Narcissism is something that is very common in our society and yet most people fail to admit it. Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD) is a kind of self-obsession of a person with an idolized and perfect image of themselves. It is considered to be a personality disorder that is more common than we might imagine. So in this blog let us take a look at this personality disorder and how to identify and effectively deal with someone who is a narcissist.
How can we identify Narcissists?
There are many warning signs that are clearly evident in a narcissist but people are either ignorant of these or choose to ignore them. Some of the signs are listed below -
1. Self-obsession:
People suffering from Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD) are often obsessed with themselves. They form a perfect image of themselves in their minds, even if they are not the image they form of themselves.
2. Holding themselves in higher regards than others:
Narcissists always see themselves as superior to others. In their fantasy world, they are at the top and everyone else exists below them.
3. The only opinion that matters to them is their own:
Narcissists might often ask you about your opinion on some matters. But always remember that the only opinion that matters to them is their own. This will reflect on the fact that most of the time even after asking your opinion, the final decision that they would make would be based on their own opinions.
They might even get annoyed or angry if you insist on your opinions as by voicing your opinion you are shattering their fantasy where their opinions reign supreme.
4. They will always make you feel smaller and lower your self-esteem:
Narcissists will always treat you like second class and always make fun of you. This severely affects your own self-confidence and self-esteem and you begin to believe that you are all the things they say you are.
This will hugely affect not just your relationship with the Narcissist but with your other friends and relatives too. It will also affect your decision-making capabilities in life.
5. They will try to isolate you from your other friend/relative circles:
A narcissist always tries to exert control over others. This gets difficult for the narcissist if you have other social circles that give you real and beneficial advice. So the narcissist will always try to separate you from your social circles and isolate you so that the only opinion that echoes in your head is theirs.
How to deal with a narcissist?
So now that we have listed most of the signs of a narcissist, let us also take a look at how to deal with them.
1. Explain it to them calmly:
Most of the times narcissists have no idea of their toxic behavior towards others. So they generally do not have any clue that they have gone very far in their toxicity.
If your self-esteem and self-confidence get hurt by a narcissist then do not, in any case, be angry at them or argue with them, especially not in front of others as it would hurt their ego and would end in a disaster. Explain it to them in the most respectable way possible, strictly in private.
2. Do not argue with them:
There is simply no use in arguing with them as they are not going to value you or the things that you have to say. So do not waste your energy in arguing.
3. Never take their words about you seriously:
It is in their nature to make fun of other people and represent them at a lower level than themselves. So do not let their words hurt your sentiments. It will be hard but try to take their words with a pinch of salt. Their postulations about you are generally mere fantasies to help them keep feeling superior to you.
4. Keep in touch with other social circles and try to maintain your distance from the narcissist:
Always be in contact with other friends/family members as being in their contact will greatly help in boosting your morale and belief in yourself.
If the narcissist does not understand your problems with them even after you explain it calmly and respectfully to them, then it might be time to distance yourself from them and slowly cut them off from your lives. In the end, it would be highly beneficial for you in several ways as after maintaining your distance from them, there is a very high chance that your quality of life would improve greatly.
In the end, just remember that Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD) is a mental health issue like any other. It is not completely the fault of the person suffering from NPD as most of the time they do not even realize that they are suffering from it until it's too late.
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