Does a narcissist know he is a narcissist? Most people with mental health issues eventually come to the realization that they need help. This is normally because their symptoms have become so bad they have no choice but to accept they have a problem. Living with a narcissist can be an emotionally damaging experience, but unlike many other mental health disorders, a narcissist is unlikely to admit he has a problem.
Narcissistic personality disorder (NPD) is characterized by a supreme lack of empathy for the feelings of others and a highly over inflated sense of self worth. Narcissists love themselves and surround themselves with people who feed their self love. Some degree of narcissism is healthy as it stops us being doormats for other people, but a full-blown narcissist is incredibly selfish and is prone to grandiose behavior.
Does a narcissist know he is a narcissist?
A true narcissist believes the world revolves around him. Nobody else is important except the narcissist and those in their circle only exist to bolster up the narcissist’s over inflated sense of self importance. Narcissists are not interested in anyone else and do not care whether they hurt others. They are completely self absorbed in much the same way as a child is.
Unlike other common mental health problems where “denial” is a stumbling block on the road to recovery, a narcissist is not in denial—they will never be able to accept that their behavior is hurtful and damaging because they are not emotionally equipped to face the realization of who and what they are.
An alcoholic will one day wake up and face the truth that their addiction to drink is slowly killing them and in order to get better they must stop drinking. Conversely, a narcissist will never understand that they are ill—and even if the truth is put to them in black and white terms, they will not accept it
Confronting a narcissist in an attempt to make them understand just what kind of damage and hurt they are causing to those around them is tricky. At the very least, a narcissist is unlikely to accept that they even have a problem and will simply ignore you. They will probably turn your accusation round so that it becomes YOU who has the problem. At worst, they will fly off the handle and into a narcissistic rage.
Narcissistic rage occurs when the narcissist’s ego or sense of self worth is threatened. By trying to make a narcissist understand who and what they are, you are threatening to destroy the narcissist’s idealized world in which they are a wonderful person and everyone loves them. This rage can take the form of a violent attack, both verbal and physical.
A narcissist will never be capable of the kind of self analysis needed to understand the depth of their issues. Like a small child, a narcissist believes they are omnipotent and the king of their castle. They lack the emotional maturity required to take a good, hard look in the mirror and accept that the person staring back at them is a flawed human being.
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