Usually, being narcissistic, selfish, and selfish are considered the same thing.

In practical terms, both of these terms are usually used to describe someone who is obsessed with themselves and loves themselves too much. But these two things are very different.

Although these differences are not obvious at first glance, they are real and exist to a large extent.

The truth is that narcissism is a personality disorder, while self-preoccupation is a personality trait, here are the differences between these two terms.

sympathy

The first thing that can help you determine whether you are dating a narcissist or just a selfish man is the level of empathy and compassion he feels toward others.

Related : How to Tell if a Narcissist Is Lying: 8 Signs

While a narcissist usually lacks empathy and only thinks about his well-being, selfish people are different.

If your friend is selfish, he will always put his needs and desires first. The truth is that he will take care of himself, but unlike the narcissist, he will have the ability to share your happiness or sadness.

He’ll feel bad when he hurts your feelings, and he won’t completely ignore your feelings.

On the other hand, a narcissist doesn’t care about the way anyone around him feels because he lacks empathy. A narcissist lacks understanding of other people’s feelings and can never feign empathy.

Request attention

What is common among narcissistic and selfish people is that they crave attention and approval from others.

But there is a big difference between how they do this and the degree to which they seek attention. If your friend is selfish, he will take every opportunity to talk about himself and be in the spotlight.

But he will still be able to devote his time and attention to you when needed.

On the other hand, a narcissist will never listen to anything you say. Instead, he will always look for an opportunity to talk about himself, clearly showing you that everything that happens to him is much more important than everything that you are going through.

moral values

From someone else’s perspective, narcissists have no moral values. They have their standards and distorted values ​​that they believe are correct.

They don’t follow social norms, and in this case, that’s not a good thing. He has difficulty distinguishing between good and bad, and there is almost nothing he does not do for his benefit.

On the other hand, a selfish person has no problem with moral values. They have some values ​​that they follow and do not feel that the rules of life do not apply to them.

Relationship with others

If the man next to you is a narcissist, he will treat you as if he is above you but as if he is dependent on you in the same way. And that’s exactly how he feels.

He feels like you’re beneath him, but at the same time, he can’t live without your admiration. Yes, you are his victim, but he is the one who needs you and he is the one who depends on you.

In contrast, selfish people do not view the world this way. Instead, they are usually self-sufficient and do not consider it the end of the world if they do not get someone’s approval.

self-conscious

Another big difference between a narcissist and a selfish person is their level of self-awareness and self-awareness of their words, actions, and behavior.

Related : Life After Loving a Narcissist

To put things simply, a narcissist will never admit or accept that he or she is a narcissist. He never realizes that his actions are not right, and believes that he has the right to break all moral norms and rules just because he is better than everyone else.

The narcissist has no conscience, runs away from responsibility and always believes he is right, no matter what he says or does.

On the other hand, a selfish person usually knows that selfishness is not a valuable human quality, and realizes that it is his personality trait.

Selfish people differ from narcissists because of their self-awareness. Sometimes they feel guilty for their selfishness and try to work on it.