Exploring the Realities of Clinically Diagnosed Individuals with NPD: Moving Past the Stigma.

On occasion, Jay Spring feels he is “the greatest person on planet Earth”. As a diagnosed narcissist, his grandiose moments often turn “highly unrealistic”, he states. “You are on cloud nine and you tell yourself, ‘Everyone’s going to know that I stand above others … I will achieve remarkable feats for the world’.”

In his case, these episodes of self-aggrandisement are often succeeded by a “sudden low”, where he feels deeply emotional and self-conscious about his conduct, making him highly sensitive to disapproval from others. He began to think he might have narcissistic personality disorder (NPD) after looking up his traits on the internet – and subsequently evaluated by a clinician. However, he questions he would have accepted the diagnosis without having already reached that understanding by himself. When someone suggests to somebody that they have this disorder, {they’ll probably deny it|denial is a common response|they’re likely to reject it,” he notes – most notably if they harbor beliefs of dominance. “They’re in a delusional world that they’ve built up. And in that mindset, I’m the greatest and {nobody can question me|no one should doubt me|my authority is absolute.”

Defining The Condition

Although people have been labelled as narcissists for decades, it’s not always clear what people refer to as the term. People frequently term everybody a narcissist,” states a psychology professor, noting the word is “applied too broadly” – but when it comes to a clinical identification, he suggests many people hide it, because of significant negative perception around the illness. Someone with NPD will tend to have “an inflated view of oneself”, “difficulty understanding others’ feelings”, and “a strategy of using people to bolster one’s self-esteem through things like displaying material goods,” the expert clarifies. Those with NPD may be “deeply egotistical”, 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

Gender Differences in Narcissism

While up to 75% of people diagnosed with NPD are men, studies points out this statistic does not mean there are less female narcissism, but that narcissism in women is typically appears in the less obvious variety, which is under-identified. Male narcissism tends to be somewhat tolerated, similar to everything in society,” explains a 23-year-old who posts about her co-occurring conditions on social media. It is not uncommon, the two disorders co-occur.

Personal Struggles

I find it difficult with receiving negative comments and not being accepted,” she explains, “because if I hear that the issue lies with me, I often enter self-protection or I withdraw entirely.” Although experiencing this reaction – which is often called “narcissistic injury”, she has been attempting to address it and take advice from her support system, as she aims to avoid falling into the damaging patterns of her earlier years. I used to be manipulative to my partners in my youth,” she states. Via therapeutic interventions, she has been able to manage her condition better, and she notes she and her current boyfriend “operate with an understanding where I’ve instructed him, ‘Should I make a harmful comment, when I use toxic language, point it out {right then and there|immediately|in the moment’.”

Her childhood mostly in the care of her father and notes she didn’t have positive role models during development. It’s been a process of understanding over the years the difference between and is not appropriate to say during a fight because I lacked that guidance in my formative years,” she shares. Every insult was fair game when my household were belittling me in my early years.”

Underlying Factors of NPD

Personality disorders tend to be associated with childhood challenges. Heredity is a factor,” says a mental health specialist. But, when someone shows signs of narcissism, it is often “connected with that individual’s particular early environment”. Those traits were “a coping mechanism in some ways to manage during childhood”, he continues, when they may have been neglected, or only shown love that was dependent on meeting particular demands. They then “continue to use those identical strategies as adults”.

Like several of the those diagnosed, John (a pseudonym) thinks his parents “could also have the disorder. The adult explains when he was a child, “everything was all about them and their work and their social life. So it was like, don’t bother us.” When their focus was on him, it came in the form of “intense expectations to achieve high marks and professional advancement, he recalls, which made him feel that if he didn’t fulfill their expectations, he wasn’t “worthy.

As he grew older, none of his relationships ever worked out. I didn’t truly value about anyone really,” he admits. Therefore, I never treated relationships seriously.” He believed he wasn’t forming deep connections, until he met his long-term relationship of three years, who is diagnosed with BPD, so, similar to his experience, struggles with mood stability. She is “highly empathetic of the internal struggles in my head”, he notes – it was actually she who initially thought he might have NPD.

Seeking Help

Following an appointment to his general practitioner, an assessment was arranged to a therapist for an diagnosis and was told his diagnosis. He has been referred for psychological counseling through national services (a long period of therapy is the primary approach that has been shown to help NPD patients, clinicians explain), but has been on the patient queue for an extended period: The estimate was it is expected around early next year.”

John has only told a few individuals about his NPD diagnosis, because “negative perceptions are widespread that every person with NPD is harmful”, but, privately, he has come to terms with it. “It helps me to comprehend my actions, which is always a good thing,” he says. All of the people have come to terms with NPD and are pursuing treatment for it – which is why they agree to talk about it – which is likely not typical of all people with the disorder. But the growth of individuals sharing their stories and the expansion of digital groups point to {more narcissists|a growing number