Deep down, people with narcissism are frightened, fragile people. Aging, defeat, illness or rejection can shake them to their foundation.
As we get older, we all require more care and support from those around us. An elderly narcissist struggles greatly with the idea of looking weak or relying on others. In response to the natural aging process, they may become more hostile, more self-centered, and more inflexible.
Narcissists are not into growing old gracefully — they fight against it with everything they've got. Any lessons or wisdom that might be gained from the aging process is lost on the narcissist. Older narcissists tend to act as if they were children, complete with tantrums when they don't get their way.
Narcissists do get worse as they get older. With age comes a lack of independence and narcissistic supply. So, aging narcissists tend to become the extreme versions of their worst selves. They don't develop a late-onset self-awareness, they just become more abusive, manipulative, hypersensitive, rageful, and entitled.
Narcissists become more isolated as they age
As narcissists age, they often become more isolated. They may withdraw from family and friends, and they may even isolate themselves from their own children. This is because they cannot deal with the fact that other people have lives that do not revolve around them.
Key points. Narcissistic men often choose to date much younger attractive women because they view them as status-enhancers.
A narcissist will perceive their loved one's death as a form of a cosmic joke being played on them. They generally fail to see death as anything other than a trick the universe is playing on them to punish them in some way.
3% of subjects showed increased narcissistic traits between the ages of 18 and 41. The belief that one is smarter, better looking, more successful and more deserving than others — a personality trait known as narcissism — tends to wane as a person matures, a new study confirms.
Narcissistic personality disorder affects more males than females, and it often begins in the teens or early adulthood. Some children may show traits of narcissism, but this is often typical for their age and doesn't mean they'll go on to develop narcissistic personality disorder.
Many people become happier as they grow older, especially after fifty, yet narcissists find the aging process a constant struggle, and one they continue to lose. After a life spent exerting power over others, this is something they just cannot control.
Research suggests that narcissists are at a higher risk of developing Alzheimer's disease. The link between narcissism and Alzheimer's disease isn't completely clear, but it may be caused by the long-term effects of narcissistic personality disorder on the brain.
They view their own opinions as superior to others and, unlike people high in authoritarianism alone, are motivated not to resist views that they see as simply “too liberal,” but by a need to avoid being challenged.
However, research indicates that unlike Narcissus staring at himself reflecting in the pool, many narcissists actually aren't in love with themselves after all. Quite the opposite, in fact. Much of the time, a narcissist's behaviour isn't driven by self-love – rather, self-hatred.
Change in narcissism between age 34 and age 59 was shown to predict change in personality at age 71. The agentic personality characteristics that had been associated with Willfulness narcissism at age 34 were no longer characteristic of those individuals at age 71.
The study found the cause of it. Narcissistic admiration was what carried the initial popularity. But once that declined and narcissistic rivalry took over, popularity dropped. After a three-week period and many social interactions, narcissists were seen as untrustworthy.
Narcissistic collapse occurs when a narcissist's ability to uphold their grandiose, confident image is threatened. As a result, they often become enraged, resulting in impulsivity, intense lashing out, or harm to others.
We demonstrate that narcissism in children is cultivated by parental overvaluation: parents believing their child to be more special and more entitled than others. In contrast, high self-esteem in children is cultivated by parental warmth: parents expressing affection and appreciation toward their child.
Narcissism tends to emerge as a psychological defence in response to excessive levels of parental criticism, abuse or neglect in early life. Narcissistic personalities tend to be formed by emotional injury as a result of overwhelming shame, loss or deprivation during childhood.
They physically abuse pets.
If a narcissist's dog has urinated on the carpet while the narcissist was out, the narcissist sees it as a personal affront—even though the narcissist left the dog alone for 12 hours. The narcissist then hits the dog and calls it names. The dog learns to fear the narcissist.
At the end of a relationship, narcissists may become combative, passive-aggressive, hostile, and even more controlling. People with NPD often fail to understand other people's needs and values. They are hyper focused on their egos, but do not account for how their actions affect others.
Narcissistic parents are often emotionally abusive to their children, holding them to impossible and constantly changing expectations. Those with narcissistic personality disorder are highly sensitive and defensive. They tend to lack self-awareness and empathy for other people, including their own children.
The narcissist thrives off of the power and control they feel as they continue to pull the strings of the victim like a master puppeteer. They usually dish out silence or stonewalling right around the time the victim is becoming discerning of their mind games and attempting to call them out on it.
There is no doubt that being in a toxic relationship with a narcissist is traumatic. Narcissistic abuse and gaslighting are particularly maddening and traumatising forms of psychological abuse.
It's entirely their loss and you feel nothing. Everyone grieves during loss, whether it be the loss of a loved one, financial loss, breakups, divorces, and everything else that can set back a human. There's no doubt that everybody grieves, including narcissists and other antagonistic personalities.