The Psychology of Malignant Narcissists - Academy of Ideas

The central characteristic of narcissism is an inflated sense of self. Narcissists are overconfident and admire themselves to a degree that is not warranted by the reality of who they are, or what they have accomplished. The narcissist’s infatuation with a grandiose self-image leads to self-absorption, reducing their capacity to empathize with the feelings and experiences of other people. Narcissism exists on a continuum; some of the milder forms of narcissism, such as identifying with an idealized self-image one creates on social media, are unhealthy, but relatively benign. At the extreme end of the spectrum lies the pathology of malignant narcissism, in which one identifies with an illusory self-image of moral purity.

[AfterSkool]

Huge thank you to Academy of Ideas for another great collaboration. Their presentations are fantastic and it was a joy to add art to this one. Please subscribe to Academy of Idea's channel for more insightful content.

[philipdraper]

We live in a society that actively encourages narcissism. From sports to education to the corporate managerial class.

[DINGOMUFFIN]

Unfortunately, the ones who most need to hear this will skip this episode.

[Damons-Old-Soul]

The narcissist has the emotional intelligence of a 5 year old. Once you see this, you cannot unsee it.

[abundantharmony]

Being the cycle breaker in a narcissist family is NOT fun. I'm gaslighted by my own family every time I attempt to talk to them about my feelings.

[SomeYouTubeTraveler]

I'd show this to all the narcissists in my life, but their response would only be "no u"

[EmmanuelBrito]

Knowledge helps me to stop participating in my demise .

[Zaykai]

Self awareness is the counter of narcissism

[mustang]

What's worse is people that simply seek to destroy everything that they feel doesn't belong in their perfect world.

[susanmercurio]

I had a friend who said that she thought that the common image of the Devil as an ugly person was wrong. She said that, if she was the Devil, she would show up as a good-looking man in a business suit.
You've captured this pretty well.

[jasminelee]

RIP in the chat for everyone who had their spirit broken by a malignant narcissist who acted like they weren’t pure evil to trap you before they broke you down 🫶🏽

[jamesmulrooney]

So true about narcissists being above blame for their actions, they'll shamelessly blame anyone but themselves

[blurglide]

If you've not had the misfortune of having a close relationship with a malignant narcissist, it's unlikely you can understand how malevolent they are. I dumped her once I recognized what she was, and she spent the next 4 years trying to destroy my life, very successfully in many instances.

[ericmeyer]

All this content should be in all public school systems for all❤

[maxdotbam]

Man this hit the nail on the head. Anyone who has dealt with someone like this knows how tough it can be.

[danielschmidt]

People throw the phrase "Narcissist" around alot, but this is a good breakdown, my ex was horribly narcissistic, and the minute she didn't get her way, she would freak out, if you asked her to admit fault, she would demonize you, even with her having been a cheater and physically abusing her animals, she could do no wrong in her eyes

[sethbaggins]

My Dad is an alcoholic & this makes sense; he wants to escape his own feelings of hurt and inadaquecy, but in turning to that poison he ends up just hurting others and himself even more by ignorance.

[tonyperkis]

The truth isn't enough, though. The most difficult part of dealing with narcissists isn't actually the narcissists - it's their flying monkeys. Narcissists amass power from these sycophants who believe, enable, and idolize them. They will smear you, attack you, and cast you out for speaking ill of their god. Regarding a more personal level, narcissists do their evil behind closed doors. That way they can keep up appearances and maintain plausible deniability against anything you might say or expose about them. The flying monkeys will never acknowledge the narcissist is capable of any evil because it contradicts the narcissist's carefully curated image and reputation which the loyal yes men fully believe and support. I tried to expose a malignant narcissist - many times - only to be gaslit, called a liar, and betrayed by people I had foolishly thought were decent and honest.

[darkaxel]

My mother was a malignant narcissist. For example, we got into an argument about the Chevelle SS once. She said it didn't exist, and that I didn't know jack because I wasn't alive then. I pulled up Chevy's own page on the car, and my mother's response was "anyone can put anything on the Internet". Later that week, a Chevelle SS was on an episode of Top Gear, and my mother was like, "See I TOLD you Chevy made a Chevelle SS"! When I went to correct her, she screamed that I was trying to gaslight her. This kind of behavior was the norm, not the exception, and as a result, I have no real clue about some of the most important events in my and my family's history.

[IcallEmAsIcEm]

This should be required learning for every citizen in America and the world. Thank you!