What is Narcissistic Behavior

Have you ever come across people who spend all their time admiring themselves? I am sure this might have reminded you of the Greek myth about Narcissus, a handsome Greek youth who fell in love with his own reflection in a pool of water. In psychology, the term narcissism is used with reference to a mental disorder. Those who have an inflated sense of self importance and exhibit an exaggerated sense of superiority are said to suffer from a narcissistic personality disorder. What is narcissistic behavior? Why do people display narcissistic behavior? Are you aware of the behavioral patterns and traits of a narcissist? Here's some information on what is narcissistic behavior.

Narcissistic Behavior

Let's start with the narcissistic behavior definition. Narcissistic behavior is defined as having an inordinate fascination with oneself. Those people who have a grandiose sense of self- importance and exaggerate their achievements and talents and expect others to recognize them as superior are said to display narcissistic behavior. People who display narcissistic behavior often fail in maintaining long-term relationships because they are always self-absorbed and don't really respond well to needs and sentiments of those around them. Wondering what causes this disorder?

A dysfunctional childhood or an inability of the parents to have a healthy balanced relationship with their children is one of the most common narcissistic personality disorder causes. Children are very impressionable and therefore, early childhood conditioning can play a great role. When parents pamper their children all the time or neglect them completely, the children might not be able to think about others' needs. Such children learn to ignore others and become self-obsessed. They are not driven to achieve by way of healthy motivation and they are mentally conditioned to respond to praise. They cannot handle criticism and therefore, wish to be surrounded only by those who fulfill their needs of admiration.

Narcissistic Behavior Traits

To explain what is narcissistic behavior in a comprehensive manner, let me give you some examples of narcissistic behavior. Narcissists consider themselves to be perfect or flawless. They wish to be the center of attention always. They find it very hard to take any criticism. Since they consider themselves to be perfect, anything indicating otherwise is not taken well. Instead of accepting responsibility for any wrong action, they hide their faults under the garb of narcissistic rage. They can't bring themselves to admit that they are not aware of something. They will find ways to mask that or will blame someone else for it.

They need attention and constant support and approval from others. They are therefore very selective when it comes to making acquaintances. They will constantly try to glorify their achievements but are not appreciative of achievements of those around them. They have an unquenchable thirst for power, appreciation, beauty, success and love. Most of them believe that others are envious of them. Exaggeration of their achievements is one of the most common narcissistic behavior traits. They are very arrogant and generally lack empathy for others. They take advantage of others to achieve their goals and justify everything. They feel that they are entitled to a special treatment. They feel very uncomfortable when others are praised in front of them. They will either interrupt and start talking about themselves or avoid such conversations completely.

Now that you know what is narcissistic behavior, I am sure you might be wondering whether one can get rid of such behavioral traits. Since a narcissistic person is extremely self-obsessed, living with one is certainly not easy. This personality disorder can only be treated through long-term psychotherapy sessions with a therapist. Counseling sessions will be required to make the narcissistic person understand the nature of this disorder. Since those living with narcissistic people often feel ignored and unhappy, therefore, counseling sessions can help in breaking the self-image of narcissists. Therapy can also resolve the contradictory emotions felt by such people. Due to the delicate nature of this disorder, the treatment requires a sincere effort on the part of the psychotherapist as well as the patient.

So, this was some information on narcissistic behavior. Now you know what is narcissistic behavior and how it can be treated. If you have been living with someone with narcissistic personality disorder, you must coax him/her to go for counseling sessions. Since conditioning during childhood is a common cause of this disorder, parents must make sure that they don't subject their children to excessive admiration or severe criticism. Those who don't realize this might end up with self obsessed children.