Malignant Self Love

I had an interesting conversation with The Dali today. He was discussing his therapist's evaluation of narcissism and the people we work with. It got me wondering. Am I narcissitic? My first response would be yes, I am. I think we all are to some extent. So when does narcissism become "Malignant Self Love"? When is it too much? I don't know the answer to those questions.

So, I did some research. What I found out is that narcissism becomes too much when it keeps you from feeling compassion for another person. Another common trait is the inability to think of anyone else but yourself without any regard for the consequences of your actions. With those criteria, it would appear that a good chunk of the population have the disorder. I am sure that the highest concentration of narcissitic people can be found at my company. Believe me, they're all there.

I am not a therapist by trade, but I think if I were, narcissitic personality disorder would be the bread and butter of my practice. Have you ever asked yourself if you have it?