Information in the form of examples of narcissistic behavior paints a detailed picture of a narcissist’s personality. Although surrounded by a few of them, we hardly come to know about this medical disorder.
This world is filled with people who consider themselves God or the Supreme Authority, and we all have encountered such individuals who think highly of themselves and believe that they can do nothing wrong. They do not care or think about the feelings of others; and if you happen to know someone with this nature, then he/she is a narcissist. It is said that narcissists live in the world of their own and seldom care about other people. The only thing that matters to them is money, power, and expensive items, such materialistic wants makes them suffer further from a chronic illness known as narcissistic personality disorder.
This personality disorder is defined as a belief in a pattern of grandiosity, an overwhelming need of admiration and a complete lack of empathy towards others. People with this disorder believe that they are the center of the universe for all and are essential for the survival of human life. Narcissists are cocky, manipulative and self-obsessed. Most of them tend to have high self-esteem, but narcissism shouldn’t be confused as a synonym for self-esteem. People who have high self-esteem are often humble, and even though they come across as totally super-confident, deep down they are highly insecure.
Traits of Narcissistic Behavior
The traits given below are perfect examples of how a narcissistic person behaves. Today almost everyone has heard about ‘narcissism’ or ‘narcissists’ and one does wonder about such people and their behavior. Narcissists are often charming and play excellent mind games.
Narcissists will try to show everyone their exaggerated sense of self-importance by talking about problems in life, family, and work in general. They often react as if no one else exists on earth. However wrong their actions are, in their eyes, they have only done God’s work. They always crib about all the hardships they have faced, and are the sole reason for their family’s survival. Such people never appreciate the contributions of others and often complain about their bad luck. Most things said by them are not true, every pain and complain that they make is highly exaggerated.
They are often preoccupied with fantasies of their own, and cultivate them, to live in their own world where they are the supreme authority with unlimited power, wealth and happiness. This dream life is pretty unhealthy because sometimes they lose the sense of reality and fiction, and often start to see things and people who are nowhere to be seen.
A narcissist thrives on admiration from others. They want praise, compliments, deference and expressions of envy at all times. They like to hear that everything they do is right and better than what anyone else can do. This ‘Me’ attitude is highly dangerous as it starts affecting the personal and professional lives of the individual and people around them. Slowly people start realizing the lies and the betrayal and everything comes crashing down.
This personality disorder causes narcissists to believe that anyone who is not superior or rich doesn’t deserve to live. They display a very hostile attitude towards people who are low in economic and social backgrounds than them. To explain the above statement in simple terms – narcissists believe that average and middle class crowd should be transported to the moon and they have no place on earth.
They expect automatic compliance of their wishes or special treatment wherever they go. They should always be able to go first everywhere, and then others should follow. Narcissists react with frustration and rage when they don’t get what they want. They can get verbally or even physically violent if someone questions their authority. They carry a constant feeling in their heart, that every wrong that they have done can be forgiven and forgotten.
Although many people say that narcissism is incurable, the effects can be minimized by undergoing cognitive behavioral therapy and group therapy sessions. Such personality disorders are difficult to cure and therapy may take time to show results. The best thing a patient can do is to not lose hope and stay focused on the goal of getting better. Educating oneself about this disorder so that the patient understands the situation can also be quite helpful.