The term “narcissist” can be a little vague. Does someone who has a bit of an ego a narcissist? This is hard to say. It can be misused quite a bit, and if you or someone else is suspected to be a narcissist, you may not know where to turn to.
In this post, we will look at what makes a narcissist by examining narcissistic personality disorder, or NPD.
What is NPD?
This is when someone has a large belief that they are important in the world. We are all the protagonists of our own stories, but a good protagonist has flaws. Someone with NPD may not recognize their flaws and project them onto others, all while having a fragile ego.
NPD can be a spectrum. Some people may have a bit of an ego, but are otherwise reasonable. Meanwhile, someone who has extreme NPD may be completely delusional.
Am I a Narcissist?
In order to determine if you may have narcissism, let’s look at some symptoms.
You Believe You Are All Important
Someone who has NPD takes their importance and exaggerates it as much as possible. They may believe that they deserve all the admiration in the world, even if they do not have anything to prove their worth.
Someone with NPD will act arrogant to others and may be condescending towards them, even if the other person isn’t inferior to them at all.
Because of this, you may be a perfectionist, too. You may want the best car, best house, or buy things you cannot afford as some sort of status symbol.
You Fantasize About Your Achievements
We all have fantasies on occasion where we come out on top, but someone with NPD will have frequent fantasies where they rule the earth or be as successful as possible. If they do have achievements, a person with NPD will exaggerate them.
For example, someone who has a talent for drawing may believe that they are among the great artists and will ignore any criticism.
You Want Favors Out of Others
Narcissists will take advantage of others. For example, someone with NPD may ask people to pay them to talk to them, or expect favors from people who are not obligated to give them any. However, the person will usually not return the favor, and may even come across as ungrateful.
You Have a Fragile Ego
Someone with NPD has a problem with criticism. Many people may have a hard time taking criticism at times; if you worked hard on something, being told that it wasn’t good may hurt your feelings.
However, a person with NPD tends to go above and beyond with responding to criticism. They may become aggressive and think the critic is against them. They may feel shame or be unable to contain their emotions. This can lead to them lashing out, even in issues where they were not criticized, but didn’t get any special treatment.
Their ego is the ultimate form of compensation. Many people love to project their feelings of insecurity onto others, and this can lead to the inability to grow.
Troubles With Life
Some people think of a narcissist as being successful, but that’s not always the case. Someone with NPD may have trouble keeping a relationship, or have financial difficulties due to always wanting the best. They could abuse drugs and alcohol as well and end up dying prematurely because of that.
Treating NPD
If you suspect you have NPD, it means that you have a mild case if you have enough self-awareness.
First, it’s important to know the cause. There is no exact cause, but it is thought to be a combo of nature and nurture. It could be genetic, or it can be due to how you were raised. Spoiled kids, especially males, are more likely to be narcissists. However, someone who was abused as a child could also develop it.
For instance, being neglected or abused as a kid can cause someone to retreat into fantasy, which can grow into delusion as they get older.
So, how do you treat it? Therapy may be one option. As a narcissist, it is important to have self-awareness and introspection. A therapist may be able to teach you techniques to be able to help with that. In some cases, you may treat your NPD by meditating.
There is no straight cure for NPD, but it may be able to be managed. With some people, especially extreme narcissists, there may be no hope. You may want to avoid types of people like this.
If you are still unsure if you have NPD, one way for you to find out is to be diagnosed. Please click the link below to learn more about NPD.
https://www.mind-diagnostics.org/blog/narcissistic-personality
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