Characteristics Of Narcissistic Personality

The world of performance is bursting with theatrical personalities. These personalities are considered larger than life, and their owners branded narcissists. However, is there any truth to the stereotype? All celebrities are narcissists due to their industry, grandiosity and attention-seeking behaviors
The Meriam Webster dictionary defines celebrity as “a famous or celebrated person.” The industry that houses celebrities is one that, nurtures and encourages the priority of self. It is one that instigates the exhalation of ego and applauds narcissistic behavior. As the DSM IV defines it, narcissistic personality disorder (NPD) as a lack of empathy paired with selfishness, grandiosity, and attention seeking behavior. Celebrities and their

It is quite literally the reason that they are celebrities. Their lives can be boiled down to a few common traits, expensive homes, copious amounts of money and the adoration of millions of human beings. In simple terms, they live grandiose lives. If an individual lives through such an experience, they start to become grandiose. Grandiosity is a characteristic of NPD. According to the DSM V grandiosity is a characteristic of narcissism and is defined as "Feelings of entitlement, either overt or covert; self-centeredness; firmly holding to the belief that one is better than others; condescending toward others.” These famous individual execute this behavior. Celebrities have been described in that manner so often, that it has become a cliché. When a person is constantly in the public eye, with millions of adoring people watching their every move, they start to develop a superiority complex. A superiority complex according to Merriam-Webster dictionary, a superiority complex is defined as “self-centeredness; firmly holding to the belief that one is better than others; condescending toward others.” The fame endows celebrities with superiority complexes; these stars believe that because they are in the public eye, they can get away with whatever they want. It is for this reason that narcissistic people are attracted to the grandiosity of celebrity life. If they are grandiose, they can get away with it, and even have people

It is the very blood coursing through the veins of their fame. One defining an aspect of NPD is the “Excessive attempts to attract and be the focus of the attention of others; admiration seeking” (DSM V). This aspect of NPD becomes extremely evident with a single glance at a tabloid. Although infused with misinformation, there are true stories within them. They describe celebrities in extremely compromising situations, created solely by the celebrity. Anything from street racing to egging a neighbor’s home. This behavior is characteristic of a narcissist. It is because of a narcissist’s fragile high self-esteem that they partake in attention-seeking behaviors. A study done by the University of Southern Mississippi describes the difference between a healthy high self-esteem and a fragile one, often possessed by narcissists. “Fragile high self-esteem, on the other hand, reflects feelings of self-worth that are vulnerable to challenge, need constant validation, and frequently require some degree of self-deception.” This piece of evidence illustrates that the everyday narcissist only pretends to have a high self-esteem, which could be why celebrities partake in attention-seeking behaviors often. Perhaps it is their mindset that the more attention they draw to themselves, the more people will recognize and adore them, no matter how horrible the consequences may