Narcissism

“I’m sorry you feel that way.” Narcissism derives from the Greek story of Narcissus. In the story, we are told that Narcissus was extremely handsome, that he snubbed all including a nymph, and for that was punished to fall in love with his own reflection in a stream and expire in loneliness and by his own self absorption. Narcissistic Personality Disorder is a real condition and has lately been dubbed on the internet as “Main Character Syndrome”. It is seemingly showcasing itself more and more as technology progresses. As we see how many clicks and likes these “normal everyday” influencers have, it is causing everyone to participate in the trend of “being delulu (delusional)” and “tapping into that main character energy”. Although it is fantastic to have confidence, be a go-getter, and keep a positive attitude, with narcissistic personality disorder each of these things are cranked all the way to overkill. 

Narcissists are extremely taken with the distorted self-image created within their own mind, this causes the following symptoms: 

• Selfishness 
• Lack of guilt or empathy 
• Seeking excessive praise
•  Close-mindedness to criticism and feedback 
• Needing to be in the spotlight and placed on a pedestal  
• Avoidance in admitting faults or shortcomings 

Ironically, these people who struggle with empathy are surprisingly so charming. A quote from a show in which one of the characters realizes their partner is a covert narcissist said “ I feel like our marriage is a magic eye poster. At first glance it doesn’t seem to make sense… If you squint at it just right, everything lines up and it’s the most perfect, beautiful, amazing thing. But, I’m so tired of squinting.” Anyone who has had the misfortune of being in a relationship with a narcissist, not even limited to a romantic one, knows well that it is so closely like those magic eye posters. It's fun, exciting, and you feel pleased when you catch that perfect angle and even when you see the mess when it's not at the particular angle you still remember how cool it looked then. As the character said it is tiring to keep having to adjust yourself and squint to catch that same glimpse. Some people will try to warn you, the narcissists themselves will drop the glamour at times, it is on you to stay wary and do what is best for yourself. 

https://www.helpguide.org/mental-health/personality-disorders/narcissistic-personality-disorder