Narcissism
Narcissism can be more than thinking highly of yourself. At Reid Health, we offer specialized services to diagnose and treat narcissism and narcissistic personality disorder.
Tools and treatment to help you overcome narcissism
Narcissism and narcissistic personality disorder (NPD) can affect every aspect of a person’s life. Nearly everyone experiences some level of narcissism at some point during their lives, but when it lasts for a long time, narcissism can have lasting consequences. The conditions cause impulsive, attention-seeking behaviors that can endanger your health. The disorder can also prevent people from interacting with others in fulfilling and meaningful ways.
Still, narcissism and NPD are treatable behavioral health conditions. If you or a loved one experiences symptoms of narcissism that impact your quality of life, help is available here in East Central Indiana and West Central Ohio.
Care for narcissism at Reid Health
At Reid Health, we have a team of multidisciplinary providers with specialized training in diagnosing, treating, and managing narcissism. This includes both occasional or disruptive symptoms of narcissism, as well as NPD, a clinical personality disorder.
You can access these services right here in our community. That means you never have to travel far to get the care you need to limit your symptoms, improve your quality of life, and strengthen your relationships.
If you’re experiencing symptoms of narcissism, don’t be afraid or embarrassed to seek treatment. We’re here to provide you with the care and tools you need to manage the condition and improve your health and well-being.
What is narcissism?
Narcissism can refer to two things. Narcissism is a personality trait causing an inflated sense of self-worth. However, when narcissism persists or becomes severe, it might be because of a mental health condition known as narcissistic personality disorder (NPD).
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders describes NPD as severe, persistent, and problematic narcissism. People with this type of personality disorder, also called pathological narcissism, have an excessive sense of self-worth (also called grandiosity), an inflated view of themselves, and a lack of empathy toward others.
Having these narcissistic traits can greatly impact many aspects of a person’s life, even leading to complications such as alcohol or drug abuse, mood disorders, anxiety disorders, and problems with relationships, work, and school.
Types of narcissism
While narcissism causes an intense focus on one’s self, it isn’t always a positive focus. There are multiple forms of narcissism defined based on how you feel about yourself and relate to others:
- Grandiose narcissism: Related to high self-esteem, this type can cause someone to be attention-seeking, entitled, arrogant, or exploitative.
- High-functioning narcissism: Often tied to low self-esteem, this type of narcissism occurs in people who have traits of narcissism but still function well socially and professionally.
- Vulnerable narcissism: This type occurs in people with low or fragile self-esteem. It can cause them to be shy, envious, or hypersensitive to criticism.
While grandiose narcissism is tied to elevated self-esteem and vulnerable narcissism is tied to fragile self-esteem, both types of narcissism can cause someone to be excessively self-absorbed.
Symptoms of narcissism
Narcissism causes three primary symptoms: an inflated sense of self-importance, a preoccupation with yourself, and a lack of empathy for others.
It can also cause you to experience a variety of other related symptoms. For example, people with narcissism might:
- Be aggressive or fight back when challenged
- Be arrogant or condescending
- Be overly focused on success, power, beauty, or fame
- Disregard others’ feelings
- Exaggerate their achievements, talents, and other attributes
- Fish for compliments and praise
- Have a hard time maintaining healthy relationships
- Have unreasonable expectations of favoritism or being No. 1
- Manipulate people or use other ways to take advantage of them
- Need constant admiration and attention
- Not see flaws in themselves
- Pursue selfish goals
- React strongly to criticism, showing rage, shame, or humiliation
Narcissism risk factors
Researchers don’t have a good understanding of what causes narcissism or NPD, but it might be related to genetics and having a personal or family history of NPD or other personality disorders.
It can also be related to certain childhood experiences, such as:
- Being heavily criticized or overly praised by parents or other caregivers
- Experiencing rejection
- Growing up in a culture that valued individualism and self-worth
- Observing behaviors in others with narcissism or NPD
- Trauma or abuse
Diagnosing narcissism
If you’re experiencing symptoms of narcissism or the more severe symptoms of NPD, talk with your primary care provider, who can refer you to a mental health professional for diagnosis and treatment.
When you meet with a mental health professional, this psychologist, psychiatrist, or licensed clinical social worker will perform a thorough psychiatric evaluation. During this visit, your provider will ask you about your symptoms, their severity, and how they impact your daily life and relationships.
Because others might be able to spot your behaviors and tendencies better than you can self-analyze, your provider might also talk with your family members and loved ones about your symptoms.
To diagnose you with NPD, you need to exhibit at least five of the nine criteria defined by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders:
- An exaggerated sense of importance
- Arrogance
- Envy
- Lack of empathy
- Need to be admired
- Overly focused on achievement, power, wealth, beauty, and status
- Sense of entitlement
- Taking advantage of (exploiting) others to achieve your goals
- The belief that you are special and unique and should interact only with others who are also special and unique
Some symptoms of NPD can also be caused by other mental health conditions. Your provider will take special care to review all your symptoms, so they can come up with an accurate diagnosis and develop a treatment plan that’ll help you.
Treating narcissism
Therapy can help many people with NPD recognize and change their behavior patterns and learn to better relate to the people and world around them. Sometimes, providers combine therapy with medications.
Treatment for NPD usually includes one or more types of psychotherapy:
- Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT): CBT can help you identify and correct unhealthy thoughts and behaviors
- Dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT): DBT uses mindfulness and other strategies to help you manage strong emotions and change how you react to difficult situations. The goal is to help you build empathy and improve relationships.
- Gestalt therapy: This therapy helps you focus on personal responsibility and self-awareness. You’ll learn to recognize negative thoughts and how they impact your mental well-being.
- Psychoanalysis: During psychoanalysis, you and your therapist will explore the reasons behind your feelings and behaviors.
- Schema therapy: This therapy focuses on schemas, negative themes, or patterns that develop during childhood due to unmet emotional needs. A therapist helps you identify those schemas and find ways to reverse the negative behaviors and emotional reactions they can produce.
In addition to meeting with a mental health professional in a one-on-one setting, you might also participate in couples, family, or group therapy. These types of therapy can help you overcome feelings of shame and codependency and improve your relationships.
Along with psychotherapy, your treatment plan might also include medications to manage specific mental health symptoms, case management to connect you with community services, and training to help you develop healthy habits and coping tools.
Consider treatment for narcissistic personality disorder a marathon, not a sprint. To manage the condition, you’ll need ongoing psychotherapy and other supportive services. We’re here to help you get the care you need, now and for years to come.