Narcissistic Personality Disorder Symptoms

The narcissistic personality disorder is a rarely found mental disorder and 1% of the US population develops this kind of personality. Similar problems like 'antisocial personality disorder', 'borderline personality disorder' and 'histrionic personality disorder' are more commonly observed.

Symptoms of Narcissistic Personality Disorder

In this personality disorder, one becomes more self-centered and lacks the quality of empathy. Children too, are affected by this problem. The people with this problem seek constant admiration and seem to be self-obsessed. With this basic information about narcissistic personality to start with, let us delve into the symptoms, and thereafter, treatment measures in later paragraphs.

• The most important symptom, or striking feature, of the narcissistic personality disorder, as said earlier is the developed sense of self-importance.
• The need for excessive self-admiration is not a sign of a healthy mind. This kind of behavior causes a narcissist person to constantly seek importance. Restlessness and anxiety problems can develop, if people don't give much importance to a narcissist person's ego; many other complications can arise from this personality disorder.
• These people believe themselves to be special than others; this very belief is the root cause for the development of problems related to the narcissistic personality.
• The narcissist exhibits a jealous behavior, and wrongly, thinks that others are envious of him/her. This behavior of narcissists hampers development of their personality to a great extent.
• All the problems/symptoms displayed by a narcissist are inter-related and it is quite difficult to study a single/particular symptom without the knowledge of the other.
• The narcissistic personality, taking into consideration the above symptoms appears to be quite harmless. However, these people can also take advantage of others in order to meet their own goals. This is when the narcissists create problems for others.
• Turning arrogant and showing no respect to others' feelings is one of the narcissistic personality disorder symptoms in children. Such a behavior should not be ignored as just another instance of inappropriate behavior by children. If the problem is deep-rooted, the child may need special attention and treatment.
• Narcissistic personality disorder makes the person emotional, and he/she can get hurt quite easily.
• Self-esteem of such people may dip when hurt on an emotional level. However, they don't show it off in public and tend to sulk. Displaying a seemingly strong personality on the exterior is one such characteristic/symptom of these people.
• Setting unrealistic goals is one of the traits of narcissists. This kind of behavior may arise from the fact that they don't gauge their own abilities/potential properly. Their thought-process is clouded by self-obsession and undue confidence.
• Since, people with narcissistic personality disorder are self-centered, they tend to exaggerate their achievements and abilities/talents. This behavior is bound to slowly develop a personality which is kind of fake, or not in line with the true nature of that particular person.
• A habit of boasting about talents and achievements can result into the person receiving a severe emotional/mental shock when hurt by an honest but brutal criticism.

Treatment for Narcissistic Personality Disorder

Medical treatment is required for critical cases of this disorder. However, a mild form of such a problem can be solved with the help of psychosocial treatment. The psychosocial treatment can be given individually, or in groups. The important actions taken by therapists for the treatment is developing empathy in patients. When the person being treated learns to respect the feelings of others, he can overcome this personality disorder quite easily, and is good for his overall mental health. One can stop the treatment after obtaining relief from the main symptoms, or continue with the therapy, in order to work on the more subtle and intricate problems. It is however, a continuous process and one should take a therapist's advise on when to stop. Understanding the causes of narcissistic personality disorder can be of help in treating them properly.

Treatment measures in the form of psychotherapy prove to be useful. The person suffering from this personality disorder should also make conscious efforts to overcome the problems on a personal level.