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The Destruction of a Narcissist Dad
Things I’m Learning Through My Daughter
Five or ten years ago, I barely knew what it meant to be a narcissist and I surely thought it encompassed little more than vanity and a tendency to be self-serving. My oh my, how much I’ve learned.
I knew that the term ‘narcissist’ derives from the Greek myth of Narcissus, who was a very handsome young hunter. He adored his own reflection in the water, thinking it perfectly beautiful, and despaired that he could not manifest the reflection as a real being to love.
In the modern sense, though, narcissists are much, much more than the myth allows. And as with many such things, we now place narcissism on a spectrum of behaviors. All of us have tendencies that lean toward the narcissistic, just as we have obsessive-compulsive ones. Those traits that are minor are completely within the acceptable spectrum, and cause no harm. It’s not until those traits disrupt our lives or others that they become destructive. They are disorderly. They deserve attention, and they are dangerous.
Narcissism is an especially pernicious such behavior. People with these tendencies are often gregarious, popular, they thrive in social situations, heading straight into the spotlight and basking there. At first blush, many narcissists just seem like a really good time to be around.
