With shows like The Pickup Artist remaining ever-popular, male narcissism seems to be thriving if not becoming an epidemic as our culture and media fuel it. While egomaniacs may make annoying but good television, they can also have a truly devastating impact on the lives of their loved ones.
While looking at the narcissistic levels of ourselves or our loved ones is nothing new, dating narcissists can offer some helpful tips on how to spot a narcissist and, more importantly, decide to live with (or leave) a narcissist. The American Psychological Association lists nine core traits of narcissism, but a person only needs five of them to qualify as narcissistic personality disorder (NPD).
Related: Lost Connection: How To Heal From Emotional Neglect In Marriage And Find Hope
#Here’s how to spot a narcissistic person with 9 behaviors:
1. He feels great and self-important for reasons that are not supported by reality.
Do unattractive men with inadequate careers and terrible personalities who think they deserve to date supermodels sound familiar to you? You may have encountered NPD while walking.
2. He is obsessed with fantasies about unlimited success, fame, power, or omnipotence.
“After I travel the world and write my book, I’ll sell it to Hollywood, and Johnny Depp will do my part, and then I’ll start my own business, consulting, and giving speeches all over the world for six figures…” He yawned.
3. He believes that he is unique and special and can only be understood and related to by unique or high-status people.
Nobody gets the guy. He is so unique and rare that no one can compete with him and you probably can’t even understand half of the amazing ideas he holds in his head. right.
4. He needs excessive admiration, flattery, attention, and affirmation.
You: “Oh, yeah, you sounded perfect on the phone with your boss! You were assertive but not arrogant. You flattered him but made some good points about yourself. I can’t believe how well you handled this.” Repeat x’s 100 or however long it takes until he stops hunting for positive compliments and analysis.
5. He feels entitled.
This extends to everything from your time and body to possessions and service. An example of this is that he expects you to have sex when he wants it, even if you’ve had a bad day and aren’t in the mood.
Related: What Family Means To A Narcissist
6. He exploits others without feeling guilt or remorse.
“Of course, my sister will drop everything and find a babysitter and rush over here to help me paint my bathroom!”
7. He is devoid of empathy.
He can whine and complain for hours about all his problems, real and imagined, but when you need to talk about that co-worker who constantly undermines you or your sick relative, he suddenly becomes preoccupied or maybe just gives a blank look and says, “Oh, I’m sure it’ll be fine.” Kind of note.
8. He tends to envy others or believes that others envy him.
He may believe that no one deserves a high-paying job, flashy material possessions, or an attractive wife, and he will not hesitate to declare this and compare others unfavorably to himself, because he deserves these “rewards” more.
9. Displays arrogant and arrogant behavior.
He believes he is better than everyone, and shows a marked lack of interest in anything that is not directly related to him or does not help him, including your friends, family, and interests. He struts like a cock, speaks in a loud announcer voice so everyone can hear everything he says, cares about appearance, and you get the idea.
