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