Is it narcissistic or high self-esteem? Perhaps if you know someone with a narcissistic behavior you have asked yourself this question on occasion. Even people with a narcissistic personality disorder can get confused ... Although there are some signs that can make it much easier to identify you. Human nature is selfish from time to time, but a narcissistic person can take it to the extreme.
They do not value other people's feelings and ideas and ignore needs that are not their own. When you have a narcissistic personality disorder, we are facing a mental illness, something that differs from having a narcissistic personality trait, than this, it may be more common in society ... although the difference between personality trait and personality disorder, it would have to be assessed by a mental health professional.
The word "narcissist" comes from the Greek myth in which Narcissus, a handsome young man, sees his own reflection in a fountain and falls in love with him. He was absorbed in looking at his image and ended up throwing himself into the water. Where the body fell, a beautiful flower grew that gave the name to the Narcissus flower in honor of the memory of the young man.
What is
People with this personality disorder can have all areas of their life affected. They have a toxic personality type and are a negative influence on their close environment. They are unable to maintain a healthy relationship with other people and may even have difficulties moving forward because they are unable to empathize with others or recognize their own shortcomings and limitations. This disorder can be treated and over time, the damaging effects can be treated.
Narcissistic personality disorder is an enduring pattern of internal experience and behavior characterized by self-centeredness, lack of empathy, and an exaggerated sense of self-importance. As with other personality disorders, this disorder has a long-lasting and persistent pattern of behavior that negatively affects many different areas of life, including social, family and work relationships.
Its main characteristics is that these people feel great in front of others, they do not have empathy towards people and they have a great need for constant admiration. People can see you as someone arrogant, self-centered, manipulative and demanding with yourself but above all, with others. Also they may have grandiose fantasies and believe they deserve special treatment from everyone.
This disorder usually begins in the late teens or early youth. Attitudes are evident in all areas of the life of the person with narcissistic personality disorder. These people think they are special and better than others. They try to rub shoulders with people they think are also special or deserve their attention in some way ... other people, they just despise them.
Do not confuse being a Nacisist with having high self-esteem
Although many people initially believe that these types of people have high self-esteem, it is necessary not to confuse this because in reality ... their self-esteem is quite fragile. In fact, they need to feel even the pathological admiration and attention for others, just by feeling (in a toxic way) that they are appreciated by others.
When they have problems with their self-esteem, they often have problems accepting criticism, mistakes or losing. They feel humiliated when this happens and emotionally empty. They immediately feel rejection by others, and this sinks them emotionally even if they try to prove the opposite "in front of the gallery." But also there are cases of people with a narcissistic personality disorder where they have high self-esteem in all aspects, something that undoubtedly can further aggravate the symptoms of the disorder.
Nor should this disorder be confused with high self-confidence. People who have high self-esteem can have empathy and be humble, on the other hand, a person with this disorder will lack these positive attitudes.
Symptoms
Narcissism is a term used to refer to people who only care about themselves and not about others, selfish beings where they come first of all. It is necessary to differentiate, as we have pointed out above about personality traits and personality disorder. For example, narcissistic traits may be common during adolescence, but this does not necessarily mean that the adolescent will develop the full disorder in the future. Some symptoms of narcissistic personality disorder include:
- Exaggerated sense of one's abilities and achievements
- Constant need for attention, affirmation, and praise from others
- Belief about him / her that he / she is unique and special in the world
- Consider that you can only relate to people of the same "status"
- Common fantasies about achievement, success, and power
- Exploiting, manipulating and taking advantage of other people only for personal gain
- Excessive concern about having power and success
- You are envious of others and believe that others are also envious of you
- Lack of empathy for others
Diagnosis and treatment
The official diagnosis can only be made by a qualified mental health professional and requires the person to display impairments in personality functioning in various domains, including experiencing a grand sense of self-importance, as well as in interpersonal difficulties in the search for attention, empathy and intimacy.
Deficiencies in personality function and the expression of personality traits must also be stable over time and in different situations, they must not be normative for the culture, environment or stage of development of the individual, and They must not be due to the direct influence of substance use or general medical condition.
Regarding treatment, individual psychotherapy can be used although the process is usually difficult and long due to the personal characteristics of the individual. It is important to note that people with this disorder rarely seek treatment. People often begin therapy at the urging of family members or to treat symptoms that result from the disorder, such as depression.
Cognitive behavioral therapy is often effective in helping people with this disorder change destructive patterns of thinking and behavior. The goal of treatment is to alter distorted thoughts and create a more realistic self-image. Medications are generally not effective for long-term change, but they are sometimes used to treat symptoms of anxiety or depression.