It’s hardly a revelation to state that Donald Trump is narcissistic. Lately mainstream media has been tossing out the n-word about him somewhat cavalierly. But here’s the thing: Narcissistic Personality Disorder, or NPD, is no small thing. Since its name comes from the mythological Greek God Narcissus, the dude who fell in the pool because he was gazing at his own visage, people seem to think NPD is a kinda silly, kinda cool but ultimately annoying thing some people have.
It’s not. I mean yes, of course it’s annoying but Narcissistic Personality Disorder is an Axis II disorder. And just what does Axis II mean, you ask? That it is not treatable. In other words, while Axis I disorders like depression, anxiety and bipolarity can be helped with medication and therapy, there’s nothing you can take that will treat your NPD.
Oh yes, America. We’re backing ourselves into an untreatable corner.
Trump Has All The Classic Signs
Now you probably don’t need me to convince you that Trump’s got it but if you want to liven up your next debate watching party, you could create Bingo cards with NPD symptoms and everyone would win.
Here’s a rough summary of what the Mayo Clinic lists as symptoms of NPD:
-Grandiose sense of self-importance
-Preoccupation with success
-Belief of special-ness
-Excessive need for admiration
-Sense of entitlement
-Takes advantage of others
-Lacks empathy
-Frequently envious
-Arrogant/haughty
Add in some of Trump’s more, er, notable, quotes (“I think apologizing’s a great thing, but you have to be wrong. I will absolutely apologize, sometime in the hopefully distant future, if I’m ever wrong” to Jimmy Fallon, “All of the women on The Apprentice flirted with me—consciously or unconsciously” to The Daily News—take your pick from these or any others) and we don’t need to be shrinks to take home the Bingo pot.
No, You Don’t Become a Narcissist Because of How You Were Raised
But here’s a major misconception: NPD is a disorder, which means that it’s not something that’s the result of what happened to you. A writer for The Star in Canada eloquently writes about how, as a child of 80s and 90s, she was part of the award ribbon generation—where “I consistently walked away with small tokens and words of encouragement that made me feel like the winner I wasn’t.” This, she says, taught her how to build up healthy self-esteem and also to understand that winning wasn’t the only goal.
Others in her situation, she says, become narcissists, “developing a sense of entitlement, grandiose self-image and an incredible, almost desperate need for attention.” But getting a ribbon for last place does not a narcissist make.
So What Is NPD?
The reality is that NPD doesn’t occur as much as it may seem like—reportedly up to six percent of the population suffers (benefits?) from it. The reason it may appear more common than it is could be that NPD-ers are quite good at getting out there and calling attention to themselves. In fact, out of all the personality disorders, none is more appealing in today’s society than NPD. Just look where it’s gotten Trump! And Kanye West! And how about Steve Jobs? By my last count, there have been 309 biopics made about Jobs and Apple products are used a billion times a second (note: these stats come from my brain and not official studies). Other folks that have been media labeled narcissistic include Mark Zuckerberg and top execs at Google, Yahoo, Netflix and more.
Looked at this way, many might be wondering why on earth they couldn’t have been born with it.
But the reality is that the condition makes many people wholly intolerable. They may have qualities that are highly valued in society today but think about your day-to-day life and ask yourself what it would be like to interact with that all the time. And then ask yourself what it would be like for that to be in charge of your life.
And then, perhaps, consider moving to an Eastern nation, where NPD rates are the lowest.
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