The label ‘narcissist’ has gained considerable attention in recent years. In some respects, this heightened awareness of narcissism is to be welcomed in that it has brought a great deal of solace to those who have fallen victim to narcissistic abuse.

The issue, however, is that much of this growing ‘awareness’ of narcissism is in fact superficial. In other words, a lot of people are now aware of the existence of narcissism, and are steadfast in adopting it as part of their vocabulary, without having an accurate and comprehensive understanding of what it means to be a narcissist.

The label ‘narcissist’ correctly refers to those who display behaviours consistent with Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD). NPD is recognised in the UK medical space, but under the umbrella term of ‘Other Specific Personality Disorders’. For the purposes of ease and clarity, however, it shall be referred to as NPD throughout. NPD is generally understood to be characterised by all or most of the following traits: an exaggerated sense of self-importance; a fixation on success, power and brilliance; a belief that others are envious of them; a need for constant admiration; a lack of empathy for others; and a tendency to exploit others.

This official understanding of narcissism means that, for example, someone who loves to take photographs of themselves to upload to social media is not necessarily a narcissist, contrary to wide-spread belief. That is not to say, however, that such an individual is categorically not a narcissist; if that social media addict too demonstrates all or most of the other characteristics listed above then it is likely that they would be considered to be suffering from NPD. What should therefore be extracted from this is that the label of a narcissist is all-encompassing and often misunderstood by the wider public.

Given the definition of narcissism, it can often be challenging and sometimes even unhealthy to be in close proximity to a narcissist. For example, being the spouse of someone suffering with NPD. If you suspect that someone in your immediate circle is a narcissist, and that said person is having a negative impact on you, we would direct you to read our articles on recognising that you are a victim of narcissistic abuse and recovering from said abuse.

- Meg Walters, Paralegal