A person with this disposition is self-centered and self-absorbed, is extremely unrealistic concerning attributes and goals, vacillates between over idealizing and devaluing others, and, in general, assumes that he or she is entitled to more than is reasonable in relationships with others.
2. A personality disorder with the basic characteristics of a pervasive pattern of grandiosity, hypersensitivity, and defective empathy, manifested in the following:- Grandiosity, with a sense of self-importance.
- The subject views his or her problems as unique and understandable only by other special people.
- A need for constant attention and admiration.
- A sense of entitlement.
The American Psychiatric Association recently announced that it is considering lifting "narcissistic personality disorder"; along with four other personality disorders; from its highly influential Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.
The current theory seems to be that narcissism is caused by very early influential deprivation, yet the clinical material tends to describe narcissists as unwilling rather than unable to change, and so the treating of narcissistic behaviors is more a volitional condition; that is, narcissism is termed a personality disorder, but it tends to be considered by some therapists as a character disorder.
Narcissistic Personality Disorder is considered to be a severe impairment when a person's self-centered or egotistical behavior results in:
- Staying in bed all day.
- Totally alienating or avoiding friends and family.
- Severe risk of harming oneself or others; such as, failing to maintain personal hygiene; persistent danger of suicide, abuse, or crime.