What Can I Learn From Narcissistic Personality Disorder?
Is it possible to achieve improvement in emotional well-being by focusing on the narcissist’s behavior? Is there anything I should learn about pathological narcissism to improve in my own life?
In this article we will see what the main characteristics of this psychological alteration are and what lessons we can draw from it.
Individuals with narcissistic personality disorder are characterized by having a clear feeling of grandiosity, the characteristic of believing oneself superior to othersas well as presenting a need for admiration and attention from others, along with a lack of empathy.
These traits may therefore be present in “normal” subjects, but not everyone with narcissistic characteristics will present this disorder. It will be necessary to take into account the presence or absence of functional alterations, discomfort, inflexibility and behavioral stability.
The fifth edition of the Diagnostic Manual of the Association of American Psychologists (DSM 5) classifies personality disorders into 4 groups. Narcissistic personality disorder (narcissistic PD) is found within group B, along with borderline personality disorder, antisocial personality disorder and histrionic personality disorder. This group is characterized by presenting emotional, dramatic and unstable traits.
Specifically, narcissistic PD occurs in people with feeling of grandiosity both in image and behavior, need for admiration and lack of empathy.
On the other hand, the international classification of diseases (ICD 10) belonging to the WHO does not classify narcissistic PD alongside specific personality disorders but within other specific personality disorders.
Narcissistic PD appears for the first time classified within the DSM-III, although previously the term narcissistic had already been used within the psychoanalytic current.
The DSM 5 describes it as a dominant pattern of grandiosity, need for admiration, and lack of empathy, which, like other personality disorders, begins early in life adult and presenting itself in different contexts and moderately or severely affecting the functionality of the individual’s personality. A defining characteristic of personality disorders is the inflexibility and stability over time of their personality, presenting few variations.
To be diagnosed with narcissistic PD, five or more of the following diagnostic criteria must be met: shows feelings of grandeur and arrogance; is absorbed by fantasies of success, power, brilliance…; believes that he is “special” and unique and can only relate to people who are also that way; he excessively needs to be admired; You have a feeling of privilege, you believe that you have to be treated favorably and automatically meet your expectations; He is exploitative, he takes advantage of others; lacks empathy; he envies others and believes that they envy him; He is arrogant.
The feeling and belief of greatness, of being the best, of being special, can lead to frustration and disappointment in the long run, since these people do not see these characteristics reaffirmed. This can lead to depressed mood, hypomanic mood, or even major depressive disorder.
Furthermore, in narcissistic disorder, relationships with others are altered, since people who develop this alteration do not show interest in others, they only want them to reaffirm their greatness and increase their self-esteem, presenting exploitative behavior, taking advantage of others. others to fulfill their own purposes. Likewise, in the workplace they may also have alterations since to avoid possible frustration they avoid situations of comparison or competition.
Epidemiology refers to the prevalence, the percentage of individuals who present the disorder in society. In reference to narcissistic disorder, The DSM 5 points to a prevalence between 0 to 6.2% of the populationoccurring to a greater extent in men compared to women, with a percentage of between 50 and 75% of cases.
As we noted previously, narcissistic traits can also occur in the normal population, being a typical characteristic in adolescents. Specifically we will see that PDs have more difficulty adapting, showing from the beginning physical and occupational limitations linked to aging..
In the classification of the severity of personality disorders, narcissistic PD is among those of mild severity, along with histrionic, antisocial and dependent personality disorders.
Alternative model of DSM 5
The DSM 5 has presented in section III a new diagnostic classification of personality disorders, giving more importance to the individual’s functionality in daily life and introducing a more dimensional measure, classifying personality scores on a continuum, from moderate to moderate. greater mismatch.
In the specific case of narcissistic PD, this presents maladaptive traits in the antagonistic domain, related to the feeling of self-importance, expectation of special treatment, and cruel antipathy, among others. To meet diagnostic criteria, one must present pathological traits of grandiosity and attention-seeking, wanting to be the center of attention and being admired.
Its relationship with the 5 personality factors
Different authors have tried to associate or relate personality disorders with typical personality traits or factors present in the general population. In relation to narcissistic PD, People who develop it are more likely to have low agreeableness, medium-high conscientiousness, and low self-reported neuroticism.; This means that they report being little anxious.
What can we learn from narcissistic personality disorder?
Now that we have seen broadly what narcissistic personality disorder is, it is time to ask ourselves if it is possible to learn key ideas from it that help maintain a good level of emotional well-being. Let’s look at several key ideas in this regard.
1. Self-esteem problems are not only due to lack of this
As we see, Having a problem related to self-esteem does not always mean believing yourself less than what you really are.. Sometimes, an overly inflated self-esteem can have the paradoxical effect that it can be easily “punctured,” quickly giving rise to many insecurities; and in other cases, it can expose the person to situations that are too risky or dangerous.
You may be interested: “Do you really know what self-esteem is?”
2. Self-esteem is a psychosocial phenomenon
On the other hand, narcissistic personality disorder also shows that Self-esteem is not a “private” psychological element and restricted to what happens inside the person’s brain.. It is made up of many social dynamics, which constantly influence and shape it.
3. Self-concept can easily lead us to biased perceptions
Another lesson that we can extract from narcissistic personality disorder is that imbalances in the concept of the “I”, or self-concept, can lead to significant alterations in our behavior and in all aspects of life. Being wrong about other concepts does not have to be reflected in our actions constantly, but the idea of “I” is at the center of almost everything we do and say.
