Glenn Gould
People face anxiety many times in their lives; this may be before a new experience or while making big life decisions. Imagine a person’s career being a major reason for their anxiety for over ten years. Glenn Gould was a remarkable man whose constant struggle with anxiety and narcissistic behavior led to unconventional coping methods. Glenn Gould started to experience anxiety every time he played the piano on stage starting in his pre-adolescence and throughout the rest of his life (although he stopped playing in public at the age of thirty-one). Considering Glenn Gould played in many piano concerts, this proves to be a huge accomplishment. However, Gould’s anxiety and social phobia was heightened by his narcissistic behavior. These behaviors combined with maladaptive coping mechanisms damaged his mental and physical health. Although Gould did eventually stop playing in public at the age of thirty-one, his challenges with paranoia, social withdrawal, perfectionism, insomnia, and hypochondria continued. Some of Gould’s negative behaviors were developed in his childhood and he did not learn how to adaptively cope with these behaviors throughout adolescence and adulthood.
Gould’s upbringing had a great impact on his life in various aspects; his mother Flora had a greater influence on him than his father Bert. He had a close relationship with his mother, whose influence on him resulted in both positive and negative behaviors. Some of the positive influences on his life were the introduction to the piano, sculpting him to become a perfectionist and famous pianist. Furthermore, it seems as though he was an obedient child although he may have been a bit rebellious when he argued with his mother about different pianists an...
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Rebecca Webber’s “The Real Narcissist,” explains how narcissism is often mischaracterized to label people we find unfavourable or happen to upset us, when it is actually a trait that helps a person view themselves in more positive light. She uses a clear, persuasive voice and takes an ethical approach with logical explanations to help distinguish the differences between healthy narcissism and pathological narcissism, and the potential causes of the actual disorder. Referring to certified experts and real-life, situational examples to assist her claims, Webber does an adequate job in solidifying her points. However, as she progresses through her article, she only relies on professionals to speak on the behalf of narcissists, without considering to use the
According to the Mayo Clinic, narcissistic personality disorder “is a mental disorder in which people have an inflated sense of their own importance, a deep need for admiration and a lack of empathy for others.” Generally people that suffer from narcissistic personality disorder
Peterson, P. (Ed.). (2014). Narcissistic Personality Disorder Statistics. Retrieved March 5, 2014, from ieTherapy.com website: http://www.ietherapy.com/narcissistic-personality-disorder/statistics/narcissistic-personality-disorder-statistics.php
Healthy narcissism is a mature, balanced love of oneself coupled with a stable sense of self-worth and self-esteem. Healthy narcissism implies knowledge of one's boundaries and a proportionate and realistic appraisal of one's achievements and traits.10 This implies that a leader, like Stephen Harper for example may be is more likely a narcissist rather than psychopath. He knows his limits, and does not try and overachieve something that is not within reach, keeping a realistic view of the world but still seeing himself on top. Psychopaths rarely seek Narcissistic Supply. Pathological narcissism is wrongly described as too much healthy narcissism (or too much self-esteem).11 Yet, we often find that narcissists abandon their efforts in mid-stream,
"Narcissistic Personality Disorder: MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia." National Library of Medicine - National Institutes of Health. Web. 02 June 2010.
This book is partly a psychiatric textbook and partly a self-help book. It reviews the biology, psychology, and genetics of different personality disorders, such as narcissism, paranoia, antisocialism, and obsessive compulsive. The author, Stuart C. Yudofsky MD, graduated with an MD from Baylor College of Medicine. His practice focuses in two areas: psycho-pharmacology and neuropsychiatry. He is the D.C. of the Menninger Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences of Baylor College of Medicine and the chairman of the Psychiatry Department of The Methodist Hospital. The publisher, American Psychiatric Pub., is a global publisher of books, journals, and multimedia on psychiatry, mental health and behavioral science.
Staff, Mayo Clinic. "Narcissistic Personality Disorder." Mayo Clinic. Ed. Daniel K. Hall-Flavin. Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 04 Nov. 2011. Web. 01 Dec. 2013.
Between 0.7%-1% of the adult population suffer from the Narcissistic Personality Disorder. Pathological narcissism is under-reported because, by definition, few narcissists admit that anything is wrong with them and that they may be the source of the constant problem in their life and the lives of their nearest. Narcissists resort to therapy only in the time of a life crisis. They tend to blame the world, their boss, society, God, their spouse for their misfortune and failures.
Steensel, F. J., Bögels, S. M., & Perrin, S. (2011, July 07). Anxiety Disorders in Children and
Therefore, when the partner provides negative feedback, an individual with narcissistic characteristics becomes upset or angry. They feel that they do not get what they deserve, which stems from their sense of entitlement. Especially individuals with vulnerable narcissistic traits react to this sort of provocation with reactive and displaced aggression (Krizan & Johar, 2015). Vulnerable narcissism is the more covert, introvert, feeling entitled, exploitative, self-absorbed, and aggressive form of narcissism. The more known form of narcissism is grandiose narcissism. This is the more overt, extravert, exhibitionist, high self-esteem, feeling entitled and hostile form of narcissism. It was only until recently that research started to divide narcissism in these two forms of narcissism (Lamkin, Campbell, van Dellen & Miller, 2015, Pincus & Lukowitsky, 2010). It has led to interesting discoveries, such as a gender difference (in the traditional binary form) in what kind of narcissism is shown the most in individuals. For overall narcissism, men show higher
Narcissistic Personality Disorder is a mental disorder that is considered to be an impairment in personality functioning, the presence of pathological traits, lack of empathy for others and a need for admiration. This type of personality disorder has some related disorders such as antisocial behaviors, interpersonal exploitation and envy. According to Luo, Cai, & Song (2014), “Narcissism refers to a kind of abundant self-love, characterized by a series of characteristic including self-desire for admiration, fantasies of superiority, hypersensitivity to criticism, exploitation of people, and lack of empathy for others” (p. 1). There have been ongoing discussions on how this type of behavior is processed in the brain. It is not clearly known
Skodol, A. E., Bender, D. S., & Morey, L. C. (2013). Narcissistic Personality Disorder in DSM-5. Personality Disorders: Theory, Research, And Treatment.
Firstly, what is exactly narcissism? The word ‘narcissism’ was derived from an ancient Greek myth of Narcissus. Narcissus was depicted as a handsome young man who adored his looks very much. Many young maidens fell in love with him but he criticizes them for being too ugly for him. One day, he fell in love with his own reflection in a pool of water. However, he accidentally drowned himself as he tried to touch his reflection. Hence, the word ‘narcissism’ is usually depicted as a personality that reflects excessive of self-love on oneself. Individuals who are narcissistic are usually described as somebody who is selfish, snobbish or proud. This is because narcissistic individual processes information obtained differently than others. They believe that they deserve more than others since they think they are more superior in every aspect. Due to their sense of grandiosity, they will do anything in order t...
Robbins & Judge (2009) describe narcissism as an individual “who has a grandiose sense of self-importance, requires excessive admiration, has a sense of entitlement, and is arrogant.” Poet Tony Hoagland brought up a valid observation in the textbook about the American culture
He decided to study the psychology behind individuals that posses the traits of a modern Narcissus. In many cases, narcissism, or excessive self-love and feelings of superiority, is the effect of another issue. Most people develop it during fundamental stages in their childhood which can remain with them for life. The presence of certain influences or the lack of, in children’s lives can cause them to develop the personality disorder. It can either result from cultural and societal expectations or from experiencing a childhood