Seems to me everyone has their own definition and apply the label often. Plus project it onto others.
This comes the closest to my understanding of it.
NPD is a mental health condition in which people have an unreasonably high sense of their own importance. They need and seek too much attention and want people to admire them. People with this disorder may lack the ability to understand or care about the feelings of others. But behind this mask of extreme confidence, they are not sure of their self-worth and are easily upset by the slightest criticism.
Most importantly, to me, it's more what a 'clinical psychologist' determines they are, after spending time in sessions with them, analyzing, studying etc..
Vaguely. I think that what differs narcissists from other malignant personality disorders is their need to be admired. They need the audience and usually want to be perceived positively, to keep the mask of a good guy or someone successful, accomplished and powerful in public. Sociopaths aim to profit materially, they don't care about the prestige or opinions of other people unless bad rap would somehow threaten their wealth or anything they value and demand to have in their life.
How does that manifest itself in various people from various environments and social background, that's something more complicated, I think. I remember some case study that described a woman who was sending herself flowers to her job so that her coworker would think how much she was loved.
Yes,have a relative who is one. There are 7 main traits; you have to have at least 5 of the traits to be diagnosed as a narcissist. People can have high narcissist traits and not be a narcissist.
Traits
Grandiosity: An exaggerated sense of self-importance, superiority, and uniqueness
Lack of empathy: An inability to understand or appreciate others' feelings and needs
Exploitative behavior: Taking advantage of others for personal gain
Arrogance: A scornful attitude toward others
Antagonistic: A need to be better than others, which can involve lying, cheating, or gaslighting
Entitled: A feeling of entitlement and a need for admiration
Lack of boundaries: An inability to set or maintain boundaries
Lack of accountability: A tendency to blame others for problems
I know what a narcissist is. I live with a spouse who shows narcissistic tendencies occasionally. But I know enough about it to know she's not really a narcissist, but she does show some qualities of one.
A narcissist is self absorbed to the exclusion of almost all else. Other people, to narcissists, are only reflections of themselves.
If you have a narcissist in your life, and you are not PERFECT, or the narcissists idea of perfection, they will make your life miserable because they are so unhappy with your appearance or performance.
Unfortunately, their requirements can be about your physical appearance, your school performance if you are in school, or your earning power if you are working.
A narcissist will COMPARE you to those people in his or her life whom he or she believes are BETTER than you, and woe unto you if you don't surpass that ideal.
It's an axis II personality disorder which means it is treatable if the person is willing to come to terms with it. It should also be left up to doctors to determine, for the most part.
My mother is a malignant narcissist. She lies, steals, manipulates and back stabs, all while playing the victim. I tried to commit suicide at age 14, and the first thing she said was ‘How could you do this to me?! Do you know how this is going to make me look in the community??!’
Do you understand what narcissism is; most people who ask this question are just trying to start a fight because they are upset about something and think they know everything. Because you are a teenager I’m going to guess you are “most people”. I’m sorry you are dealing with tough people, but just because someone does something you don’t like does not mean they are a Narcissist.
@CountScrofula I doubt many true narcissists are medically diagnosed, as according to them, there is nothing wrong with them and everyone else is the problem.
At its core, someone for whom everything centers on them and how it affects them, to the extreme. The myth about the handsome young man, Narcissus, tells how he saw his own reflection in a pond, fell in love with it and refused to eat, drink or do anything but gaze longingly—at himself, until he died.
Having a grandiose sense of self-importance, such as exaggerating achievements and talents, expecting to be recognized as superior even without commensurate achievements Preoccupation with fantasies of success, power, beauty, and idealization Belief in being "special" and that they can only be understood by or associated with other high-status people (or institutions) Demanding excessive admiration Sense of entitlement Exploitation behaviors Lack of empathy Envy towards others or belief that others are envious of them Arrogant, haughty behaviors and attitudes
I think narcissists share some traits with psychopaths and sociopaths, which is some lack of remorse in addition to being manipulative and thinking that the world revolves around them 🤷🏻♂
