Geek's Talk III: Self-Worship & Narcissism

Consider these statements: “I did this, if I’m not in the list, for sure this taks will not reach its target or I’m the best person who can do this job .. or even worse, nobody can replace my work .. (and all of these are self proclaimed, but as a matter of fact, that person did nothing) .. Did ever you listen to this sort of conversation all the time (or you did this as well?) . hmm, either one way to another, welcome to the world of narcissism. Narcissism can be defined as “means love of oneself, and refers to the self concerned with self-admiration, self-centeredness and self-regard.” Or in a Malay proverb “masuk bakul angkat sendiri”. The word of narcissism comes from the Greek myth of Narcissus. Narcissus was a handsome Greek youth who rejected nymph Echo (Echo was female entity in Greek mythology who loved her own voice (laaa set set narcissism jugak)~ and the term "echo" is used to explain the self-reflection of sound in the confine area, e.g in the cave).

So, the Echo curses him with this "So may he himself love, and not gain the thing he loves" (siap menyumpah-nyumpah pulak ... isk iskk .. nilah cerita dahulukala, tak ada sumpah tak sah). Narcissus, upon finding an image of himself in a pool then fell in love with himself and, not being able to find consolation, he died of thirst at the pool, for if Narcissus had reached to take a drink, he would have shattered his own image into thousands of pieces (zaman dulu mana la ada botol air mineral .. air paip ke apa). Unable to consummate his love, Narcissus pined away and changed into the flower that bears his name, the narcissus.

Left: Narcissus is looking to his image and fall in love with it.

Right: Narcissus flower (or daffodil ~ laaa bunga narcissist rupanya )

Everyone has some narcissistic traits (and we need it, without having it ~ it will cause sense of being too inferior). But having it too much, it can be manifested in an extreme of personality disorder such as Narcissistic Personality Disorder wherein the patient overestimates his abilities and has an excessive need for admiration and affirmation. People with overdose with narcissism are normally ego-centric, arrogant, proud, shrewd, confident, self-centered and determined to be at the top. They may not, however, have an unrealistic image of their skills and worth and are not so strongly dependent on praise to sustain a healthy self-esteem. Having this, it may be present to such a degree that it severely damages the person's ability to live a productive or happy life because the traits manifest as severe selfishness and disregard for the needs and feelings of others. This lot normally will be too perfect (and looking to much for absolute perfection in everything) ooo … watch out, as a normal human, absolute perfection is absolutely impossible.

There is evaluation that can be used to identify a person either he/she is having such disorder of being “narcissism” or not. The exact list might be more than this, but it will provide a simple acid test to look into this disorder syndrome. A person with a sense of extreme narcissism;

1. has a grandiose sense of self-importance
2. is preoccupied with fantasies of unlimited success, power, brilliance, beauty, or ideal love
3. believes that he or she is "special" and unique
4. requires excessive admiration
5. has a sense of entitlement
6. is interpersonally exploitative
7. lacks empathy
8. is often envious of others or believes others are envious of him or her
9. shows arrogant, haughty behaviors or attitudes
   

So, if you consider yourself to have these all (or more than six attributes correct for you), watch out, you might be having the Narcissistic Personality Disorder without you knowing it. Personally, i'm sick with these lots. Unfortunately, i've met many of them... :-). Narcissist is all around you.

moral dia: jgn tenung cermin lama2 .. jgn syok sendiri .. and jgn perasan hebat sgt ..
(acknowledgement: wikipedia)