When we hear the word narcissist or narcissism, the first person or character who comes to our mind is Gaston from The Beauty and the Beast.
The American Psychological Association defines narcissism as an excessive self-love or egocentrism. Contrary to popular belief, narcissism is not taking selfies and posting everything on social media. It isn’t just looking at the mirror once or twice a day or considering one to be good looking. Many people falsely believe that narcissism is simply overconfidence. That if one person says that they are confident in their ability and that they know that they can achieve the task in front of them, that is narcissism. This is not how narcissism is defined in Psychology.
Psychologist suggests that there are two different types of narcissism: grandiose narcissism and vulnerable narcissism.
Grandiose narcissism is considered to be a manifestation of psychopathy.
Vulnerable narcissism is found to be characterised by insecurity. This means that people who are narcissists and not to the level that it becomes a disorder show such behaviour due to their underlying insecurity. In such cases, narcissism is a compensatory method adopted to overcome or hide their feelings of low self-worth.
At extreme levels, narcissism is a diagnosable personality disorder, where people have a delusional sense of self-worth and lack of empathy. People who are actually narcissistic believe that they are superior to others and are entitled to special treatment. They have a very high level of sense of self-importance. Additionally, the people with narcissistic personality disorder have a preoccupation with fantasies of getting unlimited success, power, brilliance, beauty etc. These individuals believe genuinely that they are unique and special and can only be understood and should associate with others who are of high status. They need and crave excessive amounts of admiration and often lack empathy towards others. Furthermore, these people tend to believe that others are envious of them and tend to manipulate and exploit others to their benefit. For such individuals with narcissistic vulnerabilities, affordable therapy in Dubai is available with qualified psychologists. Reach out to us to start your journey of therapy in Dubai to understand your own vulnerabilities and work towards improving your self in therapy.
Individuals who are narcissistic tend to over exaggerate their ability and competences and lies even though they are aware of the possibility that the truth can be unveiled at any point of time. Psychologist suggests that one of the reasons why narcissists tend to overestimate and make a show of their confidence and abilities is due to the positive consequences that come after it. That is, a narcissist tends to exaggerate and develop a grandiose self-image because such a display may cause people to believe that they actually have these superior skills and thus the narcissist gets social benefits.
Individuals who are narcissists tend to prefer public social events over private social settings because in such situations they can place themselves in the limelight and earn the status that they pursue. It could also be for this reason that people who are narcissists pursue careers that enable them to be at the center of attention and climb up the social ladder. Additionally, individuals who are narcissists are more likely to choose relationships that could boost their status over relationships that could cultivate affiliation. Hence such people show an increased preference for creating or maintaining relationships with people who are of high status.
Unfortunately, many times people don't realise that they are being narcissistic. When you enter into a relationship with a narcissist, be it friendship or an intimate relationship, It sometimes becomes intolerable for the person.
Furthermore, it is important to know the difference between self-esteem and narcissism.
Self-esteem is essentially a person's view of themselves and their own accomplishments. Whereas narcissism is the thought of oneself as being superior to others, and thus they believe that others are inferior by comparison. This comparison of oneself and others as being superior, and inferior is not present in self-esteem. Either way working on your self-esteem in therapy can help you discover your authentic and true self with the help of our qualified psychologist in Dubai and therapist in Dubai.
Kaizen Wellbeing is an online therapy platform in Dubai, UAE that caters to South Asian community. There is a dearth of good therapy establishments that accommodate the mental health needs of the brown community. We aim to bridge that gap by providing you quality and affordable care by qualified and warm therapists. Reach out at hello@kaizenwb.com or +971 50 961 8796 and book your first session towards understanding yourself and other’s better.
If you have any queries please put them down in the comments section and we will try our best to answer them and help you out.
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