On Narcissism

There are many people – both good ones and bad ones – who militate against the people possessing of Narcissistic Personality Disorder. Having myself been accused by lay people – but never by professional psychologists – of possessing this disorder, I have a lot to say on this matter.

If it is narcissistic to want to pursue great success – as we see in some definitions of narcissism – then everyone who's had great success is a narcissist; and the world owes greatly to people who have this disorder. If it is narcissistic to seek great passion, then the world's best writers and artists have been narcissists, which likewise means that the world owes greatly to people who have this disorder. Finally, if willing to matter is narcissistic, then everyone who's done meaningful things is a narcissist; and the credit for the best accomplishments of the civilization belongs with its narcissists.

Are there jerks among the high achievers? Of course there are; but there are also jerks everywhere else. If there is such a thing as narcissism, it applies to all sorts of people at all levels of society. There are plenty of gangsters who could be portrayed as being narcissists; there are also any number of high-level businessmen who could be portrayed as being narcissists as well. A disorder that applies to 1% of humanity will have 70 million people possessing of it; and some of these people will be doing well and others won't.

I resent being portrayed as a narcissist. I do not only care about myself; I care about all sorts of people, including people who portray me in this way don't care about themselves. Real psychologists have portrayed me as having the heart of a humanitarian. That is the opposite of being a narcissist.

For people who actually are narcissists, or even sociopaths, I recommend using their mind where their heart fails. If they are not gifted with empathy, then they can use their intelligence to figure out what people want and how their actions and words are affecting the next person. Use what you are strong in to compensate for what you are weak in; and come up with solutions that are informed and profound at once.

Most human-made problems have solutions; and this is the case with such problems as narcissism and sociopathy. If you have these disorders, it does not mean that you are damned. Use your mind where your heart fails and find yourself acting rightfully. And then you can be a good person, whatever the mechanisms of your mind happen to be.