What Is The Narcissus Complex?

According to Sigmund Freud’s theory, narcissistic people behave with their own body similar to that normally given to the sexual object. It is said that all people by nature have some narcissism which is considered normal to a certain extent, however when this dose of narcissism is exaggerated it is considered pathological. According to psychoanalysis, there are two types of narcissism, primary and secondary narcissism.

• Primary narcissism. According to psychoanalysis, this type of narcissism constitutes one of the stages of childhood that we all go through, in this case it refers to the phase of libidinal or psychosexual development (stage in which the genitals begin to become excited and in which the child discovers that by manipulating them they obtain pleasurable sensations). This stage is prior to object love and treatment is given to oneself similar to that which would be given to another sexual object.
• Secondary narcissism. This type of narcissism refers to a setback in the child’s evolution since instead of continuing with the next phase, which would be object love, that is, obtaining love or pleasure in another object that is not the same, it happens that the child returns. again to autoeroticism, which is precisely where it gets stuck.

Sigmund Freud gave the name to this complex after from the myth of Narcissus (taken from ancient Greek mythology). This mythology tells that Daffodil He was the son of a god called Cephisus who was the protector of the homonymous river and also of the nymph Liríope.

Mythology says that Narcissus was a young man who had enormous beauty and who did not lack love since he attracted a large number of nymphs, who were willing to do anything to win their love. Among all the nymphs who were interested in him, there was the nymph Echo whom she ruthlessly rejected and because of this, the nymph became ill and asked the goddess Nemesis to do something to take revenge on Narcissus.

The way in which the goddess Nemesis took revenge on Narcissus was as follows: one day, during the hunt, Narcissus stopped next to a fountain of clear water and he, looking at your beautiful reflection, he was fascinated, thinking that it was another being he was observing. He tried to narrow the image of himself reflected in the water, which escaped him every time he tried.

From that moment on, Narciso could no longer fix his gaze on anyone else since he fell in love with himself, so when he realized how impossible his wish was since it was the same, he tried to overcome himself and beat himself so much in his frustration trying to achieve it, until he finally died. It is said that when they wanted to burn his body, he had turned into a flower.

The Narcissus complex can appear at different levels depending on the severity and features of your complex. These levels are the following:

1. Pathology of the self

These are excessively narcissistic people, who desperately need to be approved and, above all, admired by others. They constantly have fantasies of grandeur and success at all levels, so they avoid at all costs anything that makes them land in a reality where they do not feel successful and where their self-image is not idealized. They hate finding themselves in situations where they feel insecure as this can seriously hurt their feelings and their sense of feeling great. These traits are the most characteristic of people with a Narcissistic personality disorder.

2. Pathology of the relationship with others

This type of narcissists constantly envy others in an exaggerated way (consciously or unconsciously), which is why they they try all the time to humiliate and exploit others to satisfy themselves. These are people who show very little empathy towards others, which makes them appear superficial, cold and distant in their interpersonal relationships.

3. superego pathology

This is considered the mildest level within this pathology People who are at this level are characterized because their constant mood swings and frequent self-criticism of themselves (they always keep the focus of attention on themselves) directly influence their low self-esteem.

They are also characterized because they have a deficit in their ability to experience sadness, grief, and they seem to be more determined by shame that because of guilt. This is why in more serious pathologies within this level, the person can have chronic antisocial behaviors and not take responsibility for them. By not experiencing guilt, they do not present any type of regret for what they have done.

4. Basic state of the self

It is characterized by experiencing an immersed and chronic feeling of emotional emptiness and boredom. The person has an intense desire for stimuli and that is why they choose to stimulate themselves artificially by resorting to the consumption of drugs and alcohol.

This article is merely informative, at PsychologyFor we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.

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