Starting a Conversation about Narcissistic Personality Disorder

i’d like to begin with a mental exercise

that the entire audience came to set in

i want you to picture someone in your

life you just cannot connect with

because their personality and behavior

is truly difficult and frustrating

young or old

it doesn’t matter

is the person that you have selected

arrogant

manipulative

selfish

patronizing or demanding

you may always thought of them as a jerk

from the office or the bully from school

i’d like to offer an insight into their

behavior and perhaps

give you a new label for them

what if they are actually a narcissist

and what if they have narcissistic

personality disorder or anybody

i can sense your surprise and it is to

be expected

we as a society either have no clue what

empathy is

what we know of it and we’re not talking

about it

the word narcissism is derived from

narcissists in greek mythology

as the story goes

there was like a handsome youth named

narcissus which took great pride in this

breathtaking appearance

one day

he glanced into a pool of water and he

saw his final reflection

he then falls blindly in love with

himself

and he refuses to drink

clear thought that his wonderful image

will disappear

naturally

he wastes away over time

still absorbed and fixated with himself

he eventually passes with this death

being marked by a single drug

the narcissist power

npd is a type b personality disorder and

according to personality disorder

organization how to look

it is estimated that 0.5 to 1

of the population is affected by a

community

so

for every 100 people

one person

irrespective although they have been

diagnosed equity can be speculated to

the effective

obviously

these numbers are an estimate

people with mpd aren’t exactly walking

up to get tested when they are hardwired

to believe that they are flawless

and it is for the same reason that many

people with mpd never seek treatment for

their lifelong condition

we’re not just talking about the traits

of narcissistic behavior either this is

an npd diagnosis which is basically

narcissistic tendencies on steroids

npd is one of the ten personality

disorders which are recognized as a

specific type of disorder

reflect again on the person you chose at

the beginning of this address

for a person to be diagnosed with mp

they must present five of the following

egg criteria

an over a plain sense of self-importance

consequence about being more powerful

successful

intelligent

loved

more attractive than others

feelings of superiority and a desire to

only associate with high-status people

needs for excessive admiration praise

a sense of entitlement

a willingness to take advantage of and

manipulate others for their own personal

gain

a lack of empathy for other people’s

feelings and needs

arrogant or sloppy behaviours and

attitudes

we all have traces of narcissism

it helps us maintain a sense of self

product

however

what can be difficult to trace is how a

person’s life and beauty develops

often mpd can be caused by one or a

combination of factors and it is a

trauma response

these could include

childhood trauma such as physical sexual

and verbal abuse

early negative relationships with

parents friends and

relatives genetics

a hypersensitivity textures noise and

life and childhood

and their personality and happiness

when you are in a relationship with

someone with mpd

absolutely everything

revolves around them

i liken them to being sucked into their

vortex

narcissists often prey on the

unsuspecting

those who made vulnerable because it is

their nature to be kind loving trusting

and then put 110 effort into making

things work

narcissists are prone to processing

their frustrations of rage

and this can easily manifest into

emotional verbal and physical domestic

abuse

and although it may not always escalate

to this it is still certainly a risk

relationships with a combination of

domestic abuse and np

are all too easy to fall into and can be

difficult to escape without score

one of the most frequent questions asked

by people who have never experienced an

abusive relationship is

why don’t we just leave

this isn’t as simple as you might

imagine

because unfortunately

relationships with elements of abuse are

made almost impossible to live

as finance children

culture and even love

can make leaving someone like your

partner devastating

add inconvenient mix

now breaking up a relationship is

accompanied by love loving smear

campaigns in which they discredit you to

the friends and family

manipulation lane shifting and gas

lighting

narcissism may be impacting you right

now

the reality is that with the progression

of the last 15 years

our world has become less sympathetic

and more narcissistic

according to gallup’s global emotions

report for 2021 and the negative

experience index

is now sadder

more worried more stressed out and

angrier place than ever before

toxic features of our world such as

glorifying and condoning certain

narcissistic traits have created the

ideal conditions

to accelerate and intensify the

narcissistic patterns of behavior in our

everyday lives

a prime example of normalized narcissism

is self-incentive

never before

have we been so willing

to share every aspect of our lives onto

social media to attract attention and

gain validation from others

and to the billions who use these

platforms

do you believe they’re promoting and

even encouraging these behaviors

is just the norm

or

is it a seemingly innocent front for

narcissism

if any aspects of my topic tonight have

raised your concerns about someone you

know

i do recommend that you investigate it

further

i personally have had to learn the hard

way about what it is like to live with

someone with this condition

and recently

my world simultaneously flipped

and finally made sense when someone

close to me who’s diagnosed with npd

however i’m optimistic that transforming

my experience into a learning

opportunity will benefit more people

than just me

narcissism doesn’t have to be our future

if npd is affecting someone you know

please seek a professional diagnosis to

get the assistance you and your family

may need

i’ve shared my story to bridge the gap

in understanding and promote empowerment

i’ve shared my story to start a

conversation about narcissistic

personality disorder

[Applause]

you