Can someone develop narcissism?
Can someone develop narcissism?
I used to think that Narcissism created irrationality. You see, my NPD friend was deeply irrational. This was a central feature of her narcissism. Nothing she said was attached to reality. Yet I was wrong.
I am now fairly confident that irrationality, in fact, produces narcissism. Not the inverse. Irrational people are stuck in habit thinking. And, habit thinking is ALWAYS in the service of the self, narcissism in other words. See the image below. The problem is that narcissists lack FREE WON’T (an ability to halt habit or selfish thinking. FREE WON’T is a real thing. It is commonly understood to be self-control. Read this Wikipedia article on Benjamin Libet, the pioneering neuroscientist studying consciousness and free will. Many human behaviors can frustrate FREE WON’T: fear, insecurity, emotions generally, etc. And without it, a person can become a monster.
Consequently, there is a cure. The narcissist must become SELF-aware. It is the only way. If the narcissist doesn’t come to see that they have a habit area of their brain that thinks without their consciousness, they will not have access to their free won’t. They will descend ever-deeper into their selfish decision-making. It will get worse.
NOW THE IMPORTANT PART
YOU, the victim must also become SELF-aware so that the narcissist does not drive you into mental illness as you seek, righteously, to protect your SELF. Remember, emotions disable free won’t. Without free won’t, your habit will do all the thinking for you. This is how narcissism becomes a communicable disease.
Protect yourself.