5 Types of Narcissism and Core Signs

If you recognize aspects of your personality that are common to narcissistic personality disorder or you’re feeling overwhelmed by sadness, consider reaching out to a trusted health care provider or mental health provider. Getting the right treatment can help make your life more rewarding and enjoyable. People with narcissistic personality disorder may not want to think that anything could be wrong, so they usually don’t seek treatment. If they do seek treatment, it’s more likely to be for symptoms of depression, drug or alcohol misuse, or another mental health problem.

You have symptoms of anxiety and depression

• While narcissism is a personality disorder and alcoholism is an addiction, narcissists and alcoholics share several characteristics.
• Partners or family members may also suffer from addictions due to the mental abuse suffered at the narcissist’s hands.
• People with NPD or narcissistic tendencies sometimes show a pattern of manipulative, controlling behavior that involves both verbal abuse and emotional manipulation.

While they hold themselves superior, they may speak or act rudely toward those that they deem are inferior. One of the most common signs of a narcissist is a constant need for praise or admiration. People with this behavior need to feel validation from others and often brag or exaggerate their accomplishments for recognition. There is no singular cause that can explain the development of narcissism—but experts point to a couple common reasons for it.

The overt narcissist

To cope with the crippling self-doubt and self-hatred, many will turn to drugs and/or alcohol. Studies have shown links between narcissistic behavioral patterns and substance abuse issues (Calvert-Conley, 2020). Excessive drinking or drug use can cause a narcissist to spiral into destructive behavior, thus attracting attention and care from others.

• Even there, they expect special treatment and believe the rules are for others.
• When their criteria of perfection failed to be met by others, the narcissists usually quit treatment, spotlighting a key challenge in narcissism and addiction.
• People with narcissism and those with an addiction share similar character traits.
• They also have a deep hatred of the self which they cover with a highly extroverted persona.
• “Hoovering,” as it’s often called, tends to work better when you lack support.
• Adverse childhood experiences and military/combat PTSD are two areas of trauma with strong correlations to addiction (Calvert-Conley, 2018).

Empathy and Animals

The usual reason is that emotional narcissism and alcoholism empathy was not valued in their family growing up, and they were never encouraged to develop it. The smarter narcissists develop decent social skills and get along in the world by using their cognitive empathy. Some of my clients with narcissistic personality start to develop emotional empathy in the course of their therapy. It happens extremely gradually and only under very specific circumstances.

Narcissistic personality disorder manipulation tactics

Nevertheless, the attention and admiration that they require increases over time, just like how an addict needs to increase their dose. When they feel as though they are not receiving the adequate amount of attention and admiration, they experience anxiety and, ultimately, depression that can lead to self-medication and addiction. Talk therapy can be an effective treatment for people with narcissistic personality disorder. It can help them learn ways to develop empathy for others, assess their capabilities realistically, and improve their ability to regulate their emotions. It is important to note that people with an addiction do not always show signs of a narcissistic personality disorder and that people with narcissism do not always develop an addiction. People with narcissistic personality disorders may wish to control their sexual partner’s behavior for their own satisfaction, and they may have an inflated sense of sexual entitlement.

• What they view as insults to self-esteem may make it difficult to accept and follow through with treatment.
• The narcissistic enabler minimizes all signs of addiction and fosters feelings of superiority over others.
• A doctor can offer help and treatment to those dealing with addiction, which may involve suggesting lifestyle changes or rehabilitation clinics.