Written by Chris Josh
The term narcissist gets thrown around a lot these days but how do we know if someone truly has narcissistic personality disorder (NPD)? Well, Duke Health has come up with an acronym: SPECIAL ME. And the acronym befits these individuals perfectly.
So let's break down the acronym.
Sense of self importance
Preoccupation with power, beauty, or success
Entitled
Can only be around people who are important or special
Interpersonally exploitative for their own gain
Arrogant
Lack empathy
Must be admired
Envious of others or believe that others are envious of them
Although people with NPD aren't totally bad people, they may not be a good fit for you, especially if you value your peace and independence. Unfortunately, these people must have control of everyone and everything in their lives. They will try to isolate you from your family and friends.
Being that they crave attention, especially from people who are deemed important, they tend to step out of the relationship to fulfill their need for attention. They will pretend that they don't seek praise but all they do is seek praise covertly - in a sneaky way.
Even if you're relatives with them or in a romantic relationship, they will tend to be envious of you - especially if you're a positive and happy person. They will try to ruin your mood because they are miserable deep down and they can't let you be happy.
If you live together and sleep in the same bed, they will purposely make noise if they wake up before you to make sure you don't sleep more than them. Again, they're not 100% bad but you have to ask yourself if you're willing to put up with the behavior. For most, infidelity is a major no no and unfortunately that's what comes with a person with NPD most of the time.
NPD can be treated but it takes a lot of work on the person's part. They need to acknowledge and identify their bad behaviors and work to correct them.
I can't tell you what to do but I can tell you what I did. In my book, "City of Serpents," I detail the different narcissists I had to deal with and one day I had enough and cut them all off. They were having a major impact on my health in a very negative way. I lost my memory, my decision making ability, and at times I couldn't walk. The stress accumulated and took a major toll on my health mentally, physically and emotionally. It's when I cut them all loose that I regained my brain functions that were impaired because of them.
The Complete Set of 5 Books Written By Chris Josh
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