Several unofficial types of narcissism are included under the narcissistic personality disorder (NPD) umbrella, such as vulnerable, cerebral, and sexual narcissists, among others. While NPD is generally characterized by a grandiose sense of self and an unwillingness to express empathy, many professionals consider NPD a spectrum disorder that often presents quite differently in individuals.
What Is Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD)?
Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD) is one of ten diagnosable personality disorders and is defined by a grandiose self-image and lack of empathy.1 Because narcissists are unable to find their worth internally, they are hyper-focused on how they are seen, perceived, and treated by others.2
Narcissists rely on external attention and praise to feel special or important. They can experience narcissistic collapse, become defensive, react negatively, and even behave destructively when they do not receive their narcissistic supply.3 When this happens, their ego quickly deflates, and their personal insecurities and shame are exposed. This is referred to as a narcissistic injury, which often leads to defensive and aggressive reactions or narcissistic rage. These defense mechanisms can get in the way of forming and maintaining healthy, close relationships.
According to the DSM-5, someone with NPD must exhibit at least five of the following:
- Grandiosity: Grandiosity refers to a sense of specialness and self-importance that leads narcissists to boast about real or exaggerated accomplishments, and persistently feel and present themselves as superior.
- Entitlement: Entitlement in NPD involves a belief that one’s importance, superiority, or uniqueness should grant them special treatment, additional resources, or more attention than others.
- Lack of empathy: While narcissists are usually capable of feeling empathy, they are often unwilling to, as they don’t see the need to or believe it will serve them.
- Preoccupation with fantasies of success: Reality does not often support narcissists’ views of themselves as they have underlying low self-esteem and self-worth. They prefer to think in exaggerated terms of what could be (e.g., gaining power or wealth).
- Excessive need for admiration: Because narcissists struggle to experience an internal sense of self-worth, they look to others’ feedback to build themselves up, often engaging in praise-seeking behaviors.
- Arrogant behaviors: Narcissists tend to compensate for underlying beliefs of inferiority by acting arrogantly. They may boast about their accomplishments, exaggerate their successes, and put others down in order to lift themselves up.
- Sense of superiority: It’s not enough for a narcissist to simply be accomplished–they need to feel better than others to increase their sense of self-esteem and self-worth.
- Exploitation of others: Narcissists frequently lie and deceive to get their own needs met. This may look like forcing others to take care of them before they care for themselves or failing to recognize when they have made unrealistic demands of others.
Adaptive Vs. Maladaptive Narcissism
Narcissism can show up in a variety of ways and some narcissists are able to leverage their traits in ways that allow them to succeed in life. For instance, adaptive narcissists often use their confidence and sense of entitlement in ways that help them achieve their goals.
In other cases, a maladaptive form of narcissism takes root. Rather than using their ego strength as a means of support, these narcissists exhibit the more hurtful and unacceptable traits of narcissism. Their egos are kept inflated through the exploitation and tear-down of others. These narcissists rely on manipulation, control, and disparagement to feel a sense of strength.
14 Different Types of Narcissism
Because narcissism occurs on a spectrum, it may present and be exhibited in several ways. Two people diagnosed with NPD may have significantly different presentations. Whereas NPD is an official DSM-5 diagnosis, more specific types of narcissists are non-official, colloquial forms of identifying common types of narcissists.
Below are 14 common types of narcissists:
1. Overt Narcissism
Overt narcissists are the prototypical variety of narcissists. They display grandiosity, exaggerate their accomplishments, and engage in activities designed to impress others.1 Their overly inflated egos lead them to genuinely believe that they are more special and deserving than others. Further, they are incapable of acknowledging any faults or shortcomings in themselves, though they may be quick to point them out in others.
Overt narcissism is typically accompanied by an extroverted personality used to gain attention and build the audience for their boasting. Overt narcissists use their charm and charisma to convince others of their greatness. However, their inability to feel empathy results in superficial relationships that lack genuine warmth or longevity.
2. Covert Narcissism
Covert narcissists, also known as vulnerable narcissists, tend to appear shy, reserved, self-deprecating, and worried, despite experiencing immense emotional fragility, chronic envy, and difficulty with criticism.4 Covert narcissists tend to constantly compare and judge themselves against another person’s happiness, possessions, and relationships.4 Because of this, they often spend time alone and may experience higher levels of suicidality than others with NPD.
3. Hypervigilant Narcissism
Hypervigilance reflects the need to be constantly on the lookout for threats. Coupling this trait with narcissism results in an individual who is always on the watch for signs of criticism or put-downs from others. Hypervigilant narcissists fear rejection to an extreme degree and see slights and insults in others’ innocuous behavior.
Hypervigilant narcissists cannot relax around others, as they are listening for hints of possible disrespect or belittling. For these types of narcissists, socializing is exceedingly painful. While they feel that they deserve attention and praise from others, they are unable to handle the risks of rejection or abandonment that social settings present.
4. Grandiose Narcissism
Grandiose narcissists display patterns of superiority, pretentiousness, and a lack of consideration for others’ time. While these characteristics are common among many people with NPD, they tend to be further exaggerated among grandiose narcissists. These types of narcissists may be more assertive, extroverted, and exploitative than those with standard NPD.
Because grandiose narcissists believe so strongly in their abilities and intelligence, they tend to display a strong distrust of experts and their superiors.5 Instead, they gravitate toward those who provide them with an abundance of admiration. They may use this to feed into false or exaggerated beliefs about their importance, purpose, abilities, or identity (also known as delusions of grandeur).
5. Exhibitionist Narcissism
Exhibitionist narcissism refers to narcissists who have to be the center of attention or be seen as the life of the party. They crave the admiration of others and will go to great lengths to be noticed. They also want to be caught in the company of people as fabulous as they believe themselves to be.
Often, exhibitionist narcissists will tell others how to smile, what to wear, and what to say/do or not say/do. They want to control the storyline and every character in the story. Additionally, they fully believe that others view them as special and deserving as they see themselves. They are the ultimate party crashers, photo bombers, and unrepentant attention grabbers.
6. Sexual Narcissism
Sexual narcissists are people who prioritize their own sexual satisfaction and needs; lack empathy for their sexual partners; demonstrate an inflated sense of sexual esteem; expect frequent praise for their sexual performance; and feel entitled to sex when and where they want it.6, 7
While sex with a narcissist is initially romantic and passionate—in fact, this is often how they win their partners over—it usually turns one-sided, transactional, and potentially even aggressive. Despite seeming to value physical intimacy and presenting with an abundance of confidence in their sexual performance, sexual narcissists may have an intimacy disorder characterized by difficulty giving and receiving emotional closeness.
7. Vindictive Narcissism
Vindictive narcissists are hypersensitive to disagreements, boundaries being set, rejection, and perceived criticism. They take these experiences personally and are immensely hurt by them (although won’t admit to this). In turn, they may respond with attacks and terrorization toward the person they perceive as being unreasonable.
Vindictive narcissistic behavior may include sabotaging someone’s career or reputation, responding with narcissistic rage, blackmailing, or talking behind someone’s back. Vindictive narcissists tend to be unmoving in their opinion of the individual who hurt them, even if they have received an apology or found out that what upset them never happened in the first place.
8. Malignant Narcissism
Malignant narcissism is a colloquial term used to describe those exhibiting symptoms of both NPD and antisocial personality disorder. Combined, these disorders show up as arrogance, a need for power and recognition, a lack of empathy, a tendency to use or exploit others, and experiencing pleasure in the mistreatment of others. Malignant narcissists tend to report more impairments, difficulty with relationships, and worse responses to treatment than those with typical NPD.
9. Antagonistic Narcissism
Individuals who merge an antagonistic personality with narcissistic traits present an extremely unattractive persona to others. They lack the charm of other narcissistic types and instead display the more unappealing traits of entitlement, arrogance, lack of empathy, and disregard for others’ wellbeing. Their antagonistic personalities lead them to be highly defensive, assume the worst in others’ comments, and respond with anger to any real or imagined slights.
10. Somatic Narcissism
Somatic narcissists derive a sense of superiority, entitlement, and self-worth from their perception of their physical bodies. They use their figures and the physical space around them to express their narcissistic traits.
While somatic narcissists present with confidence in their beauty, strength, and fitness, they tend to obsess over their appearance and criticize the appearance of others, demonstrating underlying insecurity and low self-esteem. Somatic narcissists may also achieve personal value and superiority from sex. However, sex is not necessary—as it is with sexual narcissists—for the somatic narcissist to build self-worth.
11. Cerebral Narcissism
Cerebral narcissists, also known as intellectual narcissists, are individuals who fulfill their narcissistic supply by being perceived as intelligent, well-read, and expert. These narcissists tend to be egocentric, use their intelligence against others, boast about their knowledge, excessively correct others, and downplay others’ intellectual abilities. While intellectual narcissists are generally smart, they frequently present as if they are more educated than they really are. This is done to mask underlying insecurities and lack of insight.
12. Spiritual Narcissism
Spiritual narcissists derive self-worth from their faith and ability to control, manipulate, and influence others. This kind of narcissist uses their spirituality to hurt others by shaming, fear-mongering, or narcissistic gaslighting. They will bring spirituality and faith into all conversations, judge others for their spiritual approach (or lack thereof), and use scripture to prove themselves right, ignoring instances in which it does not support their point of view.
While anyone can be a spiritual narcissist, they are most commonly people in positions of power or those who have been through a major life transition and turned to spirituality to help them get through it.
13. Communal Narcissism
Communal narcissists are those who possess grandiose, inflated perceptions of themselves within a communal environment.8 They believe they have extraordinary potential and capability, often thinking of themselves as the best listeners, helpers, socializers, and charitable people on the planet. In reality, they are fairly hypocritical, as most of their focus centers on meeting their own intrinsic needs.
14. Healthy Narcissism
While it may sound like an oxymoron, developing healthy narcissism can have its benefits. Having a strong sense of self-worth grounded in reality is key to being a healthy, happy, and self-confident adult.9 The healthy narcissist can acknowledge and prioritize their own needs and not feel guilty about this. They may share their successes with others, but they don’t do this just to gain others’ admiration.
Healthy narcissists have self-confidence and exhibit resilience and persistence. They don’t rely on charisma, grandiosity, or transactional behaviors to attract friends and potential partners. Their self-confidence, healthy boundaries, commitment to self-growth, and valuing of their own needs and those of others combine to make them the type of person other people would like to know.
How to Deal With a Narcissist
Dealing with a narcissist can be challenging and exhausting. However, with practice, it can become more tolerable. Avoiding confrontation, setting boundaries, educating yourself, practicing self-care, or even breaking up with a narcissist are all healthy ways of dealing with a narcissist. These actions are easiest when you are aware of and understand the limitations of a relationship with a narcissist.
Here are some ways to deal with a narcissist:
- Avoid confrontation: Narcissists tend to have intense and aggressive reactions to criticism. When possible, picking your battles and avoiding confrontation can help reduce your suffering.
- Set boundaries: When setting healthy boundaries around what types of behaviors are appropriate vs. those that are not, remember to be firm and clear. Name the unacceptable behavior clearly (“Do not speak about me behind my back”) and restate the assertion as many times as needed.
- Educate yourself: Learning about narcissism and its impact can help you understand your experience, find self-validation, feel empowered, and contextualize the narcissist’s behavior.
- Don’t take what they say personally: It may be tempting to internalize what a narcissist says, but this may lead to unhealthy self-critical patterns. Remind yourself that a narcissist’s opinions are simply judgments (and not necessarily facts).
- Seek out support: Surrounding yourself with others who can validate your experience is an important way of getting the emotional support you might need. Just be mindful of what information you share about the narcissistic behavior to avoid further conflict.
- Avoid reinforcing narcissistic behavior: Be careful not to reinforce unwanted behaviors (such as grandiosity or praise-seeking). That is, avoid giving an indication that those traits are likable by smiling or agreeing.
- Practice self-care: Narcissists may leave you feeling uncared for, unprioritized, and important. To combat these effects, consider practicing self-care–try journaling, exercising, or doing pleasant activities.
Can a Narcissist Change?
Many believe that because NPD is a personality disorder, a narcissist will never change. In reality, if a person with NPD is willing to begin therapy, they may be able to learn ways to better empathize with others and work on their narcissistic behaviors.
Unfortunately, many narcissists won’t seek therapy, as their gaps in self-awareness don’t typically allow them to recognize areas for self-improvement. If a narcissist is resistant to therapy or believes their narcissistic behavior is justified, it is unlikely that they will change. However, many narcissists end up entering therapy for other symptoms, such as anxiety or depression, which then opens the door for narcissistic traits to eventually be treated.
Treatment Options for Managing Narcissism
Individual therapy is particularly helpful for any type of narcissist and those interacting with them. This can be done through a number of techniques, including cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), which helps clients adjust their thinking patterns and make behavioral changes. Couples counseling or family therapy can be helpful as well, but only if the narcissist is willing to participate and build insight into their disorder. You can start your search by using an online therapist directory, or by speaking with a primary care doctor or psychiatrist.
Final Thoughts
If you are struggling to deal with a narcissist or are experiencing narcissistic tendencies yourself, there is indeed hope. Consider starting by educating yourself on narcissism, as you just have, or by finding a therapist.
For Further Reading
- Co-Parenting With a Narcissist | Narcissistic Abuse Support
- Domestic Violence Hotline
- NAMI Support Groups
Types of Narcissism Infographics
