The Mental Health Digest - Am I a narcissist?

Am I a narcissist?

By Jordan Brown - Mental Health Newsletter Writer, Poet, Social Worker, and Advocate • Issue #297 • View online

It’s no secret – we all like to hear or read about ourselves.

Who doesn’t?

But I’m sure you’ve never considered yourself a narcissist–or would ever want to be that way.

But we have to accept something.

We all have parts of us that are narcissistic.

So maybe it’s time to think again, to come up with a better way of understanding personality disorders like narcissism.

What's In a Name?

What do you think of when you read or hear the word “narcissist?”

If you’re like me, you probably cringe a bit.

Your brain likely latches on to the most extreme examples of the trait.

And it doesn’t help that we just had four years of people labeling the U.S President as such.

And whenever that happened, it wasn’t used in a positive way.

Narcissism, to put it mildly, is viewed by society as a bad word–and for good reason.

Dealing with narcissistic behavior can be downright awful.

There are entire communities on Twitter that come together to try to make sense of narcissistic abuse.

A person who can’t take accountability for anything and manipulates you to make you feel small?

No thanks.

But that is a very one-sided view of narcissism.

There’s more to it than that.

There’s more to any word than that.

The problem is this: when media and the 24-hour news cycle sets the tone for how we define mental health terms, we all lose.

The one thing that is sorely needed when it comes to discussing mental health issues is the nuance, the gray areas that lie within gray areas.

We Are All Narcissists

Ok, maybe that wasn’t fair.

Maybe we don’t all fit the textbook definition of narcissistic personality disorder.

But we do all have the trait.

We’re all somewhere on the spectrum from grandiose ideas of self-adoration and completely selfless service to others.

One thing that makes discussing mental health issues so difficult is that we can see parts of ourselves in almost any diagnosis.

We all know what it’s like to obsess or panic or cling to others from time to time.

And so it’s so much easier to demonize another person than dare admit that we may share a similar trait with them.

Today’s Exercise - This is what I want you to do as you move through your week:

Identify traits you despise in others
Identify why it is that you hate those traits so much
Consider if it is at all possible that you may share even a shred of the trait that you so despise
Consider how that makes you feel

This simple exercise isn’t meant to freak you out.

It’s intended to open you up.

Again, you may not fit a textbook diagnosis of something.

And that’s not really the point.

The point is that no one fit these diagnoses before we had the textbooks in the first place.

We all just had behaviors and thoughts and emotions that emanated from the same primordial stew.

So before we criticize another, we must look at ourselves.

Why?

Because you and I…we’re not so different.

Whew, I didn’t think I would get this newsletter out today. I’ve been feeling really sick the last two days. Major sinus pressure and cough. It doesn’t seem to be COVID, but I’m definitely being safe and will go get tested if I have COVID symptoms. I hope your week is off to a better start than mine.

Take care of yourself out there, and do what you need to do to stay healthy and happy,

Jordan

P.S. This issue was inspired by my 2/1 newsletter, Living With Personality Disorders. It ended up being one of my most popular issues ever, believe it or not.

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By Jordan Brown - Mental Health Newsletter Writer, Poet, Social Worker, and Advocate

The Mental Health Update provides you with authentic mental health articles that make mental health issues like depression, anxiety, and OCD meaningful AND accessible.

This is different from typical mental health newsletters and articles.

It's not just an Anxiety Email Newsletter or a Depression Email Newsletter - It's two weekly articles packed with timeless mental health wisdom and inspiration to start your day in a thoughtful, uplifting way.

I was tired of other newsletters blasting out generic lists of links and depression articles.

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The Mental Health Digest - Am I a narcissist?

The Mental Health Update provides you with authentic mental health articles that make mental health issues like depression, anxiety, and OCD meaningful AND accessible.

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