Are Narcissists Normal?
The DSM-5 Personality and Personality Disorders work group … recommendation is to delete five personality disorders as a way to reduce the level of comorbidity among the disorders. The ones originally slated to be removed include paranoid, schizoid, histrionic, narcissistic and dependent personality disorders. More recently, the Work Group recommended that narcissistic be retained. Lead author Mark Zimmerman, M.D., director of outpatient psychiatry at Rhode Island Hospital, points out, however, that no data were cited describing the impact this deletion had, or might have, on the overall prevalence of personality disorders. Likewise, no research was cited for the Work Group’s reversal in deciding to retain narcissistic personality disorder.
Source: Stone Health News. Here is evidence that narcissism is stressful via Sara Kliff at Ezra Klein’s blog.
Ok, so we don’t have to talk about ME all the time. We can talk about what YOU think of me. Maybe narcissism is just the human state of being.
I agree, it’s just part of who a lot of people are.
I once knew a very beautiful woman who was narcissistic. She complained about how all the handsome men she knew were all narcissistic. Of course, that raises the question: are attractive people more prone to narcissism? Or do they merely have a sense of entitlement?
I’d turn to Bradley Thayer’s argument in “Darwin and International Relations: On the Evolutionary Origins of War and Ethnic Conflict.”
The narcissists paid more attention to self-preservation and are reflected in wider numbers among today’s society.
Shouldn’t personality “disorders” only be slated for treatment if they have a harmful effect?