I don't really mean narcissist as in npd or as a personality disorder, I meant like just the old fashioned idea of narcissists, not a clinical take.
Yeah, I mean it as in NPD. Look up descriptions of NPD, she fits it perfectly. Wikipedia lists the diagnostic criteria from the DSM as below. Jess easily ticks more than 5 boxes on this list.
Of course, she'd point you to her criticism of diagnosis of personality disorders. But the thing is, we do need language to describe people who act in this way and for whom it goes so deep that it's part of their core being.
Jess is a narc and she's abusive. But she's putting herself on a platform that brings her into contact with vulnerable people who trust her if they're taken in by her public persona (as many of us have been). And that's dangerous.
"The
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5) describes NPD as possessing at least five of the following nine criteria.
- A grandiose sense of self-importance
- Preoccupation with fantasies of unlimited success, power, brilliance, beauty, or ideal love
- Believing that they are "special" and unique and can only be understood by, or should associate with, other special or high-status people (or institutions)
- Requiring excessive admiration
- A sense of entitlement (unreasonable expectations of especially favorable treatment or automatic compliance with their expectations)
- Being interpersonally exploitative (taking advantage of others to achieve their own ends)
- Lacking empathy (unwilling to recognize or identify with the feelings and needs of others)
- Often being envious of others or believing that others are envious of them
- Showing arrogant, haughty behaviors or attitudes
Within the DSM-5, NPD is a
cluster B personality disorder. Individuals with cluster B personality disorders often appear dramatic, emotional, or erratic. Narcissistic personality disorder is a mental disorder characterized by a life-long pattern of exaggerated feelings of self-importance, an excessive craving for admiration, and a diminished ability to empathize with others' feelings.
Narcissistic personality disorder usually develops either in youth or in early adulthood. True symptoms of NPD are pervasive, apparent in varied social situations, and are rigidly consistent over time. Severe symptoms of NPD can significantly impair the person's mental capabilities to develop meaningful human relationships, such as friendship, kinship, and marriage. Generally, the symptoms of NPD also impair the person's psychological abilities to function socially, either at work or at school, or within important societal settings. The DSM-5 indicates that, in order to qualify as symptomatic of NPD, the person's manifested personality traits must substantially differ from social norms."
Just seen this from Sally Ann on Twitter. Good for her. I've got a huge amount of respect for her. It's not easy to stand up to a narc, it takes courage.
duck knows what Jess is playing at. Maybe she thinks she's above the law.