MEDISCOPE | ISSUE 2 | 02 DECEMBER 2020

NARCISSISTS AND SOCIOPATHS
By Rania Abou-Auda, Glynnis Agyapong, Sristi Kandel,
Imaan Khan, Renee Kumar - Year 10
There are 10 specific personality disorders, and
they can be are arranged into three clusters, A, B
and C. Narcissistic personality disorder (NPD) and
anti-social personality disorder (ASPD), also
referred to as sociopathy or psychopathy, are
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categorised into cluster B personality disorders .
Cluster B disorders are typical of having dramatic,
emotional or unpredictable thinking or behaviour.
Narcissistic personality disorder is a mental
condition in which people have an inflated sense
of self-importance, a deep need for excessive
admiration and attention. Narcissists have trouble
forming relationships and their friendships are
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mostly superficial. They also – to a certain extent
- lack empathy. Narcissism is linked to
environment, genetically inherited personality
traits and neurobiology (the connection between
brain, behaviour and thinking). Although it’s exact
causes are still unknown, it is thought to origin in
childhood and a common cause can be
overprotective or neglectful parenting.
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There are
two main types of narcissists: oblivious and
hypervigilant. Oblivious narcissists are unaware
of the impact they have on others. Hypervigilant
narcissists are acutely aware of other’s and their
actions; they can use this to their advantage and
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are usually quite charming. Some symptoms are
that they require excessive admiration, cannot
handle criticism, are short-tempered and
impatient, have trouble adapting to change,
cannot deal with stress and have secret feelings
of insecurity, shame, vulnerability and
humiliation.
Narcissistic people are normally known for their
being scheming behaviour although they are
easily guidable and are naive due to their
ignorance. Normally you will find narcissistic
people have relationship difficulties and problems
with work or school. They also have poor physical
and mental health.
They often lack empathy and can't tolerate
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boredom. Deceit and manipulation are central
features and, people with this disorder are also
more likely to smoke and commit substance
abuse. They also often have features that meet
the criteria for other personality disorders, such
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as bipolar disorder. Some people with this
disorder arrogantly self-appraise, for example,
they may feel mundane work is beneath them or,
they may show a lack of concern of their current
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problems or of their future.
Anti-social personality disorder has many
negative effects on not only the individual with
the condition, but also on their family, friends and
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on society in general. People with this personality
disorder are more likely to have problems holding
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down a job or maintaining healthy relationships .
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They may struggle with acquiring jobs as studies
have shown that they are less likely to have a
university degree or experience than others. Antisocial
personality disorder can cause the
individual to not as much talk to or feel close to
relatives outside their immediate family and
friends compared with people without the
disorder. This could result in the individual
eventually alienating themselves. Although the
person with the disorder may not directly harm
others, the stress of living with and/or caring can
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be very high.
In comparison to each other, both narcissists and
sociopaths show disregard for other’s emotions
and often fail to make lasting bonds with those
around them. They often take advantage of those
around them. While they both find it hard to
empathise, a narcissist is characterised by a high
self-esteem while a sociopath’s most discerning
trait is that of lack of empathy, remorse and guilt.
Whereas narcissists do feel shame, guilt and
remorse to some extent, which is due to the
opinion of others.
PSYCHIATRY
Antisocial personality disorder is a disorder that
begins in early childhood. People with this
disorder normally have a common pattern of
disregard and violation of the rights of others.
Because of this, they find it difficult to become
close or have a healthy relationship with anyone.
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