The Pros and Cons of Narcissism

"And if we aren't careful, every perspective that doesn't jibe with our own becomes " gaslighting". We often use one word to describe two very different phenomena-actual narcissistic personality patterns and our own experience of feeling dismissed or manipulated. Understanding the distinctions helps us navigate relationships, media consumption, and even our own self-relationship, more skillfully. Yes, we need to be narcissistic-not a question of if but how, when, what, and why."

"The colleague who confidently pitches ideas in meetings, the friend who comfortably shares their achievements or states their needs with a level of security even when it won't make everyone happy, or the community leader who can rally people around a cause without being hindered by fears of how they'll come across. Their behaviors involve a certain amount of self-focus and self-promotion-but they're also how things get done. We may admire such people, we may hate them, we may like them, even envy them."

People frequently conflate clinical narcissistic personality patterns with the subjective experience of feeling dismissed or manipulated, using one label for distinct phenomena. Distinguishing adaptive, nonpathological narcissistic traits from pathological narcissism and from interpersonal hurt supports better relationship navigation and media consumption. Healthy narcissism includes comfort with attention, self-promotion, confidence under pressure, competitive drive, and a cohesive personal narrative. Such traits can enable leadership, advocacy, and effective pitching of ideas. Harm arises when environments reward the performance of confidence over actual competence and when narcissistic signaling becomes the primary path to influence, amplifying inner conflict and social division.

Read at Psychology Today