,” they explained. “These seemingly trivial actions are actually windows into a narcissist’s psyche, exposing their need for control, entitlement, and lack of empathy.”
“Psychologists explain that narcissists view themselves as superior to others, which translates into a blatant disregard for boundaries, cleanliness, or consideration,” NPD experts said. “Their actions aren’t accidental, they’re deliberate expressions of their worldview.”
A narcissist's odd bathroom habits are more than an inconvenience, instead, they expose how self-centered they really are.
8. They obsess over their appearance
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NPD Experts shared that another odd bathroom habit of a narcissist “centers around excessive vanity and grooming rituals.” They’ll spend hours staring at themselves in the mirror, making sure they look perfect before going out. They obsess over their physical appearance, which is a direct manifestation of their overblown ego and sense of superiority.
As NPD Experts pointed out, “self-care is normal [but] narcissists take vanity to extremes, treating the bathroom as their personal stage.”
“A psychologist would explain that this obsession with physical perfection reflects their fragile self-esteem which relies heavily on external validation,” they said. Narcissists spend an excessive amount of time “meticulously crafting their image. They seek to project an illusion of superiority, masking the insecurities that lie beneath the surface.”
“Their relentless focus on appearance often disrupts shared routines, making coexistence challenging,” they concluded.
9. They use all your products
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A narcissist will do whatever they can to show you that they’re in charge, which is why they cross your boundaries and help themselves to your personal belongings. They’ll use small things, like hair elastics and bobby pins. They’ll use up your fancy moisturizer and never offer to replace it. They’ll put on your make-up, then gaslight you by saying it’s actually theirs. They have no problem using your specially designed, medicated shampoo or even your toothbrush, and they’ll ignore you every time you ask them to stop.
“They will be using all your products, it doesn’t matter how expensive those products are,” mental health coach Bev explained. “They love to use your products, but just you try to use anything that belongs to them.”
What’s yours is theirs, and what’s theirs is also theirs. They don’t respect your boundaries, because they don’t respect you.
10. They make the bathroom a manipulation tool
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According to NPD Experts, a narcissist uses the bathroom as a tool for manipulation. They won’t ever admit to it, but they time their bathroom use “to inconvenience you or provoke a reaction.” Narcissists are master manipulators, who “excel at exploiting situations to assert dominance or elicit sympathy.”
“A psychologist would stress that their strategic misuse of the bathroom serves multiple purposes,” NPD Experts said. “Testing limits, asserting control, or garnering attention, whether it’s locking themselves inside during critical moments, feigning illness to avoid responsibility or creating drama over trivial matters, their actions reflect a calculated effort to maintain power and influence.”
Alexandra Blogier, MFA, is a staff writer who covers psychology, social issues, relationships, self-help topics, and human interest stories.