There are no physical blood tests, MRIs, or exact determinations that can identify narcissism. There are, however, inventories/scales that can be used to aid in making the diagnosis (more on this below). Even therapists have to go on just observations of the behavior and attitudes that a person presents.
How is narcissistic personality disorder diagnosed? A mental health professional such as a psychologist or psychiatrist (psychotherapist) can determine if you have key symptoms of NPD. Your psychotherapist will give you questionnaires and then talk with you. You'll go over what's causing you distress.
Covert narcissism traits
Some telling traits associated with NPD include: An over-inflated sense of self-importance. Lack of empathy. A need for excessive admiration.
The most official of the narcissism tests, the Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI), is commonly used to determine if someone displays narcissistic behaviors.
People with narcissistic personality disorder (NPD) have personalities characterized by intense self-involvement and chronic disregard for others. People with NPD rarely seek therapy. This is because people with NPD may neither notice nor care about the effects of their narcissism on others.
Manipulative abusers will often put on a charming facade for the therapist, fooling them into thinking they are the true victims. Narcissists will use therapy as a site for further gaslighting their victims, if they even attend at all.
Narcissists who are psychologically minded are likely to stick with their psychotherapy longer because they enjoy the process of self-discovery. Capacity for Self-Reflection: This relates to both the capacity to look objectively at one's own motives and behaviors and the willingness to do so.
“To what extent do you agree with this statement: 'I am a narcissist.'” Scientists believe that this question could be all researchers need to make a quick and easy diagnosis of narcissism.
Based on overlapping symptoms, Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) and Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD) are often mistaken for one another.
They're often introverted, sensitive, and prone to experiencing anxiety and shame. They may also struggle to maintain close friendships as they focus heavily on themselves, require attention, and are hyper-sensitive to perceived criticism.
The best way to shut down a narcissist is to walk away from them. If all else fails, you can physically remove yourself from the conversation. Even if they keep talking, simply turn around and walk away. If they follow you, close the door.
In this case, you might expect examples of narcissist text messages such as “I'm in the hospital, but I'm ok now,” “I can't feel my arm, but I don't think I should worry, should I?”, “I've had some bad news, but there's nothing you can do about it.”
Emotional reactions
So when they encounter a piece of information about narcissism they immediately might feel exposed, ashamed, betrayed, or attacked. Moreover, they often take things very personally and think that everything is about them.
The NPI is the most widely-applied measure for the assessment of narcissistic personality traits and, therefore, it is of great relevance for many research questions in personality and social psychology.
Typically, these narcissistic traits cover deep rooted insecurities and fears. There is no grand list of specific phrases narcissists use, but there are common phrases to look out for like, “My exes are all crazy,” and, “You're too sensitive,” as well as a host of manipulation tactics to try to control you.
There are three facets of narcissism: agentic, antagonistic, and neurotic.
Many narcissists are obsessive-compulsive as well. They conduct daily "rituals", they are overly punctilious, they do things in a certain order, and adhere to numerous "laws", "principles", and "rules". They have rigid and oft-repeated opinions, uncompromising rules of conduct, unalterable views and judgments.
Narcissistic personality disorder may be linked to: Environment — parent-child relationships with either too much adoration or too much criticism that don't match the child's actual experiences and achievements. Genetics — inherited characteristics, such as certain personality traits.
Narcissists can be tricky to identify because they overlap with people who are toxic, mean, fake, and deeply insecure for other reasons. Accurately detecting the narcissist in your life can make them much less bothersome.