How do you know if you have narcissistic personality disorder? I have a high self esteem on a relative basis, e.g. around people I've proven to be superior in, in specific areas. I'll compulsively tell people I'm comfortable around that they're stupid if I view them to be. I can't sympathize when it comes to incompetence. I find it hard to care about anyone that I'm not exceptionally close with and sometimes have grandiose fantasies. However, I don't believe I'm entitled. I'm happy if my needs are met but not more than that.
I'm afraid of being a monster instead of just a cranky nerd. Any insight?
>>17103026
Maybe look at those forums for children of narcissistic parents? It'll give you a real-world example of what NPD looks like, separate from the clinical definitions.
>>17103032
Also it would show you great examples of where it crosses the road from cranky to monsterous.
I'll tell you straight off that you would not be my friend. I thrive in empathetic situations and you would make me feel like shit. And I'm already damn good at making myself feel like shit.
What I do to convince myself to treat people well, is to think of the rewards. People like me, people trust me, people will do nice things for me.
I get a lot of satisfaction out of the approval for others.
But beyond that, it's beneficial to have people who like you. I have a list of people, friends and acquaintances, who I know I could ask them for ride, money, a place to stay. It's very convenient.
>>17103043
>I'll tell you straight off that you would not be my friend.
That's nice.
>What I do to convince myself to treat people well, is to think of the rewards.
You want someone who's questioning whether or not they're a narcissist to... see people as means to an end?
>But beyond that, it's beneficial to have people who like you.
Enough people love me, thanks, and I don't care about anyone else. I just don't want to be harmful to the people I care about.
Self love is a spectrum, at one end is narcissism and the other end is someone who wholly confident in their person (they generally make good leaders). Narcissism is destructive while having a high self esteem and a strong, virtuous foundation can be a positive force.
Since you're able to introspect and take a step back the chances of you being a malignant narcissist are negligible in my opinion. You're probably somewhere in the middle.
I'm gonna go for the boring answer and say that if you're worried about it you should visit a psych. Self-diagnoses is basically completely useless, I remember once while having a particularly bad fit of anxiety I diagnosed myself with schizophrenia.
Just be honest with the doc and you'll have your answer. Trolling wikipedia and message boards will only result in confirmation bias.
>>17103086
Not that anon, but if he's already a narcissist, then he may very well be callous BECAUSE he sees people as a means to an end.
Maybe understanding that he sees people that way will help him to be kinder to his resources.
Narcissism isn't necessarily bad if it's manageable.
See a psychiatrist if you're worried about having a personality disorder. Nobody else can really tell you or perform the relevant tests.
http://psychcentral.com/quizzes/narcissistic.htm
http://samvak.tripod.com/narcissismselfhelp.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENo3Roz4qYQ
