What is Narcissism?
The term “narcissist” refers to someone who is excessively preoccupied with their own sense of worth or inflated ego. It’s not always the case that persons who suffer from narcissism have higher self-esteem or more profound insecurities than those who do not.
The average person makes decisions according to his or her own set of rules and sees the world through their own eyes every day. However, narcissism exaggerates everything. Everything is overstated. It’s not just about taking pride in your achievement or fortune. It involves accepting yourself as greater than you actually are in a way that makes others look inferior and small.
Narcissism Identified as:
As a Personality Disorder
Despite some similarities to other personality disorders like a paranoid personality disorder or antisocial personality disorder, it differs from those conditions. Due to the term given to personality disorders, it is clear that the affected individual is unaware of how their actions irritate or offend other people.
As a Mental Health Problem
Additionally, narcissism is a mental health problem. It’s not only a set of actions that the person has chosen for themselves. People that are narcissistic acquire it from prior experiences or from the brain’s chemicals.
As an Incurable but Treatable Condition
A narcissistic personality disorder is, sadly, incurable. Your loved one is probably affected by this lifelong illness. However, therapy and possibly medication are effective treatments for the symptoms.
Type of Narcissism
Just as no two persons are exactly alike, neither are all narcissists, who can vary greatly from one another. This is a situation that occurs frequently in psychiatry and has led some people to think that mental problems are frequently a variety of conditions that have been mistakenly put together.
The truth is that not every mental health disease can present itself in the same way, just as a bacterial infection or a medical condition that affects the entire body may not exhibit itself in the same way. Like all other types of behavior, narcissistic behavior is certain to vary in some ways.
Somatic Narcissism
The story of Narcissism serves as a timely reminder that narcissists frequently mistake their physical beauty for a measure of their self-worth. It’s actually exceptional for both men and women to take pride in their appearance.
This story does not prove that people who are self-conscious about their appearance are narcissists. Being self-assured does not automatically make someone narcissistic.
Narcissists are likely to have a superiority complex toward others and a lack of empathy or care for other people. The somatic narcissist places a lot of value on looks and regards themselves as better than others.
They could have excessive or inflated ideas of what they look like. They could appear showy or aggressive in their attire. “Body-oriented” is an excellent way to describe the somatic narcissist.
Cerebral Narcissism
Although narcissists are frequently perceived as being self-centered, vanity need not only be concerned with outward appearances. Not just one gender experiences self-consciousness regarding their skills or abilities. Without a specific justification or supporting evidence, people might think they are unique or superior in some way.
An intellectual narcissist doesn’t believe their appearance makes them special. They can believe they are more intelligent than others or that they are always right. Due to their brain, they could feel the need to cognitively judge others or make themselves seem wiser or cleverer than others.
They can think they’re more entertaining than others. Persona-oriented can be used to characterize someone who is cerebral. One of the main components of narcissism is the desire to be adored. Narcissists with a cerebral bent also desire to be adored. They are similar to other narcissists, despite the fact that they can be hard to spot.
Seductive Narcissism
We define seduction as a provocative action intended to evoke a reaction from the target audience. A seductive narcissist may come to mind as a woman wearing form-fitting attire and fishnet stockings. She may fit the description of a temptress or seductress, but this fictitious character is not at all representative of seductive narcissists.
To obtain the same level of attention, seductive narcissism will compliment and praise others. They do this because they want other people’s approval and praise, and giving praise to others is just a way of casting a net in search of someone who would treat them with the respect they deserve.
Narcissists who are seductive aren’t always fair. As with other narcissists, they could be abusive to others who are close to them by slamming them when they don’t get what they want or weakening someone else to keep their dependent status. To maintain the person’s emotional reliance, they could use cold and hot tactics.
Overt Narcissism
Bullying is an overt narcissist’s defining trait. All narcissists struggle with the problem of not valuing other people as highly as they do themselves. However, in some forms of narcissism, this kind of attitude can lead to harmful actions like bullying and ridiculing.
In most circumstances, this indicates the narcissist doesn’t care about the needs of others and considers such worries to be less important than their own wants. The narcissist who is openly threatening is an example of this. This type of narcissism involved defaming others in order to make the narcissist feel better.
Covert Narcissism
Finding the covert narcissist might be challenging. These are the sly snakes who wear a mask of politeness and good disposition to conceal their true nature. Although they might come across as outgoing and friendly, this is really a ploy to get people to like them so they can control them.
These narcissistic individuals find it simple to manipulate people in this way because they have such a deep understanding of human nature.
The covert narcissist thinks and behaves in a similar way to how the master manipulator does because they have closely watched individuals and have a thorough understanding of their thoughts and behaviors. These people use deception to acquire whatever it is they want—power, wealth, fame, etc.
Vindictive Narcissism
Among them, vindictive narcissists are possibly the most dangerous. Every opportunity is used by them to attack and hurt other individuals. For instance, if you don’t show up to a birthday celebration or don’t send a gift, the vindictive narcissist may decide to devote their energies to destroying your life.
They are experts in deceptive methods that can be used to hurt others. They could disseminate unfavorable rumors that turn the people around you against you. They can make an absurd assertion or make an effort to paint you as a criminal or someone who has broken the law.
The severely amplified dark sides of the narcissist are symbolized by the vindictive narcissist. The vindictive narcissist is tough to understand since they are willing to harm others in the most devastating ways possible.