Dr. Martin Hash Podcast

“Narcissism” is one of those words thrown around by envious people to insult high self-esteem people. Unfortunately, even though there’s a psychiatric definition, it’s so vague that it could be interpreted to classify anyone into Narcissistic Personality Disorder: • Grandiose self-importance. • Fantasies of infinite success, control, brilliance, beauty, or idyllic love. • Thoughts of being extraordinary & exceptional. • A desire for admiration. Those are symptoms of euphoria which everybody does and should experience occasionally. Criteria as general as those are useless. People who actually have lived around a narcissist are the best diagnosticians, and their list of symptoms is much more specific: • Feel superior & entitled. • Exaggerated need for attention & validation. • Perfectionism. • Great need for control. • Lack of responsibility: blaming & deflecting. • Lack of boundaries: cajoling, demanding, rejecting & pouting to get what they want. • Emotional reasoning that places their desires first. • Take credit for the good and blame the bad on others. The most concerning thing about true narcissists is that they are incapable of changing.