Narcissistic Perfectionist Disorder

Narcissistic personality disorder is a mental illness that less than 1% of the general population and approximately 2% to 16% of individuals obtaining psychiatric outpatient services suffer from it.

Identification

• Narcissistic personality disorder is characterized by an inflated self-importance, a need to be admired by others and lack of regard to the feelings of other people. Individuals with narcissistic personality disorder often have low self-esteem and have difficulty handling criticism from other.

Symptoms

• Common symptoms of narcissistic personality disorder include feeling more important than others, fantasizing about power and/or attractiveness, exaggerating achievements or talents, expecting constant praise from others, lack of empathy for others, taking advantage of others, jealousy, trouble keeping healthy relationships, having unrealistic and/or unattainable goals and lack of emotional expression.

Diagnosis

• Diagnosis of narcissistic personality disorder requires that the symptoms cause significant impairment in daily functioning. Examples of impairments include having unstable or lack of social relationships, financial problems and difficulty completing job or school tasks.

Causes

• The exact cause of narcissistic personality disorder is unknown. Certain factors, such as being subjected to childhood abuse or neglect, excessive pampering and being subjected to excessively high expectations, are associated with development of narcissistic personality disorder.

Treatment

• Treatment for narcissistic personality disorder focuses on psychotherapy. No medications are available for treating narcissistic personality disorder.

Mental Health

• Narcissistic personality disorder commonly occurs with bipolar disorder, major depression, anxiety disorders and substance abuse.