Narcissism (Essay Sample)

How Freud Understands the Concept of Narcissism Student Name Course Name Department Name Instructor 28th/ November/ 2023 How Freud Understands the Concept of Narcissism In psychology, narcissism is termed as a stage in human growth where an individual’s psychic energy or libido is directed inwardly, provoking self-love and admiration. It originates from a Greek myth of Narcissus, who as the story tells, fell in love with his own reflection. In psychological realm, Sigmund Freud played a significant role in understanding and elaborating widely on the effects of narcissism in human personality. According to his views, narcissism involves the balance between object-libido, which means attention directed outwards and ego-libido, meaning it is directed inwards to oneself. However, an appropriate balance of narcissism can contribute to a healthy sense of self and aids in ego development, but an excessive focus to oneself often leads to challenges in forming genuine interactions with other people. This scenario is observed in individuals with narcissistic behaviors. Sigmund Freud, as the pioneer of psychoanalysis brought the concept of narcissism in his seminal activity “On Narcissism”. According to him, narcissism is so deep rooted in the ego’s primary focus on loving one self. In this concept, he identified two types of narcissism where in the primary narcissism, focusses on the infant development where the child’s libido is invested in his own being, while in secondary narcissism, there is an abnormal self-love much later in life. He also believed that the narcissism attitude plays a vital component in the identification of a person’s behavior, and is inherent in everybody. It is also crucial in a healthy psychological development which emphasizes on self-preservation and love with no extremes to narcissistic personalities. In the Freud’s analysis, he explored the closeness of narcissism to the libido, which is the psychic energy linked with instinctual drives. He noted that the narcissistic tendencies can influence self-esteem, interpersonal relations and also affects the sexual dynamics at a greater percentage. All this insights into narcissism have significantly exposed more personal attributes which has contributed to understanding of personality development and mental health. Apart from the effects of narcissism in a formal society setup and ego development, it is a concept that has evolved over time and plays a big role in diagnosis of Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD). This is a condition characterized by the following: * Grandiosity: This is a disorder that comes with an exaggerated sense of self-importance and out speaks their achievements and talents. * Lack of Empathy: Showing less or no interests of recognizing the n...