In Greek Mythology, Narcissus was a hunter famous for his good looks. However, he was a beauty without brains because he fell in love with his own reflection and died of starvation because he couldn’t take his eyes off himself. And that’s where the term ‘narcissist’ comes from. A person who has excessive admiration for their own qualities. It’s a bit harder to spot narcissists these days because they aren’t necessarily starving in front of mirrors. But with the following seven warning signs, you can determine if someone is a narcissist and hence take following precautions ( like keeping all reflective objects out of sight.)
They’ve got charisma
At least at first. Initially you’re dazzled by a narcissist. Their confidence, charm and humor makes them excellent at leaving good first impressions. They are those type of people that command all the attention at a party with their storytelling skills. In the long run however, the less desirable qualities of narcissists start coming out, dampening their charisma.
They only want to talk about themselves
It’s actually amazing how skillfully they can steer every single conversation back to themselves. A conversation with a narcissist tends to go something like this;
You: I have a headache.
Them: I had a headache last week. Ugh it was so bad I had to take three painkillers but I still managed to do well on my Chemistry exam. Got 90% even.
They have a serious case of Victimitis
They are the victim in every situation. Nothing is ever their fault. Narcissistic people will never accept responsibility for a mistake or shortcoming. Did they lose a competition? Biased judges. Get a bad grade? The teacher discriminates against them. Scratch up the car while driving? That pole came out of nowhere!
They change their mind like a girl changes clothes
Narcissistic people change their romantic partners and friends with an alarming frequency. This is because they constantly need new people to feed their ego. When the admiration from old relationships starts to dwindle, they are replaced by people who is blind to the narcissist’s bad traits and can shower them in compliments. To spot a narcissist, just consider their relationship/friendship history.
False advertising
Narcissists will say anything to make themselves look better. They will over exaggerate their achievements and under exaggerate the effort they put. For example they’ll say they aced their exams without even studying even though they were pounding the books till dawn for weeks. They will name drop to make it seem like they know all the coolest people. They will say their hair is naturally like that when their salon bill says otherwise.
They look good
Narcissists take care of their appearance and spend more time getting ready than others. A range of studies find a strong link between narcissism and physical appeal. You can spot a narcissist by observing if they’re constantly fixing their appearance or fishing for compliments on their beauty.
Criticism is a no no
Narcissists can not handle criticism. At all. You can’t even jokingly criticize them. If a person gets unreasonably angry or frustrated when you point out their shortcoming, they might be a narcissist.
So there you go. Seven ways to spot a narcissist. If you’ve got a narcissist in your life, it’s better to ditch them and fast. Unless you like being manipulated and used. At least you get to work on your complimenting skills.
