A narcissistic person is someone who’s higher up the narcissist spectrum, but don’t have the full Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD).

To put things into context, here’s the 9 criterion for diagnosable NPD…

• Grandiose sense of self importance.
• Preoccupation with fantasies of success.
• A belief in being “special”.
• A need for excessive admiration.
• A sense of entitlement.
• Interpersonally exploitative.
• Lack of empathy, or impaired empathy.
• Envy of others. Or a belief others are envious of them.
• Arrogant behaviours and attitudes.

To be diagnosed with NPD, you must exhibit at least 5 of these 9 criteria.

So a person with 3 or 4 of these traits don’t qualify for full NPD. But they might be described as a “narcissistic person”. Rather than a full blown narcissist.

Fluctuating Narcissism

Narcissism levels can fluctuate, depending on a persons mental state, and what’s going on in their life. Here’s a prime example…

If someone breaks into your home, you naturally turn down your levels of empathy. Because you can’t afford to have feelings for the intruder. You must deal with them in a much colder way than normal.

Other triggers to increase narcissism levels may include perceived criticism, social rejection, or a lack of control over people and situations.

When angry or emotionally triggered, we naturally become more narcissistic. So you may find that a narcissistic person may act like a full blown narcissist when triggered, until they calm down. Then they may regret the things they said or did.

A classic day-to-day example is when a laptop freezes. A narcissistic person may act like a full blown narcissist, and fly into a rage, because they feel a loss of control.

They may break the laptop because of their rage. Or shout at you for no reason. Then later, when they calm down, they may regret their actions and apologise. Whereas a full blown narcissist probably wouldn’t!

Is Narcissism Hereditary?

Final Thoughts

Don’t be too fixated on whether someone’s a narcissist, a narcissistic person, or neuro-typical. If someone is harmful to your life then that’s all that matters. Regardless of the diagnosis.

Narcissism is a spectrum that we’re all on. We need some self interest to survive. But some people take this to unhealthy levels. And harm the lives of others.

If someone is harmful to your life, you owe it to yourself to either go completely no contact. Or at least keep them arms length. Because (narcissitically!) your first priority is yourself.

If you want to learn more about diagnosable narcissists, please click the following link…

Please CLICK HERE For “What Is A Narcissist?”

What Is A Narcissist?