Narcissistic personality disorder: Meaning, causes, symptoms, treatments, and myths
Narcissism is a clinically classified personality disorder. A narcissistic personality disorder is a mental health condition in which people regard and view their own appearance with unreasonably high standards. This disorder causes problems in many spheres of one's life and can take a toll on their physical health too. From its meaning and causes to symptoms and treatments, here is everything about it.
Patients want people to admire them every time
People with narcissistic personality disorder crave attention all the time and want people to admire them. With that, they usually don't understand or care about other people's feelings, which is why their relationships fail. Additionally, they get massively upset upon little criticism and are usually unsure about their self-worth. They become unhappy or angry when denied special favors or admiration they think they deserve.
Childhood trauma, genetics, relationships, and personality are some major causes
Narcissistic personality disorder stems from a host of underlying conditions and experiences in life. The most common causes of this condition include childhood trauma and abuse - physical, mental, sexual, or verbal. Even early relationships with parents, family members, relatives, friends, or partners can trigger it. Genetics also has a role to play and so does one's personality.
High sense of self and superiority complex are some signs
People dealing with this disorder have an unreasonably high sense of self and self-importance. They want to be superior to everything and everyone around them and look down upon those not in their favor. They may also take advantage of others for their personal motives, be envious of others, and crave attention. Finally, they want the best of everything, fanaticize perfectionism, and romanticize power.
Long-term counseling and medications can come to their rescue
The best treatment available to overcome narcissistic personality disorder is to seek long-term psychotherapy. It can help one receive insights on their problem and changes to rope in. A psychotherapist may also prescribe you certain medicines including antidepressants for cutting down the chances of depression, mood stabilizers to control mood swings, and anti-psychotic drugs to deal with emotional distress and anxiety.
Debunking some common myths about narcissistic personality disorder
Myth 1: Small doses of narcissism are healthy. No, it's not. Once you become habitual of receiving excessive appreciation and admiration, you may develop arrogance and crave them more. Myth 2: People with narcissistic personality disorder have low self-esteem. People with this disorder think they are the most incredible humans on this planet and superior to others. Hence, they don't have low self-esteem.
