Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD)

Ever had to deal with someone who readily puts you down just to elevate themselves?

Do you find yourself avoiding one-on-one contact with someone because trying to communicate with them leaves you feeling confused, put-down, reduced to a lesser status, emptied of all that you know you really are? Are you just overwhelmed in the presence of this person?

Are you blown away by somebody else's powerful personality, self-assuredness, self-belief and self-confidence? Are your own legitimate needs taking a back seat to their own petty, self-serving ambitions?

Have you ever received an apology from someone that leaves you feeling even more cut down and humiliated?

Have you ever tried to reach a compromise with someone only to realize that you're the only one who gave any substantial ground?

Have you ever been on the end of a condescending, communication that leaves you feeling humiliated, put-down, misunderstood and unappreciated?

Have you ever felt like your hard work and contributions are only being used, abused and and distorted to meet the selfish ambitions of another?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, you may possibly be dealing with somebody who suffers from Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD)

The term “Narcissist” is sometimes used to describe a person who behaves selfishly, or in an attention-seeking or power-hungry manner. Living with a person who has the personality disorder NPD can have a subtle but devastating effect on the self-esteem, confidence and quality of life for family members, friends and partners.

But there is hope! You are not alone! You don’t have to figure all this out by yourself! There are lots of people who have faced or are facing similar circumstances. Some of them are right here on this site. We strongly urge you to read some of the stories, learn about coping with this devastating illness and ask your own questions at our message board.

NPD Characteristics - The DSM-IV Criteria

Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD) is listed in the DSM-IV-TR as a "Cluster B" (dramatic, emotional, or erratic) Personality Disorder.

Text in Bold Italics is quoted from the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic & Statistical Manual (DSM-IV)

DSM CRITERIA FOR NARCISSISTIC PERSONALITY DISORDER

A pervasive pattern of grandiosity (in fantasy or behavior), need for admiration, and lack of empathy, beginning by early adulthood and present in a variety of contexts, as indicated by five (or more) of the following:

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 high-status 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
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

Understanding the clinical criteria for NPD is helpful but learning how to cope with having a loved-one who suffers from NPD is quite different and is not covered in any psychological manual. One of the most effective ways we have found to deal with that is to get support from people who understand what it feels like to confront a narcissistic bully, who know the pain of being pushed down by a person who has NPD and have learned together how to cope and stop the abusive cycle. The first step is to visit our message board.

NPD Support Groups & Links:

Out of the FOG Support Forum - Visit the support forum here at Out of the FOG.

http://groups.msn.com/NARCISSISTICPERSONALITYDISORDER - MSN Narcissistic Personality Board

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/Adult...enOFNarcissits - Yahoo group for adult children of Narcissistic parents.

http://p208.ezboard.com/bnarcissisticperso...oderfamilyforum - Narcissistic Personality Disorder Family Forum

It's All About Him - support site and discussion forum for women with NPD partners.

For More Information & Support...

If you suspect you may be in a relationship with or related to someone who suffers from a personality disorder, we encourage you to learn all you can and gather as much support as you can to help you learn how to cope. Click here to learn about more Common Behaviors of Personality Disorders, learn about the good ideas and mistakes that others in similar situations have made in Common Behaviors of Non-Personality Disordered-People. Learn the essential terminology and vocabulary at our Personality Disorder Glossary. Follow our Links to related sites, discover key Books about personality disorders or read the real-life stories of others and discuss your own situation in the Introductions section of our Out of the FOG Support Forum.