You surely would have crossed paths with someone who thought themselves to be highly entitled and was secretly quite manipulative. They often think of themselves to be superior and more knowledgeable than others and showcase grandiosity. Most of them suffer from a less common disorder known as Narcissistic Personality Disorder. So, let’s discover some common narcissist traits.
NPD is a spectrum and we have different categories under it. The disorder is clinically proven and is listed in the DSM-5 Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition. It is the latest updated edition. NPD is a personality disorder seen more in men. The common narcissist traits are- having a superior image of oneself, manipulative, lack genuine feelings, being egotistical, and emotionally abusive.
What is Narcissism?
In narcissism, we have a category called cerebral narcissism. This personality type has a habit of showing off their talents and achievements publicly. They often love to get their ego satisfaction by belittling others in their achievement and talents and showing themselves superior. This can cause a lack of confidence in the person dealing with such a type of narcissist. And if such a narcissist is a family member then it can affect the child’s growth negatively.
Cerebral narcissists do come under NPD and possess traits of an actual narcissist like grandiose, apathy, fake support, manipulation, etc, but the one thing they are known for is criticizing others. They often judge people based on their skill set and decide their worth as if the whole world depends on their one comment.
Before understanding cerebral narcissism in-depth, let’s figure out:
How people develop such a personality?
NPD- Narcissistic Personality Disorder is caused by many factors. Any personality disorder often has its causes rooted in childhood. It can range from having a narcissistic parent to extreme physical and emotional abuse. This personality often develops due to-
- Excessive neglect and abuse, leading to apathy.
- Overprotective parents cause a loss of control over one’s life thus they wish to control someone else’s life.
- Pampering parents can be the main cause of a grandiose personality.
- A narcissistic parent or if someone in the family is narcissistic then genetic makeup can cause narcissistic personality in the child.
Cerebral Narcissist and Narcissist Traits
Some common traits of a cerebral narcissist are as follows-
Overly criticize others to make them feel vulnerable
A common trait of cerebral narcissists is the way they try to manipulate you into believing that they are superior to you. You would always find them talking about some books, new things they attempted, writers, their achievements, etc. At first glance, you wouldn’t be able to realize what’s happening and would believe them due to their manipulative tone.
They often target the weakest person and try to break them apart. It takes years for a person to realize that they have faced narcissistic abuse and many more years to fully recover from the abuse. They boost themselves which often impresses many people.
They believe the whole world revolves around them
Feelings of grandiose often make a person believe that they are the center and everyone revolves around them when in reality it isn’t true. If you refuse to revolve around them they would use certain tactics to fool you into their trap. They are attention seekers and validate their ego by getting attention from others.
One way they feel you are unwanted and overqualified than them is by cutting the conversation and pointing out flaws about the things you are speaking about. Constant criticism will eventually make you believe that you are unwanted even if you are superior to the narcissist.
If your points are valid and are true they would start ignoring them to make you feel unwanted.
Show off their possession.
Every narcissist has this common trait where they try to pretend and brag about stuff to show their superiority. As their whole life and their ego depend on external validation they need to show off their possessions to satisfy themselves. You would often spot a narcissist charming people by their possessions.
Fake emotions
They strongly believe in the quote, fake it till you make it. Narcissists do not understand others’ emotions. They feel entitled when they see someone sad or depressed.
But even though narcissists aren’t able to understand emotions they still can show emotions and sometimes feel someone else’s pain. Most of the time a narcissist doesn’t realize that they are hurting you. Due to childhood consequences and a neglectful parenting style they learned over the years that showing emotions makes them vulnerable and causes pain. Thus to avoid the pain, they tend to show fewer emotions and try to manipulate others to protect themselves.
Show Intolerance
Narcissists often feel validated when they show themselves as superior but if someone comments on them or criticizes them they become quite arrogant and lash back at them with negative reactions. These reactions are quite childish. On the top, they may plan ways to belittle your indemnity to make them feel strong again. They may plot plans against you, verbally abuse you, or fight back, etc.
If you know someone who displays these characteristics then the first option is to cut ties. But if this member is someone close to you or who works with you then it’s quite hard to ignore their existence. Some effective ways to deal with cerebral narcissists are-
- If someone from your family or close friends is a cerebral narcissist try to keep your distance from them. Do not get intimidated or affected by their self-validating talks. Do what is best for you.
- At the workplace, if one of your colleagues or your boss is a cerebral narcissist keep a distance and try to interact for work purposes only.
Even though narcissists are seen to be manipulative and controlling and show claimed confidence deep down they lack self-esteem and are their biggest enemies. They are fearful from inside and thus to protect themselves they tend to entitle themselves to seem less vulnerable.
