Narcissistic Personality Disorder 2

Characteristics of narcissistic personality disorder:

The characteristic of narcissistic personality disorder is simply excessive love for oneself. Therefore, people with this disorder have the illusion that they are perfect, smart, attractive, and successful compared to others, and eventually tend to deal with others under their feet. After all, not only do they lack empathy for others, but they are also full of vanity and constantly seek praise and admiration from others. Studies have shown that women with this disorder tend to think of anxiety, martyrdom, jealousy, competition from other women, and other women as threats to themselves, while men think they are self-claimed, power-hungry, and therefore privileged themselves. People with narcissistic personality disorders do not only not recognize that they actually have a serious mental disorder, but it is impossible to establish a real relationship with another person.

 

Prevalence of Narcissistic Personality Disorder:

This disorder is reported in 0.5 to 5 percent of the population in the United States. In Korea, less than 1%, especially 2-16% of psychiatric patients suffer from this disorder. However, it is difficult to ascertain exactly how many people are suffering from this disorder. This is because it is not easy in reality for people with this disability to admit that they have this disability. Also, they think other people have problems rather than looking for problems with themselves.

This personality disorder usually appears in late teens and early adulthood. Narcissistic personality disorder affects men more than women and often begins in adolescence or early adulthood. Although some children may display the characteristics of narcissism, this may simply be typical of their age and does not mean that narcissistic personality disorder will continue to develop.

 

Causes of Narcissistic Personality Disorder:

The exact cause of narcissistic personality disorder is not known. In general, environmental, genetic, and neurobiological causes are complexly linked. It is said to be caused by severe trauma such as verbal, sexual, or physical abuse from parents during childhood or, on the contrary, excessive praise and evaluation from parents away from reality. However, not everyone is exposed to this disorder, even if they are related to their parents, and therefore their genetic disposition has a significant impact.

Treatment of narcissistic personality disorder:

As mentioned above, the most problematic thing for clients with narcissistic personality disorder is that they do not recognize their own problems, which makes it difficult to admit their disability. They are afraid of criticism from others and are easily hurt, and their self-esteem is hurt as soon as they acknowledge their disability. Therefore, the formation of rapport between the counselor and the client in the early stages of counseling is most important. The rapport between the client and the counselor helps the client overcome resistance to treatment and leads to self-acceptance and participation in counseling. Through counseling, the client must materialize the will to change and understand their emotions, thoughts, and behaviors to solve their problems by focusing on developing interpersonal relationships and healthy self-esteem. For the treatment of narcissistic personality disorder, psychoanalysis, cognitive behavioral therapy, schema therapy, gestalt therapy, mentalization-based therapy, etc. are mainly used in the counseling field.

• Through psychoanalysis, clients go through the process of exploring the underlying sources of their thoughts, feelings, and actions. And through this process, they interpret and manage the current emotions and behaviors, and go through the process of treatment to change the way of reaction.
• Cognitive behavioral therapy helps clients develop the ability to identify negative thought and behavior patterns of narcissistic personality disorder and replace them with healthy ones. It induces positive change through adjustment of cognitive structure using journaling, exposure training, and role playing.
• Schema therapy can be understood as a form that combines elements of psychoanalysis and cognitive behavioral therapy. In other words, it is to help a new mechanism replace the negative and unhelpful patterns formed from childhood experiences, and to learn how to find and correct maladaptive schemas and to pursue new changes through practice.
• Through Gestalt therapy, a client learns how to focus on the present rather than the past or the future, and thus, it is a technique that promotes change by raising a new awareness and responsibility for oneself through reflection on what is happening in the client's life.
• Mentalization-based therapy focuses on understanding other people's thoughts and feelings, and before responding to their actions, it induces changes in the client by exploring the intentions behind them and responding appropriately.
• Dialectical behavior therapy, which is a behavioral psychotherapy, provides a way to overcome obstacles through the mastery of mindfulness, emotion regulation, self-regulation, and relationship skills.

In addition to the treatments described above, transference-focused psychotherapy, metacognitive interpersonal therapy, and EMDR may be used.

 

There is no specific medication for the treatment of narcissistic personality disorder. However, when symptoms such as depression and anxiety are accompanied, medications such as antidepressants such as SSRIs (Fluoxetine, Sertraline, Paroxetine, etc.) and stabilizers such as lithium can be prescribed.

 

Complications of Narcissistic Personality Disorder:

If narcissistic personality disorder is not treated, clients may have difficulty maintaining positive relationships at work and at home. They may also be more vulnerable to drug and alcohol abuse to cope with difficult emotions, which can lead to deep depression and suicidal impulse.

 

These days, we often see people suffering from princess disease or prince disease all around us. And when we look at them, we really use the expression "dirty". However, there is no denying that I am living as a prince or a princess to some extent, even if it is not severe. Looking at me as a princess or a prince is a good thing in itself, if it is not too much, because I am looking at myself in a positive way, and it may be a bastion to protect my pride. However, it is important to keep in mind that we must not cross that boundary.