Understanding the Narcissistic Phenomenon: The so-called narcissistic personality disorder is a complex and often misunderstood disorder. The cardinal feature of the narcissistic personality is the grandiose sense of self-importance, but paradoxically underneath this grandiosity the narcissist suffers from a chronically fragile low self-esteem. The grandiosity of the narcissist, however, is often so pervasive that we tend to dehumanize him or her. The narcissist conjures in us images of the mythological character Narcissus who could only …showed first 75 words of 5190 total…

…showed last 75 words of 5190 total…is a complex and multifaceted human being. Deep inside narcissistic individuals experience tremendous pain and suffering, for which they attempt to compensate for by the projection of the grandiose front. These people are not character disordered. They are people tortured by narcissistic injury and crippled by developmental arrests in functioning, which rob them of the richness of life they deserve. They are good people, who are hurting. They are living and suffering the narcissistic style.