Abstract Narcissistic personality disorder (NPD) is a continuing pattern of irregular thinking, and behavior. Normal interaction with a narcissist can be difficult and confusing for others. This paper will allow you to identify the signs and symptoms of this disorder, and what interventions or medications to help these individuals, plus the best time to get them to a doctor. *Keywords: Mental Disorder, Signs, Symptoms, Interventions, Medications NPD is portrayed by an enduring pattern of grandiosity, an irresistible need for respect, and usually a complete absence of compassion toward others. With this disorder people often believe they are of main importance in everybody’s life or to anyone they come across. This is a long-term, mental health condition that is diagnosed in adulthood. It is rare for them to be diagnosed in childhood or adolescence, due to a child or teen is still developing, have personality changes and maturing. However, if it is diagnosed in a child or teen, the traits must have been present for at least one year (Blais, Smallwood, Groves, Rivas-Vazques 2008). The most telling signs of narcissists are that they be at odds with themselves, almost in the same sentence, without even stopping. They will twist your words around right to your face. If you do not agree with them, they will say you are lying, or making up things (Blais, Smallwood, Groves, Rivas-Vazques 2008). They do not understand the meaning of, or grasp the meaning of the statement
According to the article Modernity and Narcissistic Personality Disorder (2014) by Joel Paris, narcissistic personality disorder is a pathological amplification of narcissistic traits. This means that unlike a normal person, the traits in a narcissistic person that defines their personality are usually increased from a 1 to a 10. They are always the “self-absorbed” guy in the crowd.
In the first place, due to their inherent characteristic of being a narcissist, these patients may not even want to seek medical attention. When the mental condition worsens, this could lead to undesirable health consequences and problems. Moreover, there is no exact medicine that can cure this disability except therapy.
This paper will aim to define narcissistic personality disorder as a whole. The document will cover the topics of symptoms, prevalence, and contributing factor. In addition to covering the general description of the disorder the paper will present a case study to provide a clearer image of the parameters of NPD. 2 scientific studies will be presented in order to offer empirical data regarding NPD and to add knowledge recently acquired through experimentation.
Believing that you are superior and can only be understood by or associate with equally special people
Narcissistic Personality Disorder is characterized by “an excessive need for admiration, disregard for others' feelings, an inability to handle any and all criticism, and an extreme sense of entitlement”. (DSM IV) These two disorders are often co-morbid, which means that antisocial personality disorder and narcissistic personality disorder are often shown in people at the same time, but not always. Both disorders are much more prevalent in men than they are prevalent in women.
It is hard and uncommon for someone to be diagnosed with NPD because when someone has narcissistic personality disorder, they may not want to think that anything could be wrong, doing so wouldn't fit with their self-image of power and perfection (American Psychiatric Association; 2013). Some psychologists say narcissism can be diagnosed by asking one question: “are you a Narcissist?” This is because some believe that if a person is narcissistic, then they will have no problem saying so because they are unable to see any flaws in themselves. People who are willing to admit that they are narcissistic are actually more narcissistic then others. Treatment of narcissistic personality disorder typically involves long-term psychotherapy with a therapist
A “successful” narcissist/ person with NPD have some highly-developed skills - skills they need to survive and to achieve this “success”. Remember that they are totally focused on themselves, and just about everything is seen in relation to themselves. So though they lack empathy towards others, they know what it is and how to use this. They can be more charming, witty, superficially generous, and more jovial than just about anyone else in the room (or make that ‘building’) - they love the idea of people thinking that their presence will ensure that everyone has a good time, that they are the soul of the party.
Having an inability or unwillingness to recognize the needs and feelings of others” (“Narcissistic Personality Disorder Page 2). People with narcissistic personality disorder often show signs of not having regrets of what they did to others or taking into account how people feel. Frank having no empathy towards the women he took advantage of or what he did to Marie shows he has narcissistic personality disorder. Frank used his power as a doctor to get what he wanted from the women and Marie, even when he was caught he still showed no empathy, which is a sign of narcissism.
Pathological personality traits are broken down into Grandiosity and the need for attention. Narcissists are self-centered, entitled. They are self-absorbed and have an inflated sense of self. Believing that they are better than others and often showing superiority. They desire attention and admiration as well as being the center of attention. Constantly finding the need to find ways to attract attention in order to feel admired.
A person’s character or personality is made up of various traits (Hertz, 2011). Some of those traits can be adaptive and useful in one situation yet dysfunctional in another (Hertz, 2011). A person is diagnosed with a personality disorder when these character traits become so maladaptive and inflexible that they begin to cause significant impairment in occupational or social functioning or cause subjective distress (Hertz, 2011). As previously mentioned, some of the most common characteristics of NPD include having a constant need for admiration, grandiosity, and a lack of interest in anyone but themselves (Marissen, Brouwer, Hiemstra, Deen, & Franken, 2016). Other patterns of NPD include a very high sense of entitlement, arrogant, and feeling like they are very “special” and can only be understood by and associate with other high-status people like themselves (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Working with clients with NPD can be quite difficult as they tend to feel like they can only work with a therapist that is the best, meaning that the therapist has to be worthy of working with them. Clients with NPD can often be rude and have a difficult time depending on the therapist which makes it challenging to work with them as they want to maintain
The narcissist conjures in us images of the mythological character Narcissus who could only love himself, rebuffing anyone who attempted to touch him. Nevertheless, it is the
Narcissism is a psychological condition that was first identified in 1898, one year after Dracula’s publication. The root of the word comes from the Greek God “Narcissus,” a huntry from Thespiae who was known for beauty. He was proud and scorned those who loved him. Narcissus was attracted to a pool where he viewed his own reflection in the water and fell in love with it. He was
Some psychiatrists define narcissism as mental disorder. There are a lot of books that talk about that, for the example is On Narcissism: An Introduction written by Sigmund Freud on 1914. For me narcissism is not a mental disorder, because we all have the narcissistic in ourselves as human nature. Perhaps we just do not know how to express it wisely in a
The narcissist will express their disapproval by shutting down, withdrawing any love or affection, refusing to communicate and denying their target any explanation. Why? Avoidance, control, disempowerment and / or punishment, punishment for some perceived slight that their target is completely unaware of. They know how they are making the other person feel but in their sick and twisted mind, they believe they deserve it. Their emotional maturity is typical of a five year old child who sulks and storms off until they get what they want. The victim often reaches out to the abuser in an attempt to resolve the situation. Their phone calls will go unanswered, their emails or texts will be ignored. All attempts at communication are met with contempt and a deafening silence. This passive aggressive behaviour is usually a repetitive form of emotional abuse which the narcissist will practice time and time again with each
Machiavellianism, Narcissism, and Psychopathy are often referred to three personality characteristics of the term ‘Dark Triad’ (Paulhus & Williams, 2002). The structure of Machiavellianism, in short, describes the manipulative personality and are more likely to take revenge against other (O’Boyle, Forsyth, Banks & McDaniel, 2012). Narcissists are often hostile when their egos are threatened and engage in attention-seeking behaviours. Babiak and Hare (2006) describes Narcissists as “They think that everything that happens around them, in fact, everything that others say and do, is or should be about them.” Psychopathy is characterised by dishonesty, lack of empathy, egocentricity as well as risk-taking.