Can a narcissist be cured? 

This article will discuss if a narcissist can be cured. For that, the article will explain what it means to be a narcissist, its causes, and what are the possible treatments for the condition.

Can a narcissist be cured? 

No, a narcissist can’t be cured. But going through treatment will certainly help them. During the therapy process, the therapist will work towards helping the narcissist build their low self-esteem. 

It may seem strange to other people to think that a narcissist has low self-esteem. But what most people don’t realize is that this grandiose behavior exists because a narcissist needs to hide their low self-esteem.

Aside from that, therapy will help them to create a more realistic view of themselves, and others. In it, they will maybe learn to not expect perfection from others, and themselves. 

It will also help them set more realistic goals for themselves. And try to abandon the goals and desires that are unattainable. Therapy will also help the narcissist form healthier relationships, and learn to accept criticism and even failures.

Narcissists are often susceptible to anxiety and depression, and since there aren’t any medications that treat narcissism personality disorder, they can often use medication to treat their anxiety or depression. 

They are also people that tend to run to alcohol or drugs to deal with their frustrations, or even as a way to reach their goals of making themselves feel good. And when that is the case, they will also need treatment for substance abuse.

What is important to keep in mind is that it is often hard for narcissists to realize that they need treatment. That is because the condition in itself leaves them to think they are perfect, and admitting to the need for treatment may be something that will break this ideal view they have of themselves.

Because of that, it can be that the narcissist will only look for treatment as they see that a symptom of the condition is being detrimental to them. But so

you better understand what condition we are talking about, let’s understand what it means to be a narcissist.

What does it mean to be a narcissist? 

A person that is a narcissist has some narcissistic traits or one that has been diagnosed with a narcissistic personality disorder (NPD). When a person has this disorder, they often have a high sense of self, thinking of themselves as someone of great importance.

A narcissist will often be concerned about how people perceive them and have a fantasy that they should have the perfect, ideal life. They crave the perfect job, the perfect love life, and the perfect looks.

Because they believe they are so special, they will often want others to treat them in that way. As a consequence, they will only connect to people that they perceive will match their stature, or be above it. Narcissists will often relate to people based on what the person can give them.

They won’t form an emotional connection to a person, rather than that, they will connect to what the person can bring them. It can be power, success, money, or even admiration. They feed on the perception people will have of them, so if they have people that will put them on a pedestal, that is the person they will have a relationship with.

A narcissist is also someone unable to feel empathy, this leads them to act in a relationship as their needs are the only ones that matter. They will completely disregard what the other person’s needs are, and can even act in ways that they can harm others since they won’t consider that.

When a narcissist is criticized, they can often become defensive, and even paranoid, and create an alternate reality, in which they think people are behaving in certain ways because they envy the narcissist.

As seen, it can be extremely difficult for a narcissist to have a healthy relationship. When they are in one, they can often feel overly hurt, and constantly overreact to what has been pointed to them. They will also be people that will never own up to their flaws, and rather than doing that, they will most likely pass the blame to the other person.

In that process, they can be extremely manipulative, and use techniques such as gaslighting, and silent treatment. When firmly confronted, the narcissist will often act in rage, and at that point, they can be physically and emotionally abusive to the people around them.

What are the causes of narcissism? 

There is still discussion on what causes a person to become a narcissist. Some sources say that it can be related to genetic factors. But it seems that the environment in which the person was raised has a huge impact on that as well.

It seems that when a person has parents that have been putting them on a pedestal all through their childhood can become narcissists. But it has also been discovered that children that have been often neglected can also come to develop narcissistic personality disorder almost as a survival instinct.

It also seems to be a neurobiological source of becoming a narcissist. This implies that it is a connection between the person’s behaviors and nervous system that can lead them to that.

It is also known that men are more susceptible to being narcissists, and it first manifests itself during the teen or young adult years. It is important once again to highlight that we can all have narcissistic behaviors once and a while. 

But the condition happens on a spectrum, and it is not everyone will be diagnosed with a narcissistic personality disorder.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ): Can a narcissist be cured? 

Can a narcissist apologize? 

Yes, a narcissist may apologize to you, but don’t expect that apology to be a meaningful one. 

Narcissists will always run away from taking responsibility for their actions, so if at any time you realize that a narcissist is apologizing to you, know that they may have given this a lot of thought, and in their minds found a reason why they should apologize.

A narcissist will often apologize if they realize they need to do so to keep you close, so if they understand that you are about to walk away because they did something that you can’t just move past it, they will apologize to go back to your good side.

They will also say they are sorry if they realize that doing that will make people admire them. So if at any point the narcissist did something, and they were harshly judged by others, they can begin to apologize to show that they understood what they did wrong, so people will think they are good.

Will a narcissist regret losing me? 

The narcissist may regret losing you. But what you need to keep in mind is that narcissists don’t connect to people the same way others do, so they won’t regret losing the person you are, but rather what you could do for them.

If at any moment the narcissist realizes that they are not getting what they wanted from other people, they can begin to think about all the praise, and attention you used to give them, and they may regret leaving you.

It is at this moment that the narcissist may try to get close to you. They may try to get you back, so they can feel good about themselves, and at that moment you should try to consider if you want to get back to that pattern of relationship or not.

Can a narcissist love? 

Yes, narcissist’s can love, but it is important to know that they will love people differently, and connect to them differently. But in their minds, they have the idea that they are in love with the person. 

A narcissist will often connect to what the person will give them, be it attention, praise, or power. So if they see a person that can give them what they need, they will quickly develop an interest in them, and at some point may even believe that this is love.

They will usually dive deep into the relationship and will make the person constantly promise that they will be together forever and that they found their true love. That is because narcissists have an idealized, perfect version of everything, love, and their partners.

But at some point, when reality starts to quick in, the narcissist will fall out of love as quickly as they have fallen in love. And when they come to terms that this is not a perfect relationship, that you are not perfect, and that the narcissist needs to show their vulnerable side, they will leave.

How do I make a narcissist feel bad? 

To make a narcissist feel bad you will need to show them that they are no longer in control of you, as they had been before. To do so, you may begin to act in ways that they wouldn’t agree with, or in spontaneous ways that will show them you are not willing to be controlled anymore.

You can begin to stand up for yourself and don’t take the narcissist’s opinions easily. You can sustain your ground in an argument, and give them facts as they try to change the reality based on their needs, so they can manipulate you. All of this will surely make a narcissist feel miserable.

Aside from that, narcissists will also feel bad if they go through moments in their lives that show them they are not perfect. It can be that they lost a job promotion to a colleague, or even if they go through financial problems. It can deeply hurt their egos, and make them feel bad.

What is the narcissist’s biggest fear?

The biggest fear of the narcissist is being left alone. Because they feed on the attention they get from others, be it through praise, compliments, or even arguments if everyone walks away, and they have no one paying attention to them, they can feel their world shatter.

That is why narcissists will often be surrounded by a lot of people. If they lose someone that would fill them up with attention, they can just replace this person with someone else.

Conclusion 

This article centered on discussing if narcissism has a cure. For that, the article explained what it means to be a narcissist, and what is known as its causes. Aside from that, the article showed the treatments that a narcissist can go through.

If you have any questions or comments about this article, feel free to write them in the section below.

References

https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/narcissistic-personality-disorder

https://www.healthgrades.com/right-care/mental-health-and-behavior/is-narcissism-treatable