Is Narcissism an Adequate Diagnosis? Narcissistic Personality Disorder is a complicated and often misunderstood mental disorder. Narcissistic personality disorder is a psychological in which an individual shows and abnormal obsession with themselves. Narcissism can be easily confused with simple arrogance, but the disorder can range from obsession to a life-consuming neurotic compulsion. The individual suffering from Narcissistic Personality Disorder uses their extreme ego to cover their sense of inferiority, which is the real problem of narcissist; To make the matters worse, for patients suffering from NPD, the disorder is under heavy scrutiny from some psychologist who do not believe it is a sufficient diagnosis and was almost taken out of the DSM. I believe that Narcissistic Personality Disorder is a disorder that should be treated to the same extent as other Mental disorders in the DSM.
According to the Mayo Clinic, Narcissistic personality disorder is somewhat new. The term was invented in 1967 to describe an over expression of the narcissism trait that has been recognized since ancient times. the extreme confidence that is exhibited by a person with narcissistic PD is just a front. People with this disorder usually suffer from fragile self-esteem, and they attempt to cover for this by making themselves appear superior to those around them. The cause of Narcissistic Personality Disorder is unknown, although it generally begins to show itself in the early stages of adulthood. People afflicted with this disorder are generally known to be aggressive when confronted with criticism, and they lack the ability to accept their own failure. They are usually manipulative and find it difficult to maintain relationships because of their tendency to use people for their own ends. They exaggerate their talents, using self-glorifying methods to gain attention for themselves at the expense of others. The treatment of Narcissistic Personality Disorder is debated, but it usually involves some component of psychotherapy. (NPD, 2012)
Professor of psychology Aaron Pincus claims that every human being has narcissist qualities, and that the degree to which the respond to challenges to these qualities is what separates the normal person from the narcissistic individual. A narcissist is unable to get over the hurdles that life throws in front of them regarding their own self-image. “All individuals have narcissistic needs and motives; however, pathologically narcissistic
One of the challenges in the study of Narcissistic Personality Disorder is the differentiation between the neurotic condition and the personality trait. A degree of narcissism is acceptable in a healthy person without posing a mental health problem. Narcissism has positive benefits, it is central to the definition of a person’s self-identity, and to their own ego. One of the main challenges psychologist face while studying Narcissistic Personality Disorder has to differentiate between the neurotic condition and the personality trait. Narcissism is acceptable, to a certain degree, in a mentally healthy person. Narcissism has a few positive benefits. Aaron Pincus writes, “Normal expressions of narcissism may contribute to self-esteem and well-being by increasing an individual’s sense of personal agency” (Pincus, 2009). Therefore psychologists have begun to rely on a test known as the Narcissistic Personality Inventory to diagnose narcissistic PD. The Narcissistic Personality Inventory that was developed in the early 1970s to diagnose the disorder according to the criteria set by the DSM-III. Pincus states that there are disagreements amongst psychologist about whether or not the Narcissistic Personal Inventory defines narcissism in too broad of a term. Because someone scores high on the NPI does make them a narcissist. Pincus states “a high NPI scores are negatively associated with trait neuroticism and depression and positively associated with
