As nasty as this disorder sounds, I want to assure you that it is by all means quite harmless to the victim healthwise but can be quite a sting for those around them. I say this with all the love and no favorism so please pardon the bluntness.
So what exactly is narcissistic personality disorder? Going by the medical definition of the term, it refers to a condition where a person has a bloated or overinflated sense of self-worth. A victim of NPD is more often than not concerned about themselves and may come across as selfish or superior to those around them but its actually because they are making up for a fragile sense of self-worth.
A rather simpler explanation of narcissistic personality disorder is that it is a mental health condition in which people have an unreasonably high sense of their own importance. They need and seek too much attention and want people to admire them. People with this disorder may lack the ability to understand or care about the feelings of others.
An estimated 5% of all humans suffer from the condition and it is likely that you have met such characters or may be a victim all the same. There’s no shame in it especially if you know about NPD and know how to deal with it because it can strain relationships with people.
Signs and Symptoms of NPD
You may want to look out for the following if you feel like a victim of NPD or suspect those around you victims:
- Arrogance and/or snobby attitudes
- Need for excessive admiration
- Overinflated or extrapolated feeling of self-worth
- Willingness to take advantage of others to achieve personal goals regardless of what it costs others
- Lack of consideration for others feelings and needs
- Feelings of superiority and/or dominion over others
- Coming across as boastful and/or pretentious to those around them
- Unfulfilling relationships with others
- Its always their way or the high way and when their way doesn’t work, they tend to be angry and confused
- Feel that they deserve privileges and special treatment
Causes of Narcisstic Personality Disorder
In as much as some people are just full of themselves as part of their character ,some of the them are purely NPD cases and may have been caused by the following;
- Childhood trauma through abuse or neglect
- Excessive parental pampering
- Genetics especially through inheritance of personality traits
- Neurobiology — the connection between the brain and behavior and thinking.
Diagnosis and treatment
With all the murkiness involved with these condition, it is testable and treatable.A mental health professional such as a psychologist or psychiatrist can diagnose this condition through personality tests.
The tests are just questions you answer honestly. They give your psychotherapist better insight into how you think and feel. Tests include:
- Personality diagnostic questionnaire-4 (PDQ-4).
- Millon clinical multiaxial inventory III (MCMI-III).
- International personality disorder examination (IPDE).
You can also take the IPDE test online and get answers if you have NPD or not.Visit /https://www.thevividmind.org/blog/test/personality-test-online/
Treatment
The most recommended mode of treatment for NPD is long-term counseling which gives better insight to the victim about problems they are facing and what changes they can make.The changes include relations with others, developing a healthy self-esteem and having realistic expectations of others.
Further treatment can also be done through;
- Antidepressants: Healthcare providers commonly prescribe selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs).SSRI medications include fluoxetine, sertraline and paroxetine.
- Mood Stabilizers e.g. lithium.
- Antipsychotic drugs e.g. Aripiprazole and risperidone
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