What Is A Narcissistic Personality Disorder?

The increase in awareness of mental health disorders is shifting many people’s perspective. Earlier, if a person was behaving immaturely or saying rude things, it was dismissed as their character trait. But now, people are considering the possibility that such individuals may have a mental health disorder.

Narcissistic personality disorder is one such mental health problem that can greatly impact the quality of life of the affected individual and those around them. Here, you can learn more about the narcissistic disorder, its symptoms, treatment options, and more.

Overview of Narcissistic Personality Disorder

A narcissistic personality disorder is a kind of mental disorder wherein the person appears to be highly self-involved, self-loving, and in need of constant external validation.
Simply put, people with grandiose personality disorder have an inflated ego and a very high opinion of themselves. They constantly seek validation, attention, and admiration from others to feel good about themselves.

This is not a fatal disorder, but it can cause extreme levels of depression in people. Those who suffer from narcissistic disorder often feel depressed or disheartened when they are not admired by the people around them. If they don’t receive the special favours, they expect due to their inflated sense of self, they tend to be disappointed and unhappy without the doting.

Narcissistic disorder can cause tangible issues in daily communications and tasks. People suffering from narcissistic disorder are often disregarded at work as rude or being self-involved, thus hindering the progress of life stages. These personality traits also affect relationships on a large scale.

Top 8 Narcissistic Personality Disorder Symptoms

The Narcissistic personality disorder symptoms may seem like arrogance, which causes several misconceptions about the mental health of the person suffering from the disorder. There are distinct and non-distinct signs of narcissism that may seem very off-putting, which further affects the person’s mental health.

Here are some of the narcissistic disorder symptoms:

• Self-centred communication
• A demanding personality that expects favours as a consequence of the person’s levels of self-importance.
• An arrogance that may be misconstrued as rudeness or condescending ethics.
• High self-esteem is a good thing but counterproductive as a result of narcissistic traits.
• Unappreciative behaviour towards criticism, no matter how small.
• Obsession with beauty, power, and success to the point of constantly fantasising about it.
• Using others for personal benefit without any care for consequences.
• Disregarding the feelings of others as unimportant and constantly circulating the focus back to themselves.

People with Narcissistic personality disorder symptoms often regard themselves above their peers and cohorts. They need to be explicitly mentioned when credited with a job well done or any accomplishments.

If someone has narcissistic traits, they will want to showcase their talents immensely just to receive the appreciation that they deem they deserve. They also tend to be very defensive at the hint of the slightest criticism.

People with a narcissistic personality disorder often tend to embellish their accomplishments for surplus accolades and admiration. They exaggerate their capabilities and take offence if their value is not adequately acknowledged, especially in a work environment.

The narcissistic traits can also seem like confidence instead of narcissistic personality disorder symptoms, which prevents quick diagnosis of the condition. However, overconfidence and an inflated sense of self are signs of narcissism that if you display or observe in others, you should seek attention from mental health professionals to control the narcissistic personality disorder symptoms.

Top 9 Narcissistic Traits of This Personality Disorder

You can spot a person with a narcissistic personality disorder by the signs of narcissism that are as follows:

• They seem to be boasting of their accomplishments, no matter how minuscule they may be.
• They often seem pretentious, making for an extremely off-putting personality.
• They tend to feel unfulfilled in their relationships, especially if there aren’t enough praises doted upon them periodically to boost their ego.
• They appear angry most of the time.
• They seem unhappy to the point of disappointment to depression really soon if they don’t receive credit for a job well done or unsolicited criticism.
• They appear disoriented and confused when they are flustered, especially if things don’t go their way.
• They tend to abuse substances and alcohol as a means to suppress their need for attention and appraisals or to deal with their constant unhappiness.
• They have a difficult time maintaining their finances since they need to keep making themselves feel better with heavy purchases.
• They have problems at school, work, and every important aspect of their lives since people consider them unapproachable.

Having narcissistic traits can be seriously damaging to personal and professional life. If you detect these narcissistic personality disorder symptoms in yourself, visit a mental health professional to devise a viable course of treatment before the situation becomes untenable.

What Are the Narcissistic Personality Disorder Tests?

The narcissistic personality disorder can manifest in numerous ways in people and has a wide-ranging severity, which can make it difficult for a psychologist/psychiatrist to diagnose it.

According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, a person can be diagnosed with narcissistic personality disorder if they have at least 55% of the symptoms. Therapists use this manual as a guide for diagnosing narcissistic disorder.

Narcissistic personality inventory (NPI) has been used as a reliable narcissism test to diagnose a person with this disorder. The NPI is being revised to improve the accuracy of the results, but it is still the most used method to diagnose non-pathological narcissism.

Other commonly used narcissism tests include the following:

• International personality disorder examination (IPDE)
• Personality diagnostic questionnaire-4 (PDQ-4)
• Millon clinical multiracial inventory III (MCMI-III)

8 Different Types of Narcissism

Narcissistic personality disorder can be of different types, including the ones listed below:

• Healthy narcissism
  Although it may seem unusual, but a person can have healthy narcissism. Several people who have less than 55% traits of the most common signs of narcissism may fall under this category.
• Grandiose narcissism
  Individuals with this type of narcissism usually have an unrealistic sense of superiority. People with grandiose narcissism generally have an inflated sense of self-esteem.
• Vulnerable narcissism
  Also known as covert narcissism, this is the opposite spectrum of grandiose narcissism. People with this type of narcissism are extremely sensitive to the evaluations of others and chronically envious. Such people crave recognition from others and may get defensive when criticised.
• Malignant narcissism
  These types of narcissists are manipulative and malicious in nature. Malignant narcissism is one of the worst types of narcissism as people affected with it enjoy creating troubles for others.
• Sexual narcissism
  People who have sexual narcissism can be overtly positive about their own sexual prowess and become consumed with their obsession about sexual performance.
• Somatic narcissism
  Somatic narcissists are usually obsessed about their physical appearance and weight, and they may criticise others on their looks.
• Cerebral narcissist
  Just as somatic narcissists derive their self-worth from their physical appearance, cerebral narcissists derive their self-worth from their minds/intellect. Cerebral narcissists believe that they easily are the smartest people in any room.
• Spiritual narcissist
  These types of narcissists often justify their harm-causing behaviours with their spiritual beliefs. Spiritual narcissists may also demean or manipulate others by using their spirituality as a tool.

What Are the Causes of Narcissistic Personality Disorder?

The causes of narcissistic traits stem from a lot of mental stress, including childhood mental traumas or conditions in which the individual grew up. If a child is often neglected or abused, they tend to develop narcissistic personality disorder as a defence mechanism.
Narcissistic traits may also develop in children who are constantly pampered from a young age, all t6he way into adulthood. They acquire an unbeatable sense of self-importance to the point of disregarding the feelings and opinions of others, no matter if they are constructive or destructive.

People with Narcissistic personality disorder often tend to be adulterers and are completely oblivious to cultural stimuli. They have very high expectations from the people around them, which leads to a lot of disappointment and grief.

What Is the Treatment for Narcissistic Personality Disorder?

Fortunately, with proper care for mental health with a licensed professional, signs of narcissism can be reduced and even removed. The method of treatment invites psychotherapy, which is essentially a means for the patient to talk about the issues that fuel their narcissistic personality disorder.

Talking to a mental health professional can help people with narcissistic personality disorder symptoms to develop empathy and relate to the needs and feelings of other people. The realisations often help the patients take a broader perspective of situations and communications.

Unfortunately, there are no medications that aid in dealing with narcissistic personality disorder. The only form of treatment that affects the patient’s mental health, in the long run, is talk therapy. Getting to the root of the problem, analysing the cause, identifying the patient’s strengths and weaknesses, and making them capable of dealing with their own emotions are the best methods of therapy.

Signs of narcissism can reduce with therapy, but the person needs to consciously make an effort to recognise their personality defects and correct themselves in critical moments of weakness.

How to Deal With a Narcissist?

First and foremost, contact a therapist if you or someone you love might have the narcissistic disorder. It can be difficult for the affected individual and people around them to lead a normal life. Talking to a mental health professional can be helpful in managing the condition.

If the affected individual is not ready to accept help or change for better, it is better to maintain some distance from them and cut ties if possible. Detaching oneself from a person with narcissism can be difficult or impossible in certain situations, such as when the affected individual is under your care. However, seeking mental health help for yourself may be beneficial in such scenarios.

Takeaway

Narcissistic disorder can affect individuals and people around them. Psychiatrists use different narcissistic personality disorder tests to diagnose a person and recommend suitable treatment options.

If you believe that you or someone you know may have narcissistic personality disorder, it is best to consult a psychiatrist/psychologist. People who exhibit any signs of the narcissistic personality disorder may get defensive about visiting a psychologist, but it can greatly improve their quality of life.

Counselling is one of the best treatment options for people with a narcissistic personality. However, the willingness to improve is a must for the recovery of the affected individual. People tend to quit on therapy for narcissistic personality disorder in between their recovery journey, but this can severely impact their mental health. Over time, therapy and medication (if necessary) may improve the affected individual’s mental health