Pathological Narcissism and Narcissistic Personality

Question: Discuss about the Pathological Narcissism and Narcissistic Personality. Answer: There is a thin line between self-esteem and narcissism .While love and respect for self are inculcated at a tender age, it goes overboard for some. When this happens, the disorder (narcissism) sets in. Individuals seek reaffirmation from available platforms including social media. Narcissism invades all regardless of social status (Brooks, 2016). Narcissism is a phenomenon that was not a main topic of discussion some years back. Those who talked about it were those who were in a mental health profession. It is because it was uncommon and so little was known about it. It has however emerged and can be witnessed in most social settings all over the world. (Virgil Jordan,2013) described narcissism as a disorder whereby an individuals self-love is characterised by arrogance lack of empathy, a sense of entitlement and increase in attention seeking among other selfish traits. A narcissist thinks about themselves and not anybody else. Their presence is conspicuous because whatever they say or do and even put on announces their arrival (Pincus, Lukowitsky, 2010) In the olden days parents inculcated love and respect for their children. Boys were taught that they are the head and should be authoritative. Girls on the other hand were taught to be submissive and to obey. Often time girls were to be seen and not heard. Modernization changed most of the values that were held dear. Both the girls and the boys realised that they needed to be felt. They realized that if certain things were done in a particular way, attention would be assured. Modernization came with advancement in technology. Social platforms such as Facebook and Instagram have provided an opportunity for individuals to continue to portray their narcissism (Gupta Govindarajan, 1996) People who suffer from this disorder are often times conceited, boastful and pretentious. They want to dominate and want to seem to be in charge. In an instance where a conversation is among a group of girls, the narcissist will dominate. She will not give room for other to relay their opinions. They want to seem as the most classic, the most outstanding (Campbell Miller, 2011). They talk about their escapades with some popular kid, talk about the amazing gifts or the new set of make -up kits they were given by their special ones. A severe case of narcissism completely disregards other people. Such an individual tramples down on others (Rhodewalt Peterson, 2009). In a bank where others are queuing, they would demand to be served first. In other extreme cases, narcissists would cause closure social places such as gyms and salon simply because they arrived. Although parents teach their children to embrace self -love and self -worth, it crosses the thin line and these individuals become self-centred considering themselves superior than everybody else. This disorder is not selective of status. All people even the mightiest are not immune to it (Morf Rhodewalt, 2001).To avoid it therefore, people should be careful not to cross the thin line separating the expected level of self-esteem crossing over to narcissism. References Gupta, A.K., and Govindarajan, V. (1996) Determinates of Knowledge Outflows from and Inflows into Foreign Subsidiaries in Multinational Corporations Brooks, A.C. (2016). Narcissism is increasing. So youre not so special. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/14/opinion/narcissism-is-increasing-so-youre-not-so-special.html Campbell, W.K and Miller J.D (2011)The Handbook of narcissism and narcissistic personality disorder: Theoretical approaches, empirical findings, and treatments.Hoboken,NJ:Wiley Morf, C.C and Rhodewalt, F(2001) Unravelling the paradoxes of narcissism. A dynamic self-regulatory processing model Psychological Inquiry 12:177-196 Pincus, A.L and LukowitskyM.R (2010)Pathological narcissism and narcissistic personality disorderAnnual Review of Clinical Psychology 6.421-446 Rhodewalt.F and Peterson B (2009) Narcissism in Handbook of Individual differences in social behaviourNew York: Giulford