It can be known as a myth or story to get a clear understanding of the personality disorder. A tale of a man who fell in love with his own reflection. He became so obsessed with himself that he died admiring himself.
An exaggerated sense of self-importance, a preoccupation with wanting to be admired, and a lack of empathy for others are known to determine narcissistic personality disorder. A pervasive pattern of grandiosity in their behavior depicted to others or in their fantasy, the need for constant admiration, all of which begins in the early stages of adulthood,.
Individuals with narcissistic personality disorder are entitled and constantly brag about themselves to gain recognition because they believe that they are so special and also believe high-status people understand them. The entitlement also indicates that the person is highly rigid, unwilling to forgive others, and highly sensitive to rejection or criticism.
Some research studies point out two subtypes of narcissistic personality disorder:
- Grandiose narcissism is manifested by the traits of aggression and dominance.
- Vulnerable Narcissism: a fragile and unstable sense of self-esteem.
Narcissism symptoms in different contexts
- A grandiose sense of self-importance, for example, exaggerates achievements and talents and expects to be recognized as superior in everything.
- Preoccupied with fantasies of unlimited success, power, brilliance, beauty, or ideal love.
- The person believes that he or she is special and unique and can only be understood by other special or high-status people.
- Requires a constant need for attention.
- High sense of entitlement, unreasonable expectations of especially favorable treatment, or automatic compliance with his or her expectations.
- Interpersonally exploitative, people around them are often astonished by how they behave; they take advantage of others to achieve or meet their ends.
- Lack of empathy: unwilling to identify other feelings and needs. They are very rigid and unwilling to see the perspective of others and only want to see things from their perspective.
- They are often envious of others and believe that others are envious of them.
- Arrogant, aggressive, haughty behavior or attitude towards others,
A study was done to understand narcissistic personality disorder in terms of a five-factor model. The symptoms are associated with high levels of interpersonal antagonism and low agreeableness, which include the traits of arrogance, grandiosity, and superiority; low altruism, expecting favorable treatment from others and exploiting others; and tough-mindedness, which shows their rigidity.
Causes of Narcissistic Personality Disorder
Many theories and research studies are carried out to get reliable data on the causal factors of narcissistic personality disorder. In one of the research findings, it was determined that grandiose and vulnerable forms of narcissistic personality disorder are associated with different causal factors. In the study, it was determined that grandiose is associated with parental overvaluation and vulnerable narcissism is associated with emotional, physical, and sexual abuse and parenting styles that are characterized as intrusive and over-controlling. To determine the causal factors and treatment, the study in these areas is still under way and is emerging.
Treatment
First of all, it is difficult to bring a person with a narcissistic personality to counseling or therapy for consultation because they strongly believe nothing is wrong with them and that it is others who need help. Because of this rigid perception of themselves and lack of insight about themselves and how their behavior is affecting other people around them, it is hard to bring them into a counseling setting.
If they are willing to seek treatment, the treatment is done through talk therapy and psychotherapy. If narcissistic personality disorder co-occurs with other disorders like depression, substance abuse, or other mental health disorders, they are treated for those disorders with medication and therapy. The treatment also includes counseling for the family members to understand the disorder and do the needful to manage the person with narcissistic personality disorder.
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