Ep 21: Narcissistic Personality | Where Vanity Meets Disorder

Doc Bok, Doc Fish
Feb 11, 2025 34 min Personality Couch Podcast
Blog: Narcissistic Personality Disorder (F60.81) Diagnostic Criteria


In this episode of the Personality Couch Podcast, we (licensed clinical psychologists Doc Bok and Doc Fish) delve into the complexities of narcissism and narcissistic personality disorder (NPD). We explore the historical origins of narcissism, the DSM criteria for diagnosing NPD, and the key characteristics of individuals with this disorder, including a lack of empathy and pervasive envy. Our conversation highlights the roots, characteristics, and the dual nature of narcissism, as well as the challenges in researching NPD. We highlight characteristics such as grandiose self-importance, the need for excessive admiration, and the interpersonal exploitation that can occur in relationships. We also give a preview on the vulnerable aspects of narcissism, highlighting how it can manifest as low self-esteem and social withdrawal, a topic that will be discussed in an upcoming episode!

Chapters

  • 00:00 Intro to Narcissistic Personality Disorder
  • 01:07 Historical Context of Narcissism
  • 06:02 Defining Narcissistic Personality Disorder
  • 09:32 First Symptom: Lack of Empathy
    • 10:52 NPD vs Autism
  • 14:24 Second Symptom: Envy
  • 15:46 Third Symptom: Fantasies of Success, Power, Beauty
  • 16:33 Fourth Symptom: Grandiosity
  • 17:55 Fifth Symptom: The Need for Specialness
  • 20:54 Sixth Symptom: Excessive Admiration
  • 22:22 Seventh Symptom: Entitlement
  • 24:17 Eighth Symptom: Exploitation in Relationships
  • 26:25 Ninth Symptom: Arrogance and Haughty Attitudes
  • 27:37 Vulnerable Narcissism

References

  • American Psychiatric Association. (2022). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders: DSM-5-TR (5th edition, text revision.). https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.books.9780890425787
  • Blaney, P. H., Krueger, R. F., Millon, T. (Eds.). (2014). Oxford textbook of psychopathology (3rd ed.). Oxford University Press.
  • Blashfield, R. K., & Intoccia, V. (2000). Growth of literature on the topic of personality disorders. American Journal of Psychiatry, 157(3), 472-473.
  • Millon, T. (2011). Disorders of personality: Introducing a DSM / ICD spectrum from normal to abnormal (3rd edition). John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
  • South, S. C., Eaton, N. R., & Krueger, R. F. (2011). Narcissism in official psychiatric classification systems: Toward DSM-5. In Campbell, W. K. & Miller, J. D. (Eds.), The handbook of narcissism and narcissistic personality disorder: Theoretical approaches, empirical findings, and treatments (pp. 22-30). John Wiley & Sons, Inc.. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118093108.ch3

Narcissism