People Living With Narcissistic Personality Disorder

The vanity trap!

Clinical psychiatrist Seema Hingorrany believes that the act of constantly being preoccupied with thoughts of yourself and feeling the world should revolve around you is unhealthy. "A selfobsessed individual is someone who just can't help thinking and talking about themselves. These people believe that they are superior and have little regard for other people. But behind this mask of ultraconfidence lies a fragile self-esteem, vulnerable to the slightest criticism . It is also called Narcissistic Personality Disorder, when the symptoms are chronic," says Hingorrany.


We're living in a culture that's making people increasingly self-obsessed. A little obsession is natural and good, however, it becomes a p r o b l e m when this starts interfering with one's daily life. Consultant psychiatrist Dr Dipti S Shah believes when there's social and occupational impairment due to self-obsession, it's time to seek help. "The most common reason for self-obsession is insecurity. Physical appearances are critical to selfworth," says Dr Shah.

Sadly, self-obsessed individuals' lives revolve around themselves. "This leads them to act in a self-centred manner. In relationships, such individuals are highly demanding and usually think about themselves. Such people are most likely have little or no concern for their partner. To be in a relationship where only one partner's needs are met can be stressful. Unfortunately, a high percentage of self-obsessive traits are seen in teenagers. It's family and friends who seem to suffer. Parents find it tough to deal with this behaviour," says counselling psychologist Devaunshi Sampat-Mehta.


- Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD): Repetitive actions like constantly washing hands, checking if doors are locked, etc.

- Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD): Traits of over-confidence and selfadmiration.

- Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD): Preoccupation with some part of the body and unhappy with the way it is.

- Bipolar Mood Disorder (BMD): Mood swings accompanied with beliefs that one has immense ability and is invincible.

- Somatoform Disorder: Pre-occupation with physical complaints.

- Anorexia Nervosa: Feeling one is overweight and hence shunning food.

I Luv SA: Living in Jujuland

Shacks in squatter camps.  Squatter camps which didn’t exist 25 years ago, but the liberal sheeple of this world will tell you otherwise.  They will never be able to explain to you why the previous South African government spent millions in developing massive electrified fences on its northern borders to keep illegal immigrants out.  Which begs the question why millions would want to flee to South Africa when “Apartheid was the greatest threat to humankind”?  If you haven’t cottoned on to the fact that a lot of what you thought you knew about Apartheid was liberal left wing and communist propaganda, some of what is happening in South Africa today must surely give you a few hints that all was not so screwed up before as it is now.

WHILE diagnosing a public figure from his or her public behaviour is unsound psycho-diagnostic practice, Julius Malema does demonstrate an almost full house of traits of what diagnosticians call a narcissistic personality disorder. Narcissistic personality dynamics centre principally around the individual’s attempts to shore up a fundamentally inadequate sense of self-worth. In its most flagrant forms, pathological narcissism is most recognisable by an overwhelming projection of a sense of grandiosity. Ironically, though, this assertion of grandiosity is usually a function of exactly the opposite in terms of the internal dynamics of the narcissist, i.e. an overwhelming and terrifying doubt — often only partially conscious to the narcissist — that he or she is of value to others. The narcissist’s defence is typically to assert forcefully, often inappropriately and damagingly, the opposite of this internal conviction.

In their daily interactions with other people, pathological narcissists tend to regard them principally as potential sources of narcissistic supply, i.e. as objects that are of value if they can confirm to the narcissist that they are powerful, influential, valued and competent. Hence, they are largely disinterested in people who will be unable to bolster their grandiosity and they tend to like to have nothing to do with those who are likely to criticise them or even to offer objective assessments of their competence or desirability.

Narcissistic traits are very common among prominent politicians around the world.

Developmentally, narcissism can often arise when the very young child is inappropriately and unconditionally affirmed for whatever he or she does, without discrimination, or when the child is very inadequately affirmed during his or her struggles to develop a sense of personal identity. Some researchers have also suggested that pathological narcissism can arise later in life if there is an inordinate change in the individual’s circumstances, such as a move from abject poverty or insignificance to overwhelming wealth or influence. They have called this acquired situational narcissism.