Who is a Cerebral narcissist? (A 9 point guide)

In this brief blog, we will be talking about the cerebral narcissist, the traits of a cerebral narcissist, how to deal with a cerebral narcissist, and more information about the cerebral narcissist.

What is the definition of a cerebral narcissist?

The definition of a cerebral narcissist is someone who indulges their mind for the sake of getting attention and grandiosity.

These kinds of narcissists believe in gaining and increasing their intellectual abilities. 

Cerebral narcissists believe that being bright is another form of getting them to look brilliant in front of others.

These kinds of narcissists take pride in being the smartest in the environment they are presiding.

Cerebral narcissists are recognized to flaunt their brilliant intelligence in conversations with people.

These kinds of narcissists can manifest this behaviour by using complicated terms and stating facts when someone is saying the wrong ones.

Cerebral narcissists depend on their master of command when they speak their intellectual language.

These kinds of narcissists believe and may confirm with themselves that people are stupid and ignorant.

Although cerebral narcissists have been known to join with other people who they deem as intellectuals.

Cerebral Narcissistic Personality Disorder

There is no such thing as cerebral narcissistic personality disorder, as the concept of cerebral narcissism has not been validated and proved in scientific literature. However, there is something called Narcissistic personality disorder, which involves someone who has narcissistic traits and thinks very highly of themselves.

Cerebral Narcissist: Symptoms

Below are some cerebral narcissist symptoms:

• High sense of self-importance or grandiosity.
• Craving admiration and acknowledgement.
• A preoccupation with beauty, love, power, and/or success.
• Harbouring fantasies about being influential, famous, and/or important.
• Exaggerating one’s skills, talents, and accomplishments.

What are the different characteristics of a cerebral narcissist?

Below are the different characteristics that are typically seen in cerebral narcissists.

Intelligence

As mentioned before, cerebral narcissists rely on the flaunting of their intelligence to a lot of people.

These narcissists know that other people are stupid and they would rather keep them that way. 

Cerebral narcissists upgrade their knowledge database to use it in showing off their intelligence.

For instance, they tend to use the new information to use against another person who they observe to be ignorant of an issue.

Cerebral narcissists make sure that they have the upper hand in every intellectual argument.

You can learn more about what happens in intellectual arguments by buying this book on this website.

Ego

As with most narcissists, cerebral narcissists have a large ego.

This can stem from their high intelligence that they proudly show off to people. 

Cerebral narcissists won’t tolerate anyone who has higher intelligence than then.

These narcissists are safe to assume that everyone else has low intelligence. 

In this case, cerebral narcissists wish to be above their peers.

They would feel uncomfortable if you question their intellectual authority by not listening to them.

Flaunt and driven to have an authority of power or position

With their proud conception about their intelligence, cerebral narcissists believe that they deserve to be powerful.

These narcissists expect people to follow their orders and do what they want since they are considered beneath them.

Cerebral narcissists won’t tolerate defiance in any person who they want to control.

You can learn more about how narcissists see power by buying this book on this website.

Low motivation to have sex

Cerebral narcissists care about intelligence too much that they don’t have time for sex.

These narcissists don’t associate with people who are considered to have low intelligence. 

If they find themselves associating with people who have low intelligence, cerebral narcissists would find this humiliating.

The worst-case scenario is they have a physical relationship with someone who is considered to have low intelligence.

Cerebral narcissists would prefer to engage in masturbatory sex than sexual relations with a partner.

You can learn more about these narcissists by buying this book on this website.

Causes to why a person is a cerebral narcissist

It’s not very clear on what causes the onset of cerebral narcissism.

Like the general narcissism, it tends to be a mixture of different risk factors that align to create this kind of narcissism. 

Although cerebral narcissists may be made due to the following:

• Environment ― discord in parent-child relationships with either extreme adoration or extreme criticism that is poorly imprinted to the child’s experience
• Genetics ― inherited characteristics and traits of being a cerebral narcissist
• Neurobiology — the relationship between the brain and thinking and behaviour

You can learn more about the causes of narcissism by buying this book on this website.

The narcissistic abuse of a cerebral narcissist

As mentioned before, cerebral narcissists emphasize their focus on intellectualization to people.

These kinds of narcissists show this by sharing complicated words in sharing a concept.  

Cerebral narcissists aren’t as extraverted as their other narcissistic types to show that they are behaving like most intellectuals where they are completely isolated.

However, these kinds of narcissists use their intelligence to destroy an unsuspecting and chosen victim.   

Cerebral narcissists assume that they are meant for greatness and power.

Although the thought and action of someone defying their intelligence will mean humiliation for the rebel.

Degradation is manifested by cerebral narcissists to people who seem to have low intelligence.

These kinds of narcissists tend to become abusive if they talk to someone who they really consider without a shadow of a doubt as an inferior being to them. 

Cerebral narcissists can be verbally abusive that the words they use will really deepen the wound of their victim.

However, most people may not be swayed by it and still find this kind of narcissist intelligent than anyone in the present society. 

Cerebral narcissists can manifest that they genuinely care about the fate of humanity but this is all a facade.

The narcissistic supply of these narcissists is the same as their other types but there is a key difference.  

Here are some subtle differences where cerebral narcissists operate differently than other narcissist types:

• In the idealization stage or step: cerebral narcissists follow the blueprint when it comes to flaunting their target with adoration and compliments. However, this kind of narcissist goes one step further by explaining that the new supply is their intellectual partner.  This may very well be the scenario but this kind of narcissist doesn’t believe it because, in their mind, no one can equal or counteract his or her mental prowess.  Their intellectual pretence is impermeable.  Gifts typically include books, poetry and hand-written letters confirming their unconditional love.

Like all types of narcissists, the victim is made to have the feeling that he or she is being given attention.

Once the victim is emotionally detached to the cerebral narcissist, the devaluation stage will begin.

The devaluation is used by all narcissists but cerebral narcissists use a different method.

Instead, these kinds of narcissists will pay no mind to you like you’re nothing to them.  

Although cerebral narcissists may throw some snappy remarks here and there for you to get confused.

You should watch out for this since this means that these kinds of narcissists are trying to demean you as a person.

This can make you clingy towards your cerebral narcissist since you were so used to the constant attention that he or she gave you. 

When you are undergoing the devaluation stage, you’ll start to question your intimate feelings about this kind of narcissist.  

Cerebral narcissists will make you think that you are in need of space which they are willing to give to you. Then, it is time for the discard stage. 

This will show that the cerebral narcissist is god’s gift to humanity.

This kind of narcissist will keep talking about his or her newfound knowledge to people and think that people are in need of this kind of knowledge by exhibiting all the right words to get them to believe.  

If you find yourself being demanding to the cerebral narcissist’attention, he or she will find you greatly annoying.

You might find yourself being dumped immediately with no use of gentle words of reassurance but flat out contempt. 

The cerebral narcissist’s discard of you shows that he or she doesn’t care about having intimate relationships, especially with a dumb partner.

In this discard stage, you will find that this kind of narcissist is showing his or her real self. 

You will be able to learn that the cerebral narcissist is callous and cold.

You might try to have second thoughts like this kind of narcissist is only trying to get some issues to gather before going back to you but the truth of the matter is that he or she doesn’t care about you.

The cerebral narcissist’s charm in the start was merely a ploy to get you in his or her strings.

In the end, you only learned the true intentions of this kind of narcissist which is to leave a distorted mark on your sense of intimacy. 

All you felt for the cerebral narcissist is merely an illusion that was never meant to be.

How to handle a partner who’s a cerebral narcissist?

As you can see, it’s not easy having a relationship with a cerebral narcissist. This kind of narcissist only sees you as a lesser human being. 

Cerebral narcissists are attached to the belief that they are the most perfect human alive.

This makes it difficult for you to be intimate with them when all they care about are themselves.

In this case, there will be times when the cerebral narcissist downgrades you as a person.

This will make you feel lesser than you are and have the constant urge to catch up with them. 

Cerebral narcissists are disgusted of having physical relationships.

These kinds of narcissists are more likely to bask in their glorious intelligence than be there for someone they want to be close with.

The following are some tips that you could use to deal with your cerebral narcissist partner.

Don’t be enraptured into their words

Cerebral narcissists will downgrade you as a person since they believe they are better than anyone else.

You should try to not fall in this trap.

Cerebral narcissists believe that they are intelligent beyond compare.

They feed on those people that they have downgraded since these people will feel that they are dumb. 

Cerebral narcissists are callous about other people’s emotions if they hurt them.

This is why you shouldn’t be prey to their false words. 

Cerebral narcissists are always like this and they can’t be changed easily.

This is why you should focus more on having a happy life than dealing with these toxic people.

You can learn more about how to relieve yourself from narcissistic abuse by buying this book on this website.

Avoid argument

Cases have shown that you can’t win an argument with a cerebral narcissist.

He or she will only feel that the ego got hurt and may abuse you for it.

In this case, you shouldn’t argue with a cerebral narcissist.

This is because they make sure that they have the knowledge they need to put you down in the presence of an argument. 

Cerebral narcissists will take the chance to get the upper hand in an argument.

In this case, winning or engaging in an argument with them will only make the situation worse. 

You should avoid getting into an argument with a cerebral narcissist at all costs. This is the best solution so far.

Don’t get controlled

Cerebral narcissists like to manipulate people to their whims. They like the idea of being in authority and let others honour them. 

Cerebral narcissists will get the opportunity of trying to control by showing you that you’re dumb.

They will also make you feel that they are the best husband or wife that you could ever have.

When this situation shows up, you shouldn’t be immediately influenced by the cerebral narcissist.

His or her intelligence is just a means to an end that might not involve you. 

You should always remember that you have your own strengths and weakness.

Don’t let a cerebral narcissist who has a weak personality tear you down just because they are intelligent.

Covert narcissist vs Cerebral narcissist

When speaking about the definition of covert narcissism vs cerebral narcissism, the two terms are oftentimes mistaken. 

Usually covert narcissism is considered a trait that occurs within the clinical picture of borderline personality disorders, narcissistic personality disorder and passive-aggressive personality disorder.

While a narcissistic person as such shows himself to be first, without trying to hide his personality, a disguised narcissist is like a wolf in sheep’s clothing.

These people want to make others believe that they are their friends, that they care about them while, in reality, they just want to take advantage of them and take advantage of their friendship.

A covert narcissist is a master of deception and lies.

That is why it will not be easy to recognize it almost immediately since, before trying to take advantage of us, it will spend time making us believe that we are real friends.

As mentioned above cerebral narcissists emphasize their focus on intellectualization to people.

These kinds of narcissists show this by sharing complicated words in sharing a concept and they use their intelligence to destroy an unsuspecting and chosen victim.   

Cerebral narcissists assume that they are meant for greatness and power.

Although the thought and action of someone defying their intelligence will mean humiliation for the rebel.

Cerebral Narcissist Traits

Here are some common cerebral narcissist traits:

• They may appear more intellectual than others
• They may lack empathy
• They may want to appear superior
• They may not be as concerned with physical needs
• They may try to assert their dominance
• They may be grandiose or arrogant
• They can be pretentious
• They might be the center of attention

Cerebral narcissist traits may not appear right away, and often the other person may not even realise that the person is a cerebral narcissist, till they start acting out when they don’t receive the kind of attention they want.

Cerebral narcissists may also show traits of the type that are more concerned with the mind rather than the body, and unlike many other people with personality problems they may not show physical impulsivity or questionable judgment in choosing physical partners.

Cerebral narcissists traits may also differ in various situations, and while they may be incredibly manipulative and controlling in their interpersonal relationships, they may be more touchy and ambitious in the context of their workplace and career, and they may often feel extremely angry or annoyed when they are not given the kind of commendations they think they deserve.

Cerebral Narcissist Husband

Cerebral narcissist husbands may be extremely hard to live with and unless they get help for their issues they can cause psychological problems to their partner as well, because they may be manipulative and arrogant, and always put their needs above their partners.

Cerebral narcissist husbands may often be the type of people who try to get their own way and strip their partner of their individuality because they truly believe that they are superior and more intellectually gifted than everyone around them.

Furthermore, someone who has a cerebral narcissist husband may start out admiring and being in awe of them because they appear so smart and charming, and their charisma might turn heads wherever they go, but their insecurity and need to assert themselves can eventually catch up with them and the partner may be left feeling like they can’t escape.

To understand how much a cerebral narcissist husband can harm their partner, just look at the experience of this woman:

“My husband of 40 years died last year. I just recently discovered by all that I read that he was a cerebral narcissist. He was also an alcoholic and passive-aggressive. We dated for 1 year with all the great stuff. Got married and 9 months later I got pregnant. Sex was fine until 1-2 months before she was born. After her birth, he turned on a dime. No more sex–started fights every night and then he just got meaner and then verbally and physically abusive. I did all the right things by leaving at times and calling the police and even had a court order of protection 1 time.”

“My question is he never came back sexually except 1 time to get pregnant with my 2nd daughter. I know he was into p**n and nothing came up as far as him having any affairs. How is this possible? He never discarded me or threatened to leave. Just told me once if I left him he would prove that I was an incompetent mother. Scare tactic. He just devalued me. He was a surgeon and a highly functioning narc and alcoholic. Excelled in his profession. Why did he not want to leave ?? How can somebody live like this ?? No intimacy—lived to work–major supply. I stayed because of my faith—and I knew he could be very vindictive. After reading all the other posts about being discarded I wonder why he never threatened to leave. Seemed content just to be married may be for appearance sake.”

Cerebral Narcissist Breakup

Cerebral narcissist breakup might often follow instances where the narcissist feels like the partner is not of any consequence anymore, or when they feel that they are just not getting anything from the relationship anymore.

Cerebral narcissist breakups may be extremely inflammatory as well, because these individuals are likely to have high tempers and a tendency to take just about anything personally, and everything may feel like a slight to them because of their poor self-esteem.

Additionally, if a partner breaks up with a cerebral narcissist it may make them furious, and they may make very strong efforts to ensure that that does not happen because they may view that as a sort of defeat, and refuse to accept that someone could leave them.

If you are breaking up with a cerebral narcissist you should also be prepared for them begging and pleading you 

Cerebral Narcissist Erectile Dysfunction

A cerebral narcissist can be quite prone to erectile dysfunction and various other types of seual dysfunctions as well because the etiology or origins of this problem are rooted in very powerful negative emotions towards self, which makes any aspect of interpersonal relationships, including sex, quite difficult.

Moreover, when a cerebral narcissist experiences erectile dysfunction, they may often lash out towards the partner, or blame them in some way, and they can even act out and say mean things to the partner and telling them that they are not worthy of intimacy.

Also, when cerebral narcissists may also be more prone to erectile dysfunction because they have more interest in anything mind-related, and they have a tendency to be needed or looked up to more than they need to be desired, which means that they may either not pay enough attention to physical intimacy or they may simply not be interested to the point where their body does the same, and there is no arousal.

Cerebral Narcissists may also experience erectile dysfunction because their narcissism, like any other form of narcissism, is rooted in shame and guilt and very bad views of self, which is something that is closely linked to the person’s sexual functioning.

As a result, cerebral narcissists, as well as many other types of narcissists as well, may often experience problems such as erectile dysfunction, rapid discharge, delayed discharge, and various other types of sexual dysfunction.

Cerebral Narcissist Asexual

Cerebral narcissists can often be asexual, because their primary interest is in intellectual pursuits and estbalishing their intellectual and skilled dominance rather than engaging in physical grandiosity, which means that sex may not be a priority for them at all.

Cerebral narcissists can also be asexual because they may have underlying sexual dysfunctions, as discussed previously, which they may mask by calling themselves asexual, because while being asexual is a valid and normal sexual orientation, admitting that there is a problem with the person, like a sexual dysfunction, is something a narcissist would not want to do.

Cerebral narcissists may not be overly concerned with physical things but they are still very touchy about any perceived problem they have, which means that admitting they are not interested or that they have a physical problem that is often associated with being virile and significant is not acceptable to them, so they may just claim to be asexual instead.

Furthermore, asexual cerebral narcissists may also be indistinguishable from someone with schizoid personality disorder, becuase their asexuality and preference of activities and interactions which emphasize their intelligence or intellectual achievements may look like Scizoid personality disorder.

Cerebral Narcissist Test

A cerebral narcissism test may be taken by someone who thinks that someone in their life is a cerebral narcissist, because in most cases someone with personality disorder either has no insight to their condition or they may not be completely unbiased on the test.

If you think someone in your life meets the criteria for a cerebral narcissist, take this cerebral narcissist test:

• Do they always try to put you down about your intelligence?
• Do they make you feel like you are not smart?
• Do they never ask for your opinion?
• Do they lack empathy?
• Do they not show any interest in physical intimacy or affection?
• Do they get irrationally angry if they feel that someone is trying to question their judgment?
• Do they ever act out when they feel like they are not getting enough attention?
• Do they talk about their achievements incessantly and ignore everyone else’s?
• Do they grumble about every perceived slight at work?

If you find that you answered about 5-7 questions in the above cerebral narcissism test in yes, it may mean that the person you are thinking about is a cerebral narcissist, and if you are in a relationship with them you should be wary because relationships with them can quickly turn manipulative and abusive.

Covert Cerebral Narcissist

A Covert cerebral narcissist is someone who does not make too much noise about their talents and skills but secretly be manipulative and extremely sensitive to any real or perceived slights against their self-image, and the covert cerebral narcissist is not much different.

Covert narcissism and cerebral narcissism are both subtypes of narcissism based on what the individual behaves like because narcissism and extreme self-love can take many forms.

Some signs of a covert cerebral narcissist are:

• A covert cerebral narcissist may have passive self-importance that comes from an elevated sense of self .
• The covert cerebral narcissist may often give back-handed compliments, or purposefully minimize their accomplishments or talents in a way that makes people admire them more.
• The typical covert cerebral narcissist may be gentle about blaming others but they will still do it often, especially if they have made a mistake.
• Covert cerebral narcissists are more manipulative than other types.
• The covert cerebral narcissist also has a fragile sense of self which may show in how they receive criticism.
• Covert cerebral narcissists may also constantly shame others to secure their sense of an elevated position.

Somatic vs Cerebral Narcissist

The primary difference between somatic vs cerebral narcissism is that while a Cerebral Narcissist is someone that seeks power and recognition for their intellect, and wants to be hailed as superior in some way that involves their intellectual prowess, a somatic narcissist seeks pleasure and puts their interests above everyone else’s in a physical and tangible way.

The distinction between a somatic narcissist vs cerebral narcissist is made on the basis of the supply of power they seek, and this concept is best described by the writer who first described these two types of narcissism, Sam Vaknin.

Sam Vaknin describes the three components of the supply of power:

“The trigger of supply is the person or object that provokes the source into yielding narcissistic supply by confronting the source with information about the narcissist’s False Self.

The source of narcissistic supply is the person that provides the narcissistic supply

Narcissistic supply is the reaction of the source to the trigger.”

According to his book, Malignant Self-Love, Sam Vaknin, who is the proponent of the concept of somatic vs cerebral narcissism, narcissistic supply is described in the following way:

“There are two categories of Narcissistic Supply and their Sources (NSS):

The Primary Narcissistic Supply is attention, in both its public forms (fame, notoriety, infamy, celebrity) and its private, interpersonal, forms (adoration, adulation, applause, fear, repulsion). It is important to understand that attention of any kind – positive or negative – constitutes Primary Narcissistic Supply. Infamy is as sought after as fame, being notorious is as good as being renowned.”

“Sources of Secondary Narcissistic Supply are all those who provide the narcissist with narcissistic supply on a regular basis: spouse, friends, colleague, business partners, teachers, neighbors, and so on.”

“Both these primary and secondary Narcissistic Supply and their triggers and sources are incorporated in a Narcissistic Pathological Space.”

Cerebral Narcissist Woman

While narcissism is relatively more common in men, there are still many cerebral narcissist women, and they may be characterized by high-functioning and ruthless attitudes which may cause them to stomp over everyone else in their lives, men and women alike.

A cerebral narcissist woman may be someone who has no empathy, and they may have a stronger sense of entitlement which does not go away regardless of any failures or adverse circumstances they face, or even in the face of contradictory evidence that proves that they are not as competent as they think they are.

It may also be seen that traits of a cerebral narcissist woman may be more hidden than that of a man because cerebral narcissist men may flaunt their supposed intellectual prowess more than cerebral narcissist women, who may be more focused on proving everyone wrong and proving their superiority through their actions.

Also, a cerebral narcissist woman may also have slightly more insight into the fact that they have issues and that not all their traits are completely normal, which may be because women tend to have less aggression crowding their judgment, which may make them more in touch with their insecurities.

However, knowing that there is an issue somewhere will still not stop a cerebral narcissist woman from acting out as it comes naturally to them, and their insecurities will still dictate most of their behavior just like they do a cerebral narcissist man.

BetterHelp: A Better Alternative

Those who are seeking therapy online may also be interested in BetterHelp. BetterHelp offers plenty of formats of therapy, ranging from live chats, live audio sessions and live video sessions. In addition, unlimited messaging through texting, audio messages and even video messages are available here.

BetterHelp also offers couples therapy and therapy for teenagers in its platform. Furthermore, group sessions can also be found in this platform, covering more than twenty different topics related to mental health and mental illness. The pricing of BetterHelp is also pretty cost-effective, especially considering the fact that the platform offers financial aid to most users.

Conclusion

In this brief blog, we have talked about the cerebral narcissist, the traits of a cerebral narcissist, how to deal with a cerebral narcissist, and more information about the cerebral narcissist.

If you have any questions about the cerebral narcissist, please let us know and the team will gladly answer your queries.

FAQs: cerebral narcissist

 

Citations

Kim Saeed. The Cerebral Narcissist – A Portrait.

Marriage.com. Cerebral Narcissist: What Does It Mean and How to Handle Them?.

Mayo Clinic. Narcissistic personality disorder.

Melanie Tonia Evans. The Dangers Of The Cerebral Narcissist And How To Avoid Them.