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At times, a 22-year-old from Los Angeles believes he is “unmatched in his abilities”. Having received an NPD diagnosis, his periods of extreme self-importance can become “highly unrealistic”, he admits. You’re riding high and you’re like, ‘People will see that I stand above others … I’m destined for greatness for the world’.”

In his case, these phases of exaggerated self-worth are usually succeeded by a “emotional downturn”, a period when he feels deeply emotional and ashamed about his conduct, making him highly sensitive to disapproval from those around him. He came to wonder he might have this personality condition after looking up his traits through digital sources – and eventually evaluated by a clinician. However, he questions he would have accepted the diagnosis without having independently formed that realization personally. “If you try to tell somebody that they have this disorder, {they’ll probably deny it|denial is a common response|they’re likely to reject it,” he says – particularly if they experience feelings of superiority. “They’re in a delusional world that they’ve constructed. And within that framework, I am superior and {nobody can question me|no one should doubt me|my authority is absolute.”

Understanding Narcissistic Personality Disorder

Though people have been called narcissists for decades, definitions vary what people refer to as the term. It’s common to label everybody a narcissist,” explains an expert in narcissism, adding the word is “applied too broadly” – but when it comes to a formal diagnosis, he notes many people conceal it, due to significant negative perception around the illness. An individual diagnosed will tend to have “an exaggerated self-image”, “a lack of empathy”, and “a tendency to exploit relationships to bolster one’s self-esteem through things like pursuing power,” the professor says. Those with NPD may be “highly self-focused”, to the point that {“they’re not able to hold down stable relationships|“their jobs are damaged|“they have a distorted view of reality,” he states.

I never truly valued about anyone really, so I’ve never taken relationships seriously

Sex-Based Distinctions in NPD Presentation

While up to 75% of people identified as having the condition are males, findings points out this number does not mean there are fewer narcissistic women, but that women with NPD is more often presented in the less obvious variety, which is under-identified. Narcissistic traits in men tends to be more socially permissible, similar to everything in society,” says a 23-year-old who shares content on her dual diagnosis on online channels. Frequently, the two disorders appear together.

Personal Struggles

“I really struggle with receiving negative comments and rejection,” she shares, whenever it’s suggested that I am at fault, I often enter defence mode or I become unresponsive.” Even with this behavior – which is sometimes referred to as “ego wounding”, she has been trying to overcome it and take advice from her support system, as she strives not to return into the harmful behaviour of her earlier years. My past relationships were toxic to my partners in my youth,” she admits. Via therapeutic interventions, she has been able to reduce her narcissistic traits, and she explains she and her partner “maintain an agreement where I told him, ‘If I say something messed up, if my words are controlling, call it out {right then and there|immediately|in the moment’.”

She grew up mainly in the care of her father and notes she didn’t have positive role models as a child. It’s been a process of understanding continuously the difference between acceptable versus unacceptable to say when arguing because I never had that in my formative years,” she says. Every insult was fair game when my family members were criticizing me during my childhood.”

Underlying Factors of The Condition

These mental health issues tend to be connected with childhood challenges. “There is a genetic component,” notes a mental health specialist. But, when someone exhibits NPD characteristics, it is often “tied to that person’s unique upbringing”. Those traits were “a coping mechanism in some ways to cope in formative years”, he adds, when they may have been neglected, or only shown love that was dependent on meeting particular demands. They then “persist in applying those same mechanisms as adults”.

In common with many of the NPD-diagnosed people, a person from Leeds thinks his parents “may be narcissists themselves”. The 38-year-old explains when he was a child, “everything was all about them and their work and their social life. So it was like, stay out of our way.” When their attention turned to him, it came in the form of “a great amount of pressure” to achieve high marks and life achievements, he notes, which made him feel that if he didn’t meet their standards, he wasn’t “worthy.

When he became an adult, none of his relationships lasted. I didn’t truly value about anyone really,” he says. “So I’ve never taken relationships seriously.” He didn’t think forming deep connections, until he met his present significant other of three years, who is diagnosed with BPD, so, like him, finds it hard to manage mood stability. She is “very supportive of the stuff that goes on in my head”, he explains – it was surprisingly, she who initially thought he might have NPD.

Seeking Help

Subsequent to a consultation to his GP, John was referred to a therapist for an diagnosis and was told his diagnosis. He has been recommended for therapeutic sessions via government-funded care (ongoing counseling is the main intervention that has been proven effective NPD patients, clinicians explain), but has been on the patient queue for an extended period: “They said it is expected around in a few months.”

He has shared with a few individuals about his NPD diagnosis, because “negative perceptions are widespread that the disorder equates to toxicity”, but, personally, he has embraced the diagnosis. “It helps me to comprehend my actions, which is beneficial,” he says. Each individual have acknowledged their condition and are seeking help for it – leading them to be open to talk about it – which is probably not representative of all people with the diagnosis. But the existence of individuals sharing their stories and the expansion of digital groups point to {more narcissists|a growing number