Narcissistic injury occurs when a threat is made to a narcissist’s false self-perception, leading to narcissistic rage. Narcissists seek attention to boost their self-perception, and criticism can result in self-directed or outward anger. Treatment involves understanding and reducing the ego.
Narcissistic injury is the term used to describe a type of psychological harm perceived in people with narcissism. A narcissist has a false self-perception. Injury to this perception occurs through a threat to the perception itself and generally leads to some form of narcissistic rage.
Narcissism is a person’s idea of being superior to others. A narcissist believes that perfection and entitlement have been achieved, real or imagined. The narcissistic person has usually accomplished nothing that merits a sudden ego boost. Often, narcissists seek attention by any means to heighten their self-perception. The term for this attention-seeking is narcissistic supply because the compliments, fear, and admiration are supplying the ego.
When there is any kind of threat to a narcissist’s belief, a defensive stance is taken. Dealing with the narcissistic wound causes people with narcissism to often act aggressively. Narcissistic rage is the term used to describe this aggression and can include violence for narcissists who tend to display violent tendencies. This anger that emerges in response to criticism can be directed at others or at oneself.
Self-directed narcissistic rage is a common reaction to this type of injury. The narcissist turns rejection and criticism inward. Shame, anxiety and sudden depression occur with minimal criticism. Outward anger is usually directed specifically at the people who have criticized the narcissist. In extreme cases, a narcissist singles out anyone who looks like the critical person.
The typical narcissist is often looked down upon. Narcissists are stereotyped and labeled because of how they react to narcissistic injuries. Many people believe that narcissism accompanies other serious psychological disorders such as paranoid schizophrenia. In truth, narcissism does not have to coincide with any other disorder.
While narcissism is often found to be evident in some psychiatric patients, the psychology community does not always assume that a person with narcissism must have other problems as well. There are many cases of narcissistic people who have no other conditions or disorders. Indeed, many ordinary people have narcissism. It is only when a narcissistic wound response occurs that other people see the false self-perception.
For a person with narcissism, treatment is an ongoing process. Treatment of narcissism begins with an understanding that self-perception isn’t always true and doesn’t rely on things that have happened to reach the level a person perceives. A narcissist must deal with a consistent narcissistic wound without responding negatively to criticism. The ego is also reduced to normal ideals through this process. Recovery from narcissism takes time and patience.
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