By translating literally the word "narcissism", we will say that it refers to the love that a person feels for himself in reference to Narcissus of the Greek myth, who has fallen in love with his own image. In psychology, this term expresses egoism, excessive self-confidence, even arrogance. But most narcissists are unaware of or do not want to admit their condition and thus become more self-centered.
A narcissist likes to be loved by others and to inspire admiration. His egoism makes him want to claim glory alone. And for that reason, he hates seeing others succeed. He thinks he is the best in his field. But there are several psychological reasons that explain his behavior. The most important are:
A narcissist is not happy
For the simple reason that he does not have a personality of his own and therefore feels no inner satisfaction because he attributes himself to merits that do not correspond to him. Indeed, a narcissist is always in search of superficial happiness, based much more on appearances. He will try to earn more money, to offer himself the most expensive or to multiply the conquests, hoping to be admired by others. He does not understand that happiness comes simply from inner peace and the satisfaction of the simple things in life.
He feels no empathy for others
A narcissist mistakenly thinks that all those who succeed use the same dishonest methods as him to succeed. He can not conceive that one can work hard and fulfill one's dreams by being sincere, reliable and loyal.
He thinks he's better than the others
A narcissist does not support that someone else has more things than him. According to him, the others are not worth his intelligence nor his know-how and therefore do not deserve to have what he does not have.
He is more comfortable in the presence of poor people
Faced with the misery of others, he is happy and delights in their misery. He is simply a supporter of the German term "Schadenfreude" which translates as joy of misfortune (Schaden: evil or misfortune and freude: joy). Also, a narcissist experiences sadistic pleasure in seeing others suffer and annoyance when they are happy and satisfied with their lives.
He thinks he's the only one to deserve the glory
Because he feels a danger watching him when others succeed. His incessant need to compare himself to others forces him to want to be the best and the only one worthy of success and glory. He will never accept being a loser.
He always needs the admiration of others
As he is not sure of his abilities, a narcissist always needs others to admire him and adulate him for his appearance or his exploits. He does not accept criticism and does not tolerate a negative judgment. He might even react aggressively to anyone who does not like him or who does not support him.
He belittles the others to avail himself
A narcissist will strive to always belittle others and humiliate them by all possible means. Its purpose is to destroy others, to turn them against each other, to weaken and diminish the self-esteem of others.
Thus, the narcissists are unique because their Machiavellism makes them dangerous for your psychological state. Manipulators to the extreme, they are ready for the worst baseness to destroy you emotionally because they are not sure of themselves and can not accept to see the happiness around them.
They absorb all your energy and empty you of your strengths in order to attract all the attention on themselves. So avoid a narcissist if you cross him on your way, for your psychic well-being.
