Narcissism - what is it? Negative qualities of a person. Narcissism

Everyone loves himself in one way or another. And this is correct, normal. However, such phenomena often go beyond certain limits and the narcissus says about the person. What is meant in this statement, the concept of "narcissism" - what is it and when to apply it correctly - about all this and want to tell in detail in this article.

Designation of the term

First of all, you need to understand the very concept. So, narcissism - what is it? At the very beginning I want to say that the term comes from the name of the Greek youth Narcissus (according to myths), who all the time admired himself to the full of rapture and died of this love (as a punishment for rejecting the love of a beautiful nymph). If we turn to the scientific language, then this state is a certain trait of a person's character (it is referred to as negative), which consists in total narcissism. It is worth mentioning that in psychiatry there is no single accurate, correct designation of this state, because it is often considered in two different variations:

1. As a protective reaction against a relationship unfavorable to humans.
2. As a manifestation of hostility towards others.

Scientists

What scientists studied such a phenomenon as narcissism? Freud and Abraham - these are the people whose works often mention this concept. It is worth mentioning that they studied it in parallel, actively conducting correspondence, and later more closely communicating with each other about this. Thus, Freud (who adopted this term from Paul Nacke and Havelock Ellis, who treats it as a person's perception of his own body as a sexual object) said that any manifestations of narcissism are compensation for a person's insufficient mother-love, which is manifested in Such marvelous narcissistic characters.

What did Abraham say about such a concept as "narcissism"? What is it from his point of view? So, he considered this condition in patients with schizophrenia, who turned away from any other love and completely focused on themselves. This condition had so far the name autoerotism, which Freud liked very much. He decided to develop it further, describing all his thoughts in the article "On narcissism", the work "Introduction to narcissism", etc.

A little more about Freud

It is worth mentioning that Freud singled out primary narcissism and secondary. What does this mean? Briefly, the primary form of this state is the natural stage of development of each individual person, which occurs in early infancy and is a normal way of developing object relations (according to Freud). Secondary narcissism (according to the statements of this scientific figure) is regressive, that is, man chooses himself as a love.

About views

Understanding the concept of "narcissism" (what is it and how to apply it correctly), it is worthwhile to pay attention to the fact that there are several types of this phenomenon. In addition, there are several classifications presented by different scientists on this issue. The first of these is composed by Gestalt therapist Elinor Greenberg:

1. Healthy narcissism. When a person loves himself enough, this state does not go over a certain line and is not narcissism. This is a certain self-confidence, a desire for power, admiration. At the same time, the basis is a normal healthy childhood with well-formed value judgments about oneself and others.
2. Protective narcissism. We can say that this sense of superiority, which does not correspond to reality. As an example: the desire for power at any cost, the frequent change of goals, the substitution of ideals. The basis is often "unhealthy" traumatic childhood from a psychological point of view.
3. Pathological narcissism. Often inherent in people with various mental illnesses or disorders, for example, such as schizophrenia.

Types: other classification

Yet it is worth saying that often in this problem the decisive role is played by the unconscious, ie, what comes from childhood. And basically narcissism is a destructive phenomenon that blocks the development of the "I-personality" of a person.

1. Constructive narcissism. We can say that this is a recognition of one's own value as a person, based on healthy interpersonal relationships. If you take the above classification, then this is the so-called healthy or normal narcissism.
2. Destructive. This is a pathological distortion of constructive narcissism, which leads to the fact that a person simply incorrectly or inadequately evaluates himself in relation to others.
3. Deficient. It should be said that this is an underdeveloped state of constructive narcissism. This is some kind of inability to fully experience self-sufficiency, autonomy, inability to form a complete, holistic view of one's personality. The cause of this condition is often a cold or indifferent atmosphere in the family in the period of the formation of the personality and the first steps of adaptation in society.

The components of the daffodils

In 2007, scientists Foster and Campbell reviewed various literature on "narcissism". The signs of a narcissistic personality are a very interesting classification, given in their conclusions:

1. People with this disorder of the mind think they are better than others.
2. Such persons do not adequately assess themselves in relation to others, their vision does not correspond to reality.
3. Narcissuses tend to greatly exaggerate their knowledge in one area or another.
4. Individuals with this disorder perceive themselves exclusively as unique, special people.
5. If there is a choice between interests, narcissus will necessarily choose the, having put them above strangers.
6. Often the goal of narcissism is success.
7. Daffodils tend to demonstrate their superiority over others.

Similar negative qualities

It should be said that narcissism is inherently a disease, a deviation in the human psyche. However, there are similar conditions that are inherent in people on the road to this disorder. So, what negative qualities are similar to this disorder? So, first of all it's pride. One of the deadly sins by the religious version, when a person is able to exalt himself too much, his successes and merits. The second such quality is narcissism. This is the first step towards narcissism, which, however, may remain the only one. Man loves himself so much that he simply inadequately correlates his personality with others, qualitatively singling out only himself.

What other negative qualities can be considered? So, this is self-confidence. In normal quantities this is good, but pathological self-confidence is already a condition close to the disorder of the mind under consideration. In everyday life, the concept of narcissism is often correlated with these negative qualities inherent in this or that person.

Impact on life

It should also be said that narcissism (both the first stages of its manifestation and later ones) fully affects the life of a person. It should be said that this personality disorder (as, indeed, and other similar disorders) are characterized by three features:

1. It fully affects all spheres and areas of human activity.
2. This disorder is not leaving-coming, it maintains stability over time.
3. Narcissism is necessarily accompanied by social disadaptation.

About the reasons

How does narcissism arise? Psychology, psychiatry say that the causes lie in the early childhood of a person, namely in his relationship with his mother. Predisposition, of course, may be genetic, but still the most important are the first months of the child's life. Various deprivations, trials, undoubtedly leave a very deep mark in the soul of the baby and lead to deformation of the core of the "I-personality". As a result, the child's pride remains in its infancy, this all leads to the formation of a pessimistic attitude, and the person's goal in the future is to maintain self-esteem constantly (the personality is not formed at the same time). However, it is worth mentioning that the earliest communication between the mother and the child is still intrauterine - this is one of the first phases of the formation of a complex of narcissism in a child (whether the child is desired, how much the mother is content with pregnancy, etc.). If mom and baby are united in their love, parents give crumb enough time and care, help to adapt in the "big world", we can say with certainty that a person is unlikely to have problems with "I-identification".