The media has thrown the term ‘narcissism’ around for many years, but narcissism can be an actual personality disorder. Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD) is something that most people don’t know about because narcissists are often hard to spot. This blog post will explore the narcissist’s definition, and we’ll go over NPD symptoms and signs so you can recognize them before they get too close. This article aims not to diagnose anyone but rather provide information about narcissism to help those who might be dealing with it.

Narcissist definition

Narcissists are often described as egotistical, self-centered people who think highly of themselves and believe they’re better than everyone else. Although narcissism can be an actual personality disorder, narcissism has become a catchphrase for anyone who puts their needs above ever

What is Narcissistic personality disorder?

Though this word gets thrown around a lot these days for vain people, this is not what the psychological term NPD means. NPD is a disorder that causes people to have a deep need for admiration, not have any empathy for others and have an exaggerated sense of self. NPD affects an estimated one percent of the population, but narcissism exists on a spectrum, and some people are more narcissistic than others. For example, narcissists may come across as charming at first, or they can be highly successful because their inflated self-confidence helps them achieve great things.

This disorder was named after the Greek mythological character Narcissus who fell in love with his reflection—the literal definition of narcissism.

Narcissistic personality disorder symptoms and signs

NPD might be hard to detect in oneself or the people around oneself as these people are very charming and tend to make others think the best of them. But their behavior can be pernicious for themselves and the people around them, so it becomes imperative to identify such people and create healthy boundaries. The signs and symptoms of narcissism are:

1) The individual has a sense of entitlement and superiority over others.

They believe that they are special or unique and expect other people to treat them in the same way. They think that everyone should appreciate all their good qualities, help them reach their goals and never be unappreciative of anything they do. They also want respect from everybody around them and cannot take the slightest bit of criticism.

2) The individual has an exaggerated sense of self-importance

This means that they think that everything revolves around them and that they are more important than everybody else. They believe that they are special and expect people to treat them as such.

They have an unrealistic sense where anything is expected from others. Yet, narcissists themselves need not be accountable for their actions or behavior, nor should they ever be questioned in any way whatsoever by anybody around them.

3) Symptoms of this disorder include arrogance, hostility, anger outbursts, reckless behavior, narcissist manipulation, and the need to always be right.

When narcissists are accused of something or made fun of, it can lead them to react extremely angrily, including throwing fits, threatening people around them with violence, name-calling, bullying others, etc. This is because they have no empathy for other human beings but only see people as objects to be abused, used and discarded when they have served their purpose.

For narcissists to feel good about themselves, they must look at other people negatively, giving them the chance to try and make these people feel worse than they do.

4) Symptoms of narcissism are grandiosity, fantasies of power and brilliance.

People with narcissism have a grandiose sense of self-importance and exaggerate their achievements. They believe they are superior, special and unique – they only associate themselves with people that can help them achieve more and more in life or who look up to them as an idol.

Narcissist will exaggerate their achievements to “brag” about themselves to get approval from others. Still, if they have any flaws or failures, these are quickly rationalized away with excuses or blamed on other people. They may also expect preferential treatment because they consider themselves superior to others.

Other symptoms might include poor interpersonal relationships. Narcissists are only interested in people that can benefit them or provide acclaim. They also have a penchant for being harsh critics of others – they will often try to undermine other people’s self-confidence, so narcissists always look superior.

The narcissist may mistreat and exploit their partners, family members, friends and colleagues; they need constant praise; lack empathy; act with callousness toward others’ feelings; fail to recognize needs expressed by others; exploit or devalue sexual relationships (strictly for personal gain); believe themselves entitled over those who meet their demands regardless of how unreasonable these requests might seem.

How to set boundaries for healthy and better life

Suppose you recognize someone in your life as being narcissistic. In that case, it is important that you create healthy boundaries around yourself as being exposed to narcissistic behaviors can hurt you and your goals. You can do this by

– keeping yourself out of narcissists way

– learning to say no and set limits

– be willing to walk away.

Just remember that narcissists are often very charming early in a relationship, so make sure you do your research before associating with them!

Seeking help for narcissism

Due to the nature of their disorder, narcissists refuse to accept that something is wrong with them or seek help for the same. Narcissists rarely seek treatment unless someone in their life threatens their ego, such as a spouse threatening divorce or colleagues questioning their competence. But it is not impossible to treat this disorder. A professional therapist or psychologist can treat it with the help of therapy, medication and support groups.