Quora: Does a person have to display every symptom of narcissism to be classed as a narcissist.

 

Does a person have to display every symptom of narcissism to be classed as a narcissist. My partner manipulates, stone walls me, uses passive aggression, lies, gaslights, doesn’t listen to me but he never rages, rarely criticises and doesn’t discard?

A diagnosis can only be given by a licensed medical professional.

I have found in my own journey that becoming obsessed with labeling or identifying the mental malfunction of the person behaving abusively is a poor substitute for self-work and taking steps to be free of that person and their obnoxious, abusive, and/or harmful behavior.

Look at it this way: a dog is chewing on your leg. Do you go to the Big Book of Dog Breeds to determine if the dog is a bulldog or a schnauzer? or is it more helpful to first get yourself to safety?

Your partner is manipulating, lying, gaslighting, possibly doing other sneaky underhanded stuff that may be endangering your mental, physical, emotional, or financial health—do you keep reading up in the DSM or do you GTFO[1]?

 

Your 'analysis paralysis' in trying to determine if your partner is indeed a clinical narcissist or just a garden-variety A-Hole is just keeping you in a bad situation where you are being mistreated. Put your energy into something more productive—getting safe and free of a person who is treating you badly.

Footnotes

[1] 

 

Create a Safety Plan

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 Posts tagged 'quora' were originally my answers to peoples' questions on quora.com. 

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