What is Narcisstic Personality Disorder?

Narcissistic Personality Disorder is a mental health condition which gives those affected, narcissists, an unreasonable sense of their own importance. Standard traits of narcissism are the want for admiration and undeserved attention, lack of the ability to care and understand other points of view and are easily offended by any criticism, minor or major. It is very difficult to pinpoint the exact cause of NPD; some reasons may include childhood trauma, relationships, genetics and/or hypersensitivity.

There are 5 main types of narcissists:Covert: hypersensitive, defensive, constantly feels victimised, self-focused
Covert narcissists believe they have it ‘worse than anybody else’ and constantly put themselves down, which conflicts with the traditional image of a narcissist. Linked with high neuroticism and struggles with feelings of self-doubt.Overt: arrogant, entitled, lacks empathy, desires praise, exploitative
Also nicknamed ‘grandiose’ narcissism, overt narcissism is the ‘standard’ image of a narcissist . They overestimate their abilities compared to others and aren’t as likely to self-deprecate.Antagonistic: competitive, argumentative, arrogant, takes advantage of others
A subcategory of overt narcissism (hence the overlapping traits), antagonistic narcissists are heavily engaged with other people to ‘compete’ with them. They’re characterised by their extremely likely tendency to argue and hold grudges, as well as start problems (antagonise) others.Communal: believes they’re altruistic, easily outraged, hypocritical
Communal narcissists, another subcategory of overt, believe they’re better than others because of their high moral standing. They believe they’re morally superior but often do not follow what they preach and struggle to see their own insensitivity while narrowing down on others.Malignant: vindictive, sadistic, aggressive, paranoid, sometimes antisocial
Malignant narcissists, share traits with overt narcissists, but tend to be significantly more malicious and aggressive towards other people. They’re more likely to struggle with laws and drug abuse. Malignant narcissists also struggle with functioning in society.

Treatment

There is no ‘official’ treatment to cure narcissistic personality disorder but there are treatments to help. Primarily, long-term counselling is the standard treatment for NPD and medications to treat NPD symptoms (i.e. antidepressants, mood stabilisers, antipsychotics).Some other types of treatment are:↳ Psychotherapy to help narcissists get better at human connection.↳ Psychodynamic therapy to help understand the behaviour, moods, and intrusive thoughts narcissists exhibit.↳ Cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) identifies negative behavioural patterns narcissists display and replace them with more positive, productive ones.↳ Family/Marital therapy to help narcissists and their loved ones affected by their narcissism. It helps narcissists learn to engage more positively with their families.

Diagnosis

According to Healthdirect, Cleveland Clinic and Mayo Clinic, NPD can be diagnosed if you have a minimum of 5 traits from the following criteria outlined in the DSM-5:- An overinflated sense of self-importance- Constant thoughts of being better than others- Feelings of superiority and the desire to only surround themselves with others of high status.- The need for excessive admiration- An undeserving sense of entitlement- A willingness to easily take advantage of others.- A lack of understanding/consideration for others feelings- Shows arrogant, haughty behaviours or attitudes- Feels envious of others/believes that others envy them.

A lot of different labels are associated with having a mental disorder, like ‘violent, immoral, incurable’, and problematic beliefs, such as “it’s due to their own shortcomings”, “they don’t contribute to society” and “they’re too unpredictable to be around others”. These are the result of social stigma surrounding mental disorders, which ends up spreading negative information that harms those effected.

Stigma: Being viewed in a negative light due to a characteristic/attribute.
Discrimination: Being treated negatively due to this characteristic/attribute.

Stigma occurs when defining someone by their mental illness rather than who they are as a person. The stigma and consequent discrimination caused by the stigmas makes life with a disorder even harder and discourages those with the disorder from seeking help ou t of fear & their own stigma of these disorders.

Some effects stigma has on those with disorders:◦ Emotions such as shame, hopelessness and isolation become increasingly frequent.◦ Fear to ask for help or get treatment for their wellbeing.◦ A lack of understanding by their supposed support system (friends & family)◦ Worse opportunities for employment and social needs.
Bullying, physical violence and/or harassment.◦ Believing that they will never overcome their struggles and not achieve what they desire in life.

As people with narcissistic personality disorder struggle with their disorder, they also struggle with the overwhelming negative stereotypes caused by stigma inflicted upon them by society’s misinformed opinion.Common stereotypes are:Confidence: Narcissists are often displayed as oozing with confidence, but more often than not this is not the case. This is usually a façade to impress others and feel better about themselves despite their self-doubt/shame/self-hatred.Malicious/Predators/Evil: Narcissists aren’t inherently malicious, but more oblivious to the harm they may or do cause. This happens because they struggle with empathy significantly more than the typical person. Other people’s feelings end up being ‘collateral damage’ to them. They sometimes accidentally use people to validate their self-worth, and end up being insensitive to others, as well as unknowingly selfish and single-minded when it comes to getting what they want.Manipulative: Although some can be manipulative, this is more than often not true. They do take advantage of others willingness to help if they learn they can, but not like a cunning mastermind as shown in media.Charming: This varies from person to person. Some are genuinely charming and interesting, some are boring, some annoying, if their charm truly is superficial their ‘mask’ will eventually slip, and you will notice their repetitive techniques and lack of empathy most ‘charming’ narcissists use. This is more a personality trait than a symptom.

Breaking Bad, revolves around Walter White, a timid & unsatisfied 50-year-old high school chemistry teacher struggling with financial issues, who gets diagnosed with cancer and decides to cook and sell methamphetamines so his family would be provided for after he passes.This decision causes him to spiral deeper and fall further into the drug empire business straying far from his original goal. We watch Walter change from his original stressed and soft-spoken self into a harsh, egotistical and manipulative criminal mastermind and having less regard for others feelings, others affected, and others lives, including that of his own family.Walter White does check every single criterion in the DSM-5 for whether someone may have NPD, as well as actively behave as a narcissist more and more as the series progresses. Although Walter portrays narcissistic traits very well, it

An overinflated sense of self-importance:
- Constantly puts his wants over the emotional needs of both his partner in crime, Jesse Pinkman, and his wife, Skylar White.Constant thoughts of being better than others:
- Consistently belittled Jesse for not being able to sell high quantities of meth straight after making it.
- Is unsatisfied with his humble life as a chemistry teacher due to the lack of respect from students, believing it is his right to be a high-ranking scientist instead.Feelings of superiority and the desire to only surround themselves with others of high status:
- Is embarrassed by his connection to a ‘low grade’ lawyer such as Saul Goodman, and believes that his working with drug empire conglomerate, Gus Fring, is deserved by someone such as him.The need for excessive admiration:
- Only liked Gale Boetticher, his assistant after he split ties with Jesse, because Gale saw him as a dangerous and would constantly compliment Walt.
- Is embarrassed at the idea of taking donations for his cancer treatment because it makes him look like a 'beggar'.An undeserving sense of entitlement:
- Refuses to give Jesse his share of the money earnt because he felt it be his responsibility for Jesse not to use it on drugs.
- Refused to respect Skylar’s boundaries when she wanted to divorce him to protect her children from his danger line of business.
- Has no interest in his co-workers’, Jesse, Mike and Saul, opinions or impacts of decisions, such as when deciding whether to use a specific location and asking why he needs anyone else’s opinion.A willingness to easily take advantage of others:
- Wanted to put his partner in crime in prison so he wouldn’t ‘ruin things for Walt’.
- Constantly forced Jesse back into the drug business for his own comfort despite Jesse’s consistent attempts to leave.A lack of understanding/consideration for others feelings:
- Disregards the safety of his friends and family.
- Writes off Jesse's feelings for his girlfriend as a 'drug-induced delusion'.
- Puts the safety of his co-workers in danger for his own wellbeing.Shows arrogant, haughty behaviours or attitudes:
- His spiel to Skylar, who was worried about his life being at threat, about how she’s a fool for worrying and that he is the person people should be scared of.
- After purchasing a carwash, he takes the previous owners treasured first $5 he made, smashes the frame, and goes to buy a soda with it.
- Brags about killing Gus Fring.Feels envious of others/believes that others envy them.
- His behaviour towards Gray Matter, feeling he was 'cheated' out of the company despite leaving through his own volition.
- Whenever he faces trouble, he believes that all they want from him is his famous meth formula and constantly offers to give them it, even if it's not what they're after.