Narcissistic Personality Disorder: Symptoms, Causes, Complications, and Treatment

Loving own self is not a big deal, it is a remedy for depression. It’s human nature to find themselves attractive, adorable, and creative. Believing in self helps to develop positive energy, and stay motivated when a difficult situation comes around.

Who is a Narcissist?

There are certain types of people who love themselves more than enough in an extreme way. So, who are these types of people? There’s an answer; people who find themselves grandiose and extremely love themselves are the ones who can be categorized as narcissists. They lack empathy for other people and need for admiration to themselves more. It is a personality disorder that is found in only 1 person of the total population.

How to identify a Narcissist?

Do you feel extremely proud of yourself, or you fantasize about possessing a lot of wealth? If so, you are on a path to becoming a narcissist.

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According to psychologists, people who extremely feel proud of themselves without any reason, or ignore their mistakes without realization, is a symptom of narcissism. Narcissists often fantasize about having materials, in their daydream, they create their world inside their mind and put themselves above all without any reason.

According to Robert Preidt “Taking selfies, sharing them with friends, posting it over-and-over, can be considered as a full-blown narcissism.” A study surveyed 74 people, from the 18-34 age group, people who showed their selfies, and posted in their social media, had developed a narcissistic personality disorder.

Another study shows, Narcissists are often introverted, anxious, and sensitive. They certainly want to be appreciated for their work, and they can not feel degraded. People with this disorder can not hear bitter words which can harm their self-esteem. Narcissists put themselves above all, that’s why, in their eyes, they are genius, and everyone is an idiot.

Symptoms of Narcissistic Personality Disorder

• Attention seeker
• Needs constant admiration and appraisals
• Self-centered
• Have an extra sense of self-importance
• Take advantage of others for their benefits
• Do not recognize and value others
• Have fantasies about success, power, talents, beauty, and achievements
• Keeps on exaggerating themselves
• Expect special treatments
• Ignore the needs and feelings of others
• Expect to be recognized even without doing anything that deserves them to be popular
• Exploits others without having guilt or shame

If their expectations are not fulfilled then they can:

• Have anxiety and fall to depression
• Are impatient, and angry when they are not treated specially
• Hard to deal with stress
• Do not adapt to change
• Feel insecure, humiliated, and shame
• Try to bully others to show themselves superior

Causes

There is no specific cause of Narcissistic Personality Disorder. But, psychologists believe that if a person suffers mentally or physically during his/her childhood he/she could become a narcissist latter. If a person continuously gets bullied, or he/she gets neglected by family, friends, and society, in the end, the person could develop Narcissistic Personality Disorder.

Complications

Narcissistic Personality Disorder can bring a lot of changes in a person’s personal as well as social life. Here are some complications:

• Problems in love, and familial life
• Bad understanding with colleagues/ boss
• Hard to adapt to others
• The problem is listening to other opinions
• Extreme introversion
• Develop certain kinds of Phobias
• Drug/Alcohol abuse
• Anxiety, if left untreated, turns into Depression
• Schizophrenia
• Suicidal thoughts

How to Control yourself from being Narcissist?

When narcissism turns extreme, gradually, the person goes into a state of nihilism (negativity), believing only in self-existence, and at last, existentialism; a philosophical belief which seeks suicide as an ultimate solution. That’s why you need to have control of yourself.

If you don’t have these qualities—or possess only a few, it’s a win-win for you. But if you possess all these characteristics, you are probably a narcissist. Don’t be afraid, there’s a way to overcome the disorder. There is a treatment known as Psychotherapy, which “involves examining and gaining insight into life choices and difficulties faced by individuals, couples, or families”. This therapy helps those who excessively daydream about gaining wealth, those who are megalomaniacs; who fantasize about having power.

To prevent yourself from being a narcissist, it would be better to research yourself, you need to find: who you are, and how your personality change. At least, you can do that by yourself. Also, you can follow these tips:

• Consult to the psychiatrist/ psychologist
• Start meditating
• Develop a healthy relationship with family
• Start going into social gatherings
• Listen to others opinions
• Get to know yourself by others
• Listen to music, specifically, blues/jazz music.

Also, read this: How to Stop Overthinking?

How can You say “No!” to Things You Don’t Want To ?