Narcissistic Personality Disorder can only be diagnosed by a licensed mental health professional, but it's not too tough to spot some tendencies toward narcissism if you know what to look for. Check out the following scenarios for quick tests to see if you lean toward narcissistic characteristics. The more you nod in agreement to these statements, the higher your tendency toward narcissistic behaviors and thoughts.
Test One: Disagreement
You're in a disagreement or a heated discussion with someone; it might be someone close to you or someone who you happened to fall into conversation with.
- Are you usually right, and do you have a hard time understanding why all the stupid people of the world seem to flock to you to give you their stupid opinions?
- Does this make it feel like it's your job to correct people's ignorant ideas?
- Are people better off having met you so you can steer them in the right direction?
If this all sounds about right, you're displaying some classic narcissistic tendencies.
Test Two: Selfies
Review the photos saved on your smartphone. How many of those are selfies? How good do you look in those selfies? If your response is, "All of them - and I look good in every single one of them," and if you spend a great deal of time planning your selfies to get the angle, lighting, and your look just right, all signs point to narcissistic behavior. Bonus points if you read this and thought about what a shame it would be if your social network was deprived of your photos; if that's the case, your narcissism is likely apparent to everyone around you.
Test Three: Specialness
There's no one quite like you, is there? Though there are nearly 8 billion people in this world, you are more special than any of them. Things should be about you, and how you feel about anything matters. If these are the types of thoughts that go through your mind, you're encountering narcissistic thoughts.
Test Four: Control
Wouldn't things run so much smoother for the people in your life if they just did what you told them? Whether at work or at home, you should be able to call the shots and run things if everyone would just get out of your way. You're a leader and people should follow you. Things go awry when people don't do things as you want them done, and you're happy to explain to everyone how you would have done things better than they were done. If this rings true for you, your truth may be narcissism.
Test Five: Entitlement
Who deserves to win? Who deserves recognition? Who should be noticed above everyone else? If you answer with an enthusiastic, "Me, me, and me!" there's an excellent chance you lean toward narcissistic.
Test Six: Fault
Think of the last time you were blamed for something - was it your fault? Or were other people led to believe that you were at fault when you actually weren't? In fact, is that how things seem to go for you most of the time, where you wind up getting blamed for things that aren't your fault? Or, more importantly, were they your fault but you were justified in your actions for some reason that nobody else seems to understand? It's frustrating, isn't it? Actually, it's not frustrating - it's narcissism.
Test Seven: Taking This Test
Before you started taking this test, did you already know what your results would be? Not necessarily because you consider yourself a narcissist, but rather because you know you can shape the results to whatever you want because you're just that clever. If that's the case, it's not your cleverness that shapes your responses - it's your narcissistic thought patterns.
Just for Fun
Narcissistic Personality Disorder can be quite damaging to people who combat it (or embrace it) daily. If you truly feel as if you need help with this or any other personality disorder, seek the help of a licensed mental health professional.
