Caravaggio's Narcissus, ca. 1598
"Narcissists have difficulty empathizing with others. Walking in another's shoes is a challenge. They have a strong sense of entitlement (they believe they deserve deferential or special treatment) ..."
"Narcissists experience a great deal of shame but hide it. It comes out in belittling or humiliating behaviour towards others. It can be shown in cutting putdowns disguised as jokes, nasty looks or dismissive comments if you've made a mistake that might make the narcissist look bad or subtle deflation of your confidence by insinuating that you need the narcissist's help to achieve your goals. Remaining one-up is key to the narcissist's mindset."
"Those with narcissistic tendencies experience a sense of entitlement: they believe they deserve recognition, special treatment, benefits, appreciation or attention."
"Narcissists experience a great deal of envy and although much of it is buried, they privately or subconsciously wish to undermine, spoil, destroy or reduce anything that evokes feelings of inferiority. They have difficulty sharing the limelight, appreciating colleagues' talents or honouring others' achievements, especially if they cannot share in the triumph or benefit from the reflective glow."
"They experience a reduction in confidence, feel inferior and strive to restore the perceived imbalance by devaluing the talented co-worker (making them feel bad for exercising their unique skill), competing for attention, putting the envied individual down or insinuating themselves into the unlucky colleague's achievement."
"Narcissists may engage in ostentatious behaviour such as shows of wealth ..."The entire Ottawa Citizen article here.
An earlier reference to narcissism on this blog here.
