Narcissistic
personality
disorder
By: Perla Urias
Per. 3
5/5/2011
What Is Narcissistic
Personality Disorder?
• It’s a condition were people develop a self
loathing, self-importance for them selves.
• In other words “It’s all about me”, “The world
revolves around me”, “I love me!”…etc.
• Many celebrities suffer from this disorder; ex:
Marilyn Monroe, Elvis Presley, Paris Hilton,
Lindsay Lohan…Etc.
What They Believe…
• People with this disorder feature:
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Thinking they are better than others
Fantasize about power, success, and attractiveness.
take advantage of others
Jealousy for others
Believe others are jealous of them
Believe they are special and act accordingly to it
They feel like they deserve to be treated better
than everyone else.
• They also set unrealistic goals.
DSM Criteria
• (1) has a grandiose sense of self-importance (e.g., exaggerates
achievements and talents, expects to be recognized as superior
without commensurate achievements)
• (2) is preoccupied with fantasies of unlimited success, power,
brilliance, beauty, or ideal love
• (3) believes that he or she is "special" and unique and can only
be understood by, or should associate with, other special or highstatus people (or institutions)
• (4) requires excessive admiration
• (5) has a sense of entitlement, i.e., unreasonable expectations of
especially favorable treatment or automatic compliance with his
or her expectations
DSM Criteria Cont.
• (6) is interpersonally exploitative, i.e., takes advantage of
others to achieve his or her own ends
• (7) lacks empathy: is unwilling to recognize or identify with
the feelings and needs of others
• (8) is often envious of others or believes that others are
envious of him or her
• (9) shows arrogant, haughty behaviors or attitudes
Etiology(Causes)
• What causes Narcissistic Personality Disorder
is the excessive amount of pampering, also the
opposite of it; neglect or abuse as a child.
• Also when a child's parents have a need for
their children to be talented or special so that
they can maintain their self-esteem.
• The disorder is usually detected in early
adulthood.
Prevalence (Common)
• According to DSM statistics Narcissistic Personality Disorder is
only suffered in 1% of the population.
• Sigmund Freud thought that it is common in everyone because at
some point “all human infants pass through a phase of primary
narcissism, in which they assume they are the center of their
universe. The phase ends when the baby is forced by the realities
of life to recognize that it does not control its parents but in fact
entirely dependent on
them.”(http://www.minddisorders.com/Kau-Nu/Narcissisticpersonality-disorder.html)
Treatment
There are various treatments for Narcissistic
Personality Disorder; Psychoanalysis and
psychotherapy are some of them. They are the
usual treatments used on those who suffer from
the disorder. It doesn’t cure the disorder but it
helps make them understand a little about what
they suffer from, sometimes medication is added
to treat them so they won’t get anxiety attacks,
mood swings, or fall into depression.
There are 3 types of therapy; Cognitive behavioral
therapy, family therapy, and group therapy.
Therapy Types
• Cognitive behavioral therapy is where the
emphasis on how one thinks and feels is
discussed.
• Family therapy is where the structure of a family
and their beliefs affects all the family members.
• Group therapy is where 6 to 10 people meet face
to face and they meet with a therapist and
together decide what they want to talk about.
Prognosis
• There is no recovery for NPD. The American
Psychiatric Association says it is permanent
and incurable.
Examples
• Marilyn Monroe is an example of one of the few
people in the world who suffer from NPD; she was
overly obsessed with her image and had an over
sexualized behavior, but she still found ways to
manage her relationships.
• The cause for her disorder came from her
traumatic childhood; she never knew her father
and her mother was institutionalized for mental
illness. She spent most of her life in foster homes
and with family and friends. She was sexually
abused at a young age and she married for the
first time at age 16 and divorced at age 20.
Example # 2
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mty0kkLZu
l8
• Moms’ encouraging their children to be in
beauty pageant competitions because they
believe their child has talent and should be in
the pageants. This can lead the child to NPD.
Reference
Mayo Clinic(n.d). Mayo clinic narcissistic personality disorder. Retrieved from
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/narcissistic-personalitydisorder/DS00652/DSECTION=symptoms
Bright Hub (2011). Bright hub the hub for bright minds. Retrieved from
http://www.brighthub.com/mental-health/depression-mood/articles/101906.aspx
(2011) .Encyclopedia of mental disorders. Retrieved from http://www.minddisorders.com/KauNu/Narcissistic-personality-disorder.html
Medicine net(1996). Medicine net.com We Bring Doctor’s Knowledge to You. Retrieved from
http://www.medicinenet.com/narcissistic_personality_disorder/article.htm#causes
Pinsky, Dr. D. (2009). The mirror effect. The U.S: Harper Collins Publishers.
Discussion Question
• It is said the causes of NPD could come from
the parents excessive pampering or the
neglect and abuse they received. What do you
think is the main cause for those who suffer
from NPD?