Saturday, November 24, 2012

Clarification on Narcissistic Personality Disorder

I found this paragraph in a Psychology magazine and really have to reprint it here, partially because it so perfectly sums up narcissistic tendencies, but also because so many people have accessed my post about this personality disorder.

This is a brief, but thorough commentary on the behavior of all narcissists. 
In a sense, narcissists are out of touch with reality. They are not mentally ill, like a psychotic; they are just unwilling to acknowledge truth that doesn't match their preferences. While normal people can weigh events rationally and draw fair conclusions about themselves, narcissists do not. They lack the objectivity to live with reasonable insight because their need for self exaltation does not allow them to accept that their perceptions might not be the ultimate truth. Their idealized view of themselves blinds them as they try to make sense of life, particularly the elements in themselves that might be imperfect or that might require adjustments (and they never want to make adjustments).
 
We've all known narcissists, and we've all sighed and rolled our eyes when dealing with them.  I guess the really sad thing is that there is no magical medication to help narcissists get over themselves.  We're just stuck with them.  But it could be worse.  They're stuck with themselves.

2 comments:

Paul Kirby said...

.....but I can't help it. I'm just right 99.99 per cent of the time.

Citizen X said...

Need to be right, do you? Well, if you ARE right, than where's the harm?

Personally, I need to be left. It annoys so many ignorant people!