Narcissism appears to have reached pandemic proportions. Just the other day, my nine-year-old announced that kids are branding each other narcissists in the playground. And why wouldn’t children adopt the label? It’s become fashionable for adults to use it for exes, bosses, even family members.
We all think we’ve met a narcissist, perhaps most famously Carly Simon, whose hit ‘You’re so Vain’ is about a cad so egocentric that in the chorus she sings “You probably think this song is about you.” But is narcissism always as obvious as someone walking into a party like they’re “walking onto a yacht?”
Recent research suggests not.
Although narcissism may be much more common than once thought. Full-blown, clinical narcissistic personality disorder is estimated to affect up to one in 20 people, suggesting we’re all likely to know someone with the condition. Perhaps they’re in the same room as you right now.
These are people with a sense of superiority and entitlement – people who express low levels of empathy, need constant admiration and are easily slighted.
