Due to massive amount of boredomness im in the mood to read about anything.. so i searched whatever comes out in my mind and i found this article in the internet. it was interesting enough to occupy myself. To make this article more definite i searched for more details about the topic and i found alot of reliable sources for it from the ff. websites: mentalhealth.com and wikepedia. Although i have no idea who is author of this article he deserves a good credit for writing this. Now, what interest me about the topic is, while reading this article you can mirror yourself through it.. Its like, if you're behaving normally.. You "CAN'T" reflect yourself to it but you'll enjoy reading it especially when you knew someone who's suffering from it. well its actually says that all of us have narcissistic character within us which play the vital role for self worthiness but that's just a normal level.. we can actually outgrow that behavior and can come up into more profound character. On the other hand, if a person failed to outgrow this development due to trauma this person unconciously make a false identity which is the exact opposite of the real one. interesting isn't?? This false identity is a mask to serve as defense mechanism. it seems to me a person who suffers from this disorder is blind folded and can't see through to the real world. The false identity is living in a fantasy and the true identity is lying unconciously somehere inside the person. I don't know its like the false identity is acting as a barrier for the true identity but insanely overwhelm in the image of idealism. Thinks that he is somewhat omniscient like a god or a perfect form human being. In other word, delusional. what's sad about this is, a person who developed this disorder was actually injured emotionally and psychologically. Soon, will obtain inferiority complex and self unworthiness. If it gets worse, soon the person can no longer tell the difference between fantasy and reality..
Maybe drown himself into oblivion and live in a lie for his entire lifetime..
Narcissistic Personality Disorder»
Narcissistic disturbance can be found in everyone. An individual’s existence would be in jeopardy if some narcissistic traits were not present. These traits protect the ego from severe damage inflicted by others thus keeping our self-esteem in tact. Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD) occurs when narcissistic traits become exaggerated in an individual’s personality.
Psychodynamic theories for the development of NPD revolve around issues of unmet basic childhood needs. Narcissistic defenses are innately present during the first eighteen months of an infant's life. The infant is able to experience being the center of his mother's world and a oneness with the mother develops. This makes the child feel powerful and omnipotent. The child's world has no limits. One theory suggests that near the end of the eighteen-month period a psychological transformation causes the disintegration of the child’s oneness with the mother to occur. During the separation period if the mother was not responsive and sensitive to the child's needs during the first eighteen months then NPD will develop.
Other theories suggest that the development of the ego is governed by the limits and consequences the parents provide between two and ten and the amount of abuse or trauma the child receives during the first seven years of life. This abuse does not necessarily have to come from trauma induced by parents, but encompasses authority figures, peers, and others.
A pattern of grandiosity, excessive need for admiration, entitlement, and lack of empathy are the chief components in the diagnosis of NPD. These behaviors begin in early adulthood. A narcissistic individual is unable to trust others but replies on others to be a mirror which reflects back to him his unrealistic perception of his accomplishments, brilliance, talent, and beauty. A narcissistic individual has a fragile sense of self. To strengthen his sense of self he depends on other's admiration and constant attention. He expects other's to covet his possessions and he is constantly seeking compliments. Thus the narcissist develops numerous, shallow relationships to extract tributes from others.
Because a narcissistic individual has a shifting morality--always ready to shift values to gain favor--any interaction with a narcissist is difficult. Narcissists are self-absorbed and have no interest in anyone other than themselves. Their tendency is to form friendships or romantic relationships with only those that can enhance their self-esteem or advance their purposes.
A narcissistic individual has a basic sense of inferiority although if you listen to him talk you would never realize it. A narcissist presents a false self to the world. Under his inferiority is a preoccupation with fantasies of outstanding achievement, ideal love, and an aimless orientation toward superficial interests. The narcissist uses others to aid him in any tasks he undertakes and will frequently take credit for work which others have done. The narcissistic individual may be more successful at his chosen field of work than some of the other personality disorders. This is because his work can be advantageous to the narcissist especially if it provides narcissistic supply.
Lying is an integral part of the narcissist's behavior and all their self-reports are unreliable. His cognition is impaired to the extent that he frequently misinterprets other's speech, actions, and thoughts. He may believe that someone respects or loves him although this is a fantasy which exists only in the mind of the narcissist.
Narcissists will over inflate their own accomplishments, are boastful, and pretentious. They frequently will compare themselves to people of great accomplishments and are surprised when others do not agree with them. In fact, it is not unusal for the narcissist to compare himself with God.
Although he may attempt to impress others with knowledge and decisiveness, a narcissistic person's information base is often limited to trivia. His ideas are seldom original. He chooses to quote whoever he feels at the time is an authority, however, the narcissist's quotations may not be accurate as to what the chosen authority meant. The narcissist makes his own interpretations to best suit his whim. People other than the narcissist may wonder why he picked that individual as an authority since no true validation may exist the individual is an authority.
He also feels that people of high status can only understand him and he often assigns special, gifted, or unique qualities to the people with whom he associates. He will insist that he has the best doctor, lawyer, etc., available, and will assign non-factual accomplishments to that individual to prove the validity of his claims.
A narcissistic individual displays beliefs and behaviors that indicate a sense of 'specialness' or 'uniqueness.' He expects favorable treatment from others and wants automatic compliance with his requests. For instance he does not feel he should be made to wait in line and expects to be the center of attention. He is mystified when he does not get what he wants. If an individual disappoints him then he will devalue that person.
A narcissist demonstrates a lack of empathy towards others and this causes him to treat others like objects. He does not see others as human beings, but sees them as objects that have no feelings or needs. His sense of entitlement leads to his exploitation of others and this results in little guilt or remorse.
A narcissistic injury occurs when someone defeats or criticizes the narcissistic individual. The narcissist may not show it outwardly, but he is haunted by criticisms and defeats. Therefore, the narcissist does have emotions. The narcissist, however, does not relate to his emotions as others do because he represses his emotions so deeply that they play no conscious role in his behavior. But, these repressed emotions unconsciously play a large part in determining his behavior. When a narcissistic injury occurs, the narcissist begins to feel empty, degraded, and humiliated and he is capable of retaliating with narcissistic rage. His reactions constitute disdain or defiant attacks.
Characteristics of Narcissistic Personality Disorder
A pattern of grandiosity, need for admiration, and lack of empathy which begins by early adulthood and is present in differing contexts within a person's life.
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A narcissistic individual is grandiose in their sense of self-importance and exaggerates their achievements and talents. He expects to be recognized as superior without achieving any great accomplishments.
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A narcissistic individual is preoccupied with fantasies of his brilliance as well as his unlimited success or power. He fantasizes about beauty or ideal love.
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A narcissistic individual believes that he is "special" or "unique." He feels that he can only be understood by or should associate with other special or high status people.
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A narcissistic individual requires excessive admiration and is on a constant search for admiration.
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A narcissistic individual has a sense of entitlement. He has unreasonable expectations of favorable treatment and expect others to automatically comply with his wishes.
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A narcissistic individual takes advantage of others to achieve his own ends and uses others without regards to the feelings of others.
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A narcissistic individual lacks empathy and does not identify with the feelings or needs of others.
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A narcissstic individual is envious of others and believes that others are envious of him.
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A narcissistic individual shows arrogant or haughty behaviors or attitudes and does not care who he offends.
*Please note that this article has been written in the male gender because estimates are that only 1% of the population suffers from this disorder and 50-75% of this 1% is male. Female narcissists do exist. Therefore, the word he is interchangeable with the word she. |