How Do I Know if Someone Has Narcissistic Personality Disorder?

Do you or someone you know have narcissistic personality disorder (NPD)? The good news is that it isn’t nearly as common as the media makes it out to be. The bad news is that people don’t have to have a diagnosis in order to be bad people.

There has recently been a huge increase in the term “narcissist” floating around the internet, particularly on social media platforms. Let’s talk about what a personality disorder is, and what it isn’t.

Here’s the definition of a personality disorder straight from the current Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5 TR).

“A personality disorder is an enduring pattern of inner experience and behavior that deviates markedly from the norms and expectations of the individual’s culture, is pervasive and inflexible, has an onset in adolescence or early adulthood, is stable over time, and leads to distress or impairment.”

Alright, let’s break that down. We all have different personality traits, right? Some of us may be more confident than others. Some of us may be more empathetic or open than others. This is normal. A personality disorder, on the other hand, is basically taking these traits to the extreme.

Now let’s look at the definition of NPD and discuss the criteria that must be met in order for someone to receive this diagnosis.

One of the most important pieces of information to take away from this diagnosis is that five (or more) of those traits must be met. Maybe you know someone who acts arrogantly, thinks very highly of themselves, and has a sense of entitlement. They don’t meet the criteria for narcissistic personality disorder, meaning they can’t be diagnosed with NPD, but this doesn’t mean that they aren’t still toxic.

Many people may show aspects of narcissism, yet don’t have an official disorder. All of this to say, some people might just be bad people. We need to watch the language that we use so we don’t turn actual disorders into trendy terms.