Narcissistic Personality Disorder: Types, Symptoms, Causes, Risks & Treatment

If you ever see a person with an unreasonably high sense of their importance, there are chances they have a narcissistic personality disorder. This is a mental health condition in which people seek attention and need others' admiration. Behind such behavioural traits, they lack confidence and are unsure of their worth.

To know more about this disorder, continue reading!

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What Is Narcissistic Personality Disorder?

This is one of the variants of personality disorder. Typically, people with this condition have an exaggerated opinion of themselves. As a result, they constantly seek validation and appreciation for themselves. People with NPD are often misunderstood because they are seen as concerned, snobbish and conceited. Individuals going through this may cause various problems in their workplace and hamper relationships with others.

What Are the Types of Narcissistic Personality Disorders?

Craig Malkin, a clinical psychologist, states narcissism is a trait or pervasive human tendency that exists on a spectrum. Although it is impossible to clinically diagnose each sub-type, there is a pattern.

Below are the eight variants of narcissism:

Healthy Narcissism: In this condition, a person may want to share achievements they feel proud of.
Sexual Narcissism: Individuals with an overly egoistic admiration of their sexual prowess and obsession with sexual performance are sexual narcissists.
Grandiose Narcissism: This is a condition when one overestimates their abilities, asserts dominance, and has higher self-esteem.
Vulnerable or Covert Narcissism: This type of narcissism is inhibited. People with this condition are distressed and hypersensitive to others' evaluations.
Malignant Narcissism: People with this condition are manipulative and display signs of sadism and aggression.
Somatic Narcissism: Those who have this trait obsess over their weight and physical appearance and criticise others for theirs.
Spiritual Narcissists: These people use spirituality to clarify harmful behaviours; they often use spiritual jargon to intimidate others.
Cerebral Narcissists: Individuals with this condition believe they are more intelligent than everyone else. They even try to make others feel less of themselves to satisfy their ego.

What Are the Narcissistic Traits?

The common narcissistic traits are:

Arrogance
Self-centred
Demanding
High self-esteem
Exaggerate their talents
Preoccupied with power, success, and beauty
Impulsive behaviour

What are the Symptoms of Narcissistic Personality Disorder?

The various symptoms of narcissistic personality disorder are subjective to every individual. Moreover, it depends on the severity of the condition.

Narcissists can experience a wide array of signs, for example:

Unimaginably high sense of self-importance, requiring constant admiration
Need to be treated special, and they deserve privileges
Wanting to appear as a recognised superior
Fantasising about their success, power, and brilliance
Have a sense of superiority and like to spend time with those who are equal to them
Tend to look down upon others
Expect people to serve them with favours
People suffering from this disorder feel that they can do whatever they want without any questioning
Use others to get advantages
Believe everyone is envious of them
Behave arrogantly and brag about themselves
Become impatient when do not get any special recognition
Easily feel slighted
Find it difficult to interact with others
React with rage or contempt
Have issues managing their emotions and behaviour
Deals with stress
Might not adapt to changes
Tendency to avoid situations where they can fail
Become moody when failing at perfection
Have insecurity, shame, humiliation, and fear of failure.

What are the Causes of Narcissistic Personality Disorder?

Scholars are yet to decipher the exact cause of NPD. This disorder can result from combining factors like:

Childhood trauma, including any kind of abuse
An unhealthy relationship with parents, friends, or relatives
Genetics or family history
Hypersensitivity to textures, noise, and light since childhood
Individual personality and temperament

What Are the Risk Factors of Narcissistic Personality Disorder?

Those who have undergone the following situations are at risk of developing a narcissistic personality disorder.

Neglect during childhood
Physical or emotional abuse
Excessive pampering from parents
Unrealistic expectations set by parents and others

How to Diagnose Narcissistic Personality Disorder?

A skilled psychotherapist or psychiatrist can diagnose narcissistic personality disorder only after carefully assessing the primary symptoms.

They will provide questionnaires to fill out and then discuss with the patient.
They would focus on signs that affect one's thinking patterns, feelings, behaviour, and interaction traits.
Some personality tests may also be given to clarify what kind of narcissistic behaviour the person has. Every patient is expected to answer them honestly so that the therapist gets a better insight into how they feel.

Some of the common tests are:

International personality disorder examination (IPDE)
Personality diagnostic questionnaire-4 (PDQ-4)
Millon clinical multiaxial inventory III (MCMI-III)

How to Treat Narcissistic Personality Disorder?

The treatment process for every individual who has NPD differs according to their symptoms, severity, and other health complications. However, the effective remedies are counselling, proper medication and lifestyle changes.

1. Counselling

The primary treatment of narcissistic personality disorder is to continue counselling or therapy. It is very beneficial for the patients as they provide insight into their problems. In addition, they help them learn different ways to make changes for a better lifestyle.

For instance, they may ask to perform some experiments like the following:

Relate with others to understand their feelings
Develop realistic expectations from others
Have a healthy self-esteem

2. Medications

Along with the therapy sessions, psychiatrists may also recommend certain medications to treat certain symptoms.

For example:

Antidepressants
Mood stabilisers
Antipsychotic drugs

3. Lifestyle Changes

Making some lifestyle changes can also help those who are going through narcissistic personality disorder. Such as:

Refrain from using any substances like drugs or alcohol to trigger any symptom
Look for healthier habits to adopt
Involve in yoga and meditation to reduce stress and anxiety.

People with NPD may think the treatment is unnecessary and quit the process. However, it is important to keep an open mind and follow the treatment plan even after occasional setbacks. Staying focused and consistent is the key to recovering from this disorder.

When to See a Doctor?

If you recognise prominent narcissistic aspects and feel they are overwhelming. You must reach out to get medical help.

As there is no single medicine to treat narcissistic personality disorder, the sooner you report your condition more chances are for your recovery.

What Are the Common Co-Occurring Conditions of Narcissistic Personality Disorder?

NPD can commonly occur with other psychological disorders like:

Depression
Anxiety Disorder
Bipolar Disorder
Substance Use Disorder

How to Manage and Prevent Narcissistic Personality Disorder?

Since the causes of narcissistic personality disorder are unknown, there are no known preventive methods. Nevertheless, it may help those with NPD if they:

Get treatment for any childhood mental health problems as soon as possible
Partake in family or group therapy to learn healthier ways to manage or cope with conflicts and distress

Parents can attend special classes to get some guidance on healthy parenting so that they can identify early signs of narcissism.

What Are the Complications of Narcissistic Personality Disorder?

Individuals with this personality disorder can face severe complications. Some examples of such situations are listed below:

Difficult relationships
Problems arise at work or school
Experience frequent setbacks and depressive symptoms
Develop other kinds of psychological disorders like anorexia
Impact on physical health
Alcoholism and/or substance use
Having repetitive suicidal thoughts

How can Families Help Members with Narcissistic Personality Disorder?

It is difficult to live with someone who has NPD. Hence the family members should learn as much as possible about this disorder. Once they realise their source of behaviour, reactions, and feelings towards one another may change.

To help a family member or a close relative with narcissistic personality disorder, people can try the following:

Family Counselling
Couples Therapy
Support Groups
Individual Counselling

To wrap this up, a narcissistic personality disorder is a serious psychological condition that can get triggered by various factors. There are proofs that state men are more susceptible to this condition than women. In addition, people can manage symptoms of NPD if they follow their treatment methods which typically include therapy sessions and medications. Therefore, if you know anyone going through narcissistic traits, you can encourage them to seek medical help to get better.

FAQs About Narcissistic Personality Disorder

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Can people with narcissistic personality disorder get better?

People with narcissistic personality disorder can improve their conditions if they are willing to change. Since these people have an inherent tendency to feel these treatments are of no worth. They need to be on the same page with their primary caregiver.

Which parenting style can lead to developing a narcissistic person?

Overparenting, lack of warmth from parents, extreme leniency, and maltreatment of a child can develop narcissistic traits in an individual.