A Spectrum Of Narcissism

When self-admiration is taken to the extreme, it's referred to as narcissism. Narcissistic personality disorder is regarded as a mental health condition that involves being unusually self-involved, holding an inflated and unrealistic sense of self, and having a general lack of empathy for others.

The reason that empathy has been suggested as an "antidote to narcissism" frequently in the past is because the narcissist is one who is seen to lack consideration for others and hold an unrealistic sense of superiority. In other words, empaths are arguably the opposite of narcissists.

Narcissistic personality disorder isn't the only personality disorder however that can fuel a sense of superiority or lack of empathy toward others.

Those who have NPD have displayed patterns of behavior, thinking, and interacting that end-up causing them a great deal of distress in their lives. Those individuals who are in a relationship with a narcissist might find that it's a continual struggle; research has shown that they are likely to be less committed partners than those who don't have NPD. If you maintain a view of yourself that you are better than everyone else then you might find that from time to time you're going to have difficulty in your social relationships with others. And it's easy to dislike such a trait if you believe that the individual is choosing to think that way, rather than looking at it as something that they cannot help.

Narcissism is seen as a spectrum disorder and individuals might possess only a few narcissistic personality traits while there are others who struggle with more.

While some might possess narcissistic traits, and you could argue that we all do to some extent, that doesn't mean that they also cannot be selfless at times, kind, or generous. It also isn't their fault if you consider that their upbringing, or genetics etc, might have played a critical role in the development of their personality.

A variety of “treatments” have been suggested for NPD, including psychodynamic psychotheraphy. One core feature which has been identified with those who do struggle with NPD is that they generally have a lot of difficulty forming and maintaining healthy intimate relationships. For this reason, they might likely struggle to form a relationship with a therapist who could ultimately help them. Some researchers also believe that these personality disorders might soften with age and there is still little research that has followed these individuals to assess the quality of their later life, after living with NPD for so many years.

They might have difficulty feeling empathy for others but that doesn't mean they aren't capable of learning, and plenty of psychotherapy is centered around trying to help those individuals suffering with NPD to learn how to better relate to others around them.

Today when you think of a narcissist you might think of a character that you've seen from a film, such as the crazy psycho from Gone Girl, the serial killer from the series Dexter, or a more comedic personality such as Ron Burgandy from Anchorman, all of these characters have been described as displaying narcissistic personality traits to some extreme. But not all narcissists are liars or violent people, despite what image the media might want to fuel. An individual might possess narcissistic traits and yet could still not meet the criteria to quality as having NPD. This is a disorder that can easily lower the quality of life for those who suffer with it, at times preventing them from being able to experience deep, safe, and trusting relationships with others.

It's easy to quickly look at narcissism as something that people are choosing to do and disliking any narcissist as a result, but that doesn't give us an honest picture. It takes more time to consider how it not only might not be their fault but that it could also be the source of a great deal of pain for them too, not just the others around them who might be hurt because of their potential inability to show they care.

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