The other side of the narcissist The narcissist then appears to have an extreme sense of inferiority and is actually always alone. Narcissists are often lonely, also because of their behaviour. If someone addresses the narcissist about his/her behaviour, a feeling of being hurt quickly follows.
"Narcissists are insecure, and they cope with these insecurities by flexing. This makes others like them less in the long run, thus further aggravating their insecurities, which then leads to a vicious cycle of flexing behaviors."
It's long been established that there are two types of narcissists: "vulnerable" ones, who have low self-esteem and crave affirmation, and "grandiose" ones, who have a genuinely overinflated sense of self.
Many people living with narcissistic traits may have had a parent with NPD, experienced insecure attachment as a child, or have other attachment issues. It's also not uncommon for people living with NPD to experience depression, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts, or abuse substances.
Narcissists are often very self-focused, making it difficult to empathize with others. People with an inferiority complex are often concerned about their image and how they appear to others. This can make it difficult for them to trust people.
Often, inferiority complexes are developed in childhood due to invalidating experiences or being raised in a family that influences you to feel lesser or not good enough. Since inferiority complexes are subconscious and lead to a wide range of negative thoughts, they manifest in people very differently.
Most Common Symptoms
Feeling insecure, incomplete, or unworthy. Withdrawal from everyday activities and social situations. Comparing yourself with others. Feelings of hostility, frustration, nervousness, or aggression.
Insecure narcissists often feel the need to dominate others, especially those they believe are weaker than themselves. Their aggressive nature is due in part to their fear of inadequacy and low self-esteem.
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.
Last, vulnerable narcissists tend to be insecure and defensive. They admit to feeling bad about themselves, which makes some people question why they are considered narcissistic.
Some of the most common weird things covert narcissists do to manipulate their victims include: hoovering, gaslighting, guilt-tripping, love bombing etc. This post will help you understand the covert narcissist better.
Since reality doesn't support their grandiose view of themselves, narcissists live in a fantasy world propped up by distortion, self-deception, and magical thinking. They spin self-glorifying fantasies of unlimited success, power, brilliance, attractiveness, and ideal love that make them feel special and in control.
Emptiness. Narcissists lack a positive, emotional connection to themselves, making it difficult for them to emotionally connect with others. Their undeveloped self and deficient inner resources require them to be dependent on others for validation. Rather than confidence, they actually fear that they're undesirable.
Although narcissists act superior, entitled and boastful, underneath their larger-than-life facade lies their greatest fear: That they are ordinary. For narcissists, attention is like oxygen. Narcissists believe only special people get attention.
These results suggest that the self-esteem of vulnerable narcissists is low, and their fragile sense of self-worth is hypersensitive and labile, while grandiose narcissists have generally higher and more stable self-esteem.
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.
Social learning theory holds that children are likely to grow up to be narcissistic when their parents overvalue them: when their parents see them as more special and more entitled than other children (9).
Here are some narcissism red flags to look out for: Lacking empathy. They seem unable or unwilling to have empathy for others, and they appear to have no desire for emotional intimacy. Unrealistic sense of entitlement.
While people with narcissism aren't devoid of emotions, their motivations may be self-focused. They can know they're hurting your feelings, but as long as it elevates their status, they may not care. Someone living with narcissism does cry. They can feel regret, remorse, and sadness.
Narcissists have high self-esteem. But unlike individuals with a secure sense of high self-esteem, narcissists have what researchers call “fragile high self-esteem“. It is a form of high self-esteem dependent on external validation and self-deception.
Narcissism is positively associated with self-assessed intelligence, but not objective intelligence.
An inferiority complex may cause an individual to overcompensate in a number of ways. For example, a person who feels inferior because they are shorter than average (also known as a Napoleon complex) due to common day heightism may become overly concerned with how they appear to others.
A review of the prominent late 19th-century biological writings reveals that a major plank of early evolution theory was the belief that women were intellectually and physically inferior to men. Female inferiority was a logical conclusion of the Darwinian world view because males were believed to be exposed to far ...