Narcissistic Personality Disorder vs. Normal Narcissism

Narcissistic Personality Disorder vs. Normal Narcissism: In Greek mythology, Narcissus was a proud young man who fell in love with his own reflection in a pool of water. He was so enchanted by his image that he couldn’t leave it, so he starved to death. Now, if he had just looked into the pool (as many of us do when we check the mirror as we go out the door in the morning), said to himself something like, “Lookin’ good, dude” and moved on, he would have been okay. That quick check in the mirror is normal, healthy narcissism. Feeling good about oneself, talking about it, even bragging now and then, isn’t pathological. Indeed, it is essential to a positive self-esteem. As comedian Will Rogers once said, “It ain’t bragging if it’s true.” But there are those, like Narcissus, who need to see themselves as especially attractive, interesting and accomplished most of the time -- whether they deserve it or not. They have Narcissistic Personality Disorder. According to the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH), this is only 6.2 percent of the U.S.