Narcissistic Personality Disorder

Before talking about Narcissistic Personality Disorder in detail, I need to explain what a Personality Disorder is.

There are many technical explanations which you will be able to find, but at its simplest, somebody with a Personality Disorder is someone who is somehow wired differently from the rest of us, and so they act in ways which are abnormal and dysfunctional by the standards of most humans.

These people are NOT insane. They are sane, and fully aware of what they do, and also are probably aware that society does not approve of these actions. But they don't care. They think the rules do not apply to them.

The DSM IV (i.e.the fourth edition of the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) defines 10 different Personality Disorders, and Narcissistic Personality Disorder is one of those. 

Having said that, it was only recognised since 1980. And in my experience, it's still very little known. This means that victims of Narcissists, both Daughters of Narcissistic Mothers and other victims such as spouses of Narcissists, can be living a nightmare without ever realising what's going on.

You can read about the Definition of Narcissistic Personality Disorder here, and the traits of Narcissists here.

There are official traits, but sometimes it's hard to relate those to real-life situations. I include specific examples to help you recognise it in the real world.

There is also a spectrum to Narcissistic Personality Disorder, and you might be able to identify where on it your mother is situated. I also invite you to read my page on what causes NPD - short answer is that nobody is sure entirely.

You might like to also read up on how to diagnose Narcissistic Personality Disorder, and read up on the possibilities for treating NPD (hint: very few!)

You will also need to know about Narcissistic Supply and Narcissistic Rage - if you're the Daughter of a Narcissistic Mother, you've been the first one, and no doubt experienced the second.

And very importantly, you'll need to know how to recognise a narcissist, and once you've done that, how to deal with that same narcissist.

Incidence of Narcissistic Personality Disorder

Nobody knows exactly what the incidence is. Narcissists rarely present for therapy. And of course, it's a spectrum disorder which makes it more difficult to know. But the estimates are between 1% and 6%. 

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