Does it always become a topic of conversation? Do you feel entitled to certain rights or privileges? Do you despise others? These are classic signs of a narcissistic personality disorder. Do you know someone who feels that he is always right and others are not? Are you arrogant, lacking in empathy and think you are very important? That person may have this disorder. In this Psychology-Online article, we will talk about the Narcissistic Personality Disorder: Causes and Treatment.
The narcissistic personality disorder it is a disorder that affects approximately 1% of the population with a higher prevalence in men than women. It is characterized by an exaggerated arrogance, lack of empathy and a great need for admiration. The main marker of the narcissistic personality is the grandeur. They worry about power, prestige, vanity and believe that they deserve special treatment.
Narcissistic Personality Disorder should not be confused with a person with high self-esteem. A person with high self-esteem may be humble, while the narcissist may not. They are selfish, presumptuous, and ignore the feelings and needs of others. In addition, the disorder affects the life of the person in a negative way. In general, the person may be unhappy with her life and disappointed when others do not admire her or give her the special treatment or attention that she needs. All life areas are affected (work, personal, social ...), but the person is not able to realize that her behaviors negatively affect their relationships. People are not comfortable with a narcissistic person and they will feel dissatisfied with their work, social life, etc.
There is no single definite cause of narcissistic personality disorder, but researchers agree that there are environmental and genetic factors that play a role in the development of the disorder.
Among some of the genetic factors, it has been seen that people with narcissistic personality have less gray matter in the left insula, the part of the brain related to empathy, emotional regulation, compassion, and functioning cognitive.
Many of the narcissistic personality traits take shape in the normal development of the person. Researchers believe that the onset of the disorder can occur when there is a conflict in interpersonal development. Some examples of contextual factors that can disrupt the phases of "normal" development include:
- Learn manipulative behaviors from parents or friends.
- Being overly praised for appropriate behaviors and overly criticized for inappropriate behaviors.
- Being abused in childhood.
- Inconsistent parental care.
- Being very spoiled by parents, friends, family ...
- Being overly admired without realistic feedback.
- Receive lots of compliments from parents or others about their physical appearance or abilities.
Psychotherapy
Psychotherapy is one of the keys to approach the treatment of the narcissistic personality. It is often used to help the person to relate to other people in a more adaptive way and to gain a greater understanding of their own and others' emotions.
If a person has a narcissistic personality, you probably haven't heard of a diagnosis. Studies have shown that they do not usually receive treatment and if they do, progress is slow, because it is based on personality traits, which have been formed over the years. Therefore, it takes years of psychotherapy to make changes. The changes are aimed at accept responsibility for your actions already learn ways of relating more suitable. This includes:
- Accept and maintain relationships with colleagues and family.
- Tolerate criticism and failures.
- Understand and regulate feelings.
- Minimize the desire to achieve unrealistic goals.
Initially, it was thought that group therapy was not appropriate because group therapy requires empathy, patience, and the ability to relate and "Connect" with others, something in which the person with narcissistic personality disorder presents deficits. However, studies have shown that long-term group therapy can benefit them by providing context sure where they can talk about their limits, receive and give feedback and increase their awareness of themselves and their problems.
The cognitive behavioral therapySpecifically, schema-focused therapy has been successful. It focuses on repairing narcissistic schemes and the coping strategies associated with them, confronting narcissistic cognitive styles (perfectionism…).
Medication
There is no specific treatment for this disorder, but sometimes these people may have depression or anxiety, and psychotropic drugs can be helpful. People with narcissistic personality can abuse drugs or alcohol, so treating addictive problems can be somewhat beneficial in this disorder.
This article is merely informative, in Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
