Many-sided Narcissism !?

2024 Author: Harry Day | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 15:43

The concept of narcissism has become so popular in our time that there is an opinion not only about the growth of narcissism, narcissistic disorders, but even talk about the era or epidemic of narcissism.

“In the conditions of the“uncertainty”of the post-industrial society, social trauma and global social transformations of our time, the narcissistic“part”of modern Russian identity is energetically charged with ambition, perfectionism, grandeur, rejects the continuity of traditions, restrictions, generally accepted norms and many moral taboos, is egocentric, not burdened with feeling duty and responsibility, prefers "positive" and appreciates self-expression, perceives change solely as entertainment. " (E. T. Sokolova)

In other words, the intensification of narcissistic pathology is in a causal relationship with the global social transformations of society. Modern society, with its pretentiousness and consumer psychology, gives rise to narcissists, and they re-create a consumer society - the circle closes, which inevitably leads to an increase in the number of people with narcissistic disorders.

In everyday life, the word "narcissism" can be heard quite often, but the meaning narrows down to the specific perception of a person of himself and others. In most cases, people with high self-esteem, focused on themselves and their desires are ranked as narcissists. It is quite clear that such a popular view only slides slightly over the surface of such a complex multifaceted concept.

In literature, the disclosure of this term traditionally begins with a retelling of the ancient Greek myth of Narcissus - a handsome and arrogant young man who falls in love with his own reflection and dies of unrequited love.

At the present stage of development of psychoanalytic theory, there is no single theory of the phenomenon of "narcissism"; various models of narcissistic personality disorders and their separate subgroups have been developed, in which different terminology is often used.

Most theorists accept the normal and pathological manifestations of narcissism and its constituents. And there are two typologies of narcissistic personalities that represent the extreme manifestations of narcissistic personality disorder. One is a thick-skinned, extroverted exhibitionist whose people serve as audiences that reflect a grandiose self, the other is a vulnerable and gloomy type, prone to social avoidance and living in constant fear of judgment. Subsequent research on narcissistic personality disorder has led to the existence of many varieties and degrees of narcissism. There are many descriptions of narcissists with an explicit form of grandeur and few characteristics with a latent narcissistic form, since many of them have learned to hide their socially unacceptable features in order to control the impression they make.

For a wide range of readers, the most accessible and colorfully narcissistic manifestations and their extreme forms are described in the books of modern psychotherapists J. Burgo and Y. Pirumova.

J. Burgo, American psychotherapist, in his book Beware, Narcissist! (2019) describes how you can identify a narcissist among your relatives, friends and colleagues, highlighting several types. He also notes that although there is a clinical diagnosis of narcissistic personality disorder based on characteristics (American Psychiatric Association), which applies to only 1% of the population of the country, his book describes those who can be called "true narcissists." and they do not meet the threshold diagnostic criteria.“True narcissists are people whose overestimated self-worth and lack of empathy cause pain and suffering to others. ». J. Burgo refers to them as narcissists, the encounter with which in different spheres of life can pose all sorts of dangers, and this is malignant narcissism. Despite the fact that from the outside, the self-esteem of narcissists seems to be high - this is not true, behind this there is always a feeling of an inner defect as a basic shame, which, according to the psychoanalyst, takes root in the first months of life in the relationship between mother and child and then grows into a dysfunctional family environment.

J. Burgo speaks about the presence of narcissistic trauma in the context of mental disorders. Narcissistic trauma is inevitable and must be overcome by any person in daily life, and we all use various defensive maneuvers to cope with them. However, for narcissists, who are central to feelings of shame or inferiority, such blows are too painful. Needing constant support for their self-esteem, they hide unconscious shame from themselves and those around them and constantly prepare to defend themselves.

Three main defensive techniques are described: blame shifting, self-belief in superiority over the source of the narcissistic trauma, and anger and resentment. Thus, the true narcissist experiences each narcissistic trauma as an attack, spends a lot of energy avoiding painful feelings, and some may begin to take revenge on people for this - often very cruelly.

Psychotherapist Y. Pirumova in her book "Fragile People" (2020) explains narcissism and its ubiquity as the presence of a background level of anxiety for one's own worth.

“Fragile people” or “secret” narcissists are modest, insecure, attacking themselves for any blunder and mistake, exhausted by increased demands on themselves, but invariably claiming to be perfect. People who have unrealistic expectations and distorted ideas about relationships, while experiencing a strong unconscious need for stable, accepting relationships, or at least involvement in them.

A feature of "fragile narcissists" is considered - narcissistic desaturation - when what is is not recognized, and the merits, successes and achievements are internally depreciated. Latent narcissists are people with a deficit or trauma of dislike from childhood, fear of being weak and irrelevant, with a constant feeling of insignificance, inability to make efforts to achieve results and enjoy activities and life.

The modern increasingly widespread type of person, from the point of view of the psychologist Shamshikova E. O., is a person with a narcissistic type of personal organization, who feels his separation and difference from society, who is isolated from normal satisfying relationships and is constantly looking for support from the outside.

Narcissism is diverse and multifaceted, it is important to note that although we really want to separate ourselves from many of the main and / or pathogenic traits of the narcissistic radical, most of us may have them and not recognize in ourselves. It is even more important to understand that these people need help, support and stable, meaningful relationships.

Svetlana Nikolaevna Lutsuk, psychoanalytic psychologist

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