Are Narcissists Happy? – Uncovering the Truth
Are Narcissists Happy? If you have come across a narcissist, they might always look happy, satisfied, and making a lot out of life. But are they really that happy? Are they really satisfied with their lives? Let us know what the experts have to say about it further.
Narcissists always seem to achieve whatever they desire, the most desirable job, the sassiest partners, hefty money, and whatnot, but the real question here is are these things that satisfy the happiness of a narcissist? Narcissists are shallow and love everything that may be temporary and not permanent.
Narcissists live in a delusional world, where they can fake anything. They often create illusions and tag those moments as happiness. They often tag or associate wealth, monetary gains, sexual desires, and pleasures, with illusions of happiness.
They might be happy when they have something that others don’t, or they would just be happy by demotivating or degrading someone, or they would just be happy by showing off their grandiosity and wealth to others. Their concepts of happiness are dissimilar to general concepts of happiness. They would either spend their time convincing others that they are happy or they might just create an illusion of happiness for others.
They often have a shallow or very superficial concept of happiness. They can be happy and unhappy with the most complex or the simplest of things in life. But do narcissists live happily or is it just a conceptual delusion as a collective? The majority of narcissists do appear happier than other non-narcissistic people, but is their happiness real, are they eternally happy or this is just one of their facile moves?
Are Narcissists Happy? – Uncovering the Truth
A piece of research study, published by Queen’s University, one of the renowned research-intensive universities in Belfast the UK suggests that narcissists are less likely to be depressed than people who are not narcissists due to their inflated sense of self-importance.
According to this study, narcissism is often viewed under a negative influence or a negative light according to terms approved by society. However, Dr. Kostas Papageorgiou, a paramount of the School of Psychology at the Queen’s, has brought it to the limelight that narcissism can also be inclined to have some benefits, which is a positive side.
He also suggests that grandiose or overt narcissism tends to increase the mental toughness of a person which is beneficial to equalize the symptoms of depression. It is also found that people with grandiose narcissism are proven to be less stressed, due to their lower levels of stress perception.
According to Dr. Kostas Papageorgiou, Narcissism should not be viewed as entirely good or entirely bad, rather it should be viewed as the product of evolution and expression of human nature which may either be proven as harmful or helpful depending on the context provided. Thus a perception can change the entire mindset of any narcissist.
Narcissists are often characterized by their boosted sense of self-importance, self-pride, and self-needs. With a narcissist, everything is just about them. Narcissists thrive upon the attention, adoration, and validation that they receive from others, and what makes them distinguished from others is the way they think and the way they behave, which is totally selfish and mean.
If we look at the basic characteristics associated with narcissism, their association is more inclined towards toxicity which can be indirectly associated with negativity. They lack empathy, care and understanding. Their behavior patterns can be put under the category of risky and often they are self-absorbed, yet somehow they manage to be happy, even if it is at the cost of others.
Narcissists are often described as “Hard-nosed” or “Mentally tough” according to the study mentioned above, as they do not experience any shame, guilt, remorse, or empathy, which makes them less liable to stress caused by other people and thus they can avoid depression as they are so self-confident and self-absorbed. This can make them more susceptible to feeling happy.
Some reasons why a Narcissist maybe Happy
Their sense of entitlement makes them believe that they are superior and worthier than others. This feeling often subtle down the fear of excelling which indeed may provide them happiness.
Narcissists are passionate and driven beings, thus they excel at many things. This is one of the charms that might make them more attractive. They have a strong sense of competition and always be desirable to others. They have a knack for receiving fame, popularity, and prominence in whatever they do. Thus this quality of them receiving fulfillment makes them happy.
They are “Mentally Tough” beings, due to their high levels of self-confidence. Thus making them more susceptible to feeling positive about themselves, which is an indirect affirmation of happiness.
They always have delusional grandiosity, which always helps them in proving their self-worth. Thus this makes them happy.
They do not hold any accountability for any wrongdoings, thus they are carefree. This can lead to happiness.
Narcissists always crave attention, adoration, and validation from others, in the form of a narcissistic supply. So when they get their narcissistic supply they are genuinely more than happy and satisfied with their life.
Is Happiness for a Narcissist long-term fulfillment or just a brief emotion?
As everything is shallow and temporary for a narcissist, this happiness may also merely feel like a brief emotion. Long-term fulfillment remains a challenge for a narcissist, as they do not like to associate or commit to anything long-term.
Why Happiness for a Narcissist might just feel like a brief emotion rather than long-term fulfillment is,
Origins of Behavior
The children raised by narcissists have childhood trauma, which affects their upbringing and also makes them the same or even more narcissistic than their parents. Children learn from their parents, so parents would only be passing on narcissistic traits to their children as an inherent quality knowingly or unknowingly, willingly or unwillingly, by choice or without choice. Unless they are guided toward what is right, instead of toxic behavior, there is no way a child can unlearn all those narcissistic traits possessed by their Narcissistic parents.
Due to this, they may be influenced by insecurities, and fears and may constantly seek attention and validation. These emotions can make them more susceptible to stress, thus the quotient of happiness may be less.
Their Happiness is based on other people and their responses
Narcissists constantly juggle between being a super and extra confident self and a gloomy, undermined, and highly doubted inadequate self. They have a constant fear that they might be disliked by others or they might be repudiated by others if they do not maintain their grandiose self-image.
They keep on doubting themselves due to trauma and an underlying fear of abandonment. They feel they always need to prove themselves for people to like them. Thus their happiness is totally dependent on other people’s perception of them and their responses, thus it can be short-term and fleeting.
Narcissists are never satisfied with however and whatever they receive, in this case, Happiness
Narcissists always strive to receive and do more and more. They can never be satisfied with whatever and however much they get. It is the same with happiness. They would never be patient and satisfied with how much happiness they receive, they would always have more.
For instance, if a narcissist is happy by visiting their favorite destination which has been long awaited by them they would still be depressed at the back of their mind as they would be stressed that after the vacation is over, they might have to work double or their work would increase. So instead of enjoying the present moment, they might be worried about the future.
Thus their happiness may be just short-term, or they may have mixed feelings regarding whatever amount of happiness they receive.
Happiness can be a mere conceptual idea for some Narcissists
Happiness can be a mere conceptual idea for some narcissists as they are unhappy with themselves.
There are a few narcissists, who would be merely happy with themselves due to low levels of self-esteem. Narcissists seek validation not just to prove their superiority but also to maintain their self-esteem. They need validation to sustain their self-esteem which also helps them maintain their grandiose self-image.
sometimes a narcissist would constantly depreciate themselves and others due to toxic thinking patterns and a series of negative thoughts. They may constantly feel that they are miserable due to other people and would pin their misfortunes on others thu making others unhappy too. They would never consider themselves fortunate enough as compared to others due to their competitive and jealous side which are some of the ardent characteristics of narcissism.
The Narcissist’s Happiness may come from different things as compared to others
Generally, people gain happiness by helping others, caring for others, or through others. However, the concept of obtaining happiness is different for narcissists. They might often obtain their happiness by competing and defeating others, belittling others, or demotivating others to stop them from succeeding, degrading others, or any such negative traits that might be proven harmful or hurtful for others but pleasurable for them.
Usually, narcissists are known or recognized by their inflated sense of self-importance, a desperate need for attention, their constant urge to belittle or downgrade others, or their desire to seek pleasure by putting someone in a tough spot. But there are a few narcissists who seek pleasure in harassing and tormenting others emotionally or playing with their emotions just to seek fulfillment.
Such narcissists can be categorized as sadistic narcissists who are barbarous, and seek pleasure by inflicting pain, suffering, and agony on others. Such sadistic narcissists take the complete concept of self-centeredness to the next level. Sadistic Narcissists draw pleasure by deriving a sense of control, manipulation, emotional harm, psychological harm, or even physical harm.
Final Thoughts
Narcissists are often described as “Hard-nosed” or “Mentally tough” according to a study published by Queen’s University, as they do not experience any shame, guilt, remorse, or empathy, which makes them less liable to stress caused by other people and thus they can avoid depression as they are so self-confident and self-absorbed. This can make them more susceptible to feeling happy.
Though their happiness might be fleeting and not a long-term fulfillment, Narcissists can be happier as compared to people who are not narcissists.
From Relationship, Depression, and Personality Disorder to Narcissistic problems, I have helped a lot of people find their solutions. Upon gathering a number of common problems that people face, I decided to put the information on this blog so that anyone can get their answers easily.
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