Who doesn't have a friend who literally likes to be the center of attention? The one who in the conversation circles always tells unbelievable and probably unreal stories, drawing the focus of everything to himself? If he lived in the countryside or in a city far from the interior of the center, he would probably be a fisherman of so many stories that in addition to only happening to him, he also insists on telling everyone. His motto is “speak well or speak ill, but speak of me”. Of course, each case is different, but this is a strong indication that this individual is a narcissist.
Narcissism is the love of an individual for himself or for his own image, a reference to the myth of Narcissus, who would have been a handsome young man indifferent to love who, when he saw himself reflected in the water, fell in love with his own reflected image. You know that person who doesn't have self-love, low esteem and doesn't like to show up? Certainly not a narcissist, a term that is often associated with the proud and selfish.
In the same way, there are also those who, unlike narcissists, prefer to go completely unnoticed in the crowd. While there are individuals who love to talk and be at the center of it all, others prefer to be on the fringes of situations and are excellent listeners. This does not mean that they are not creative people, quite the opposite. They often travel in parallel universes because their imagination is so fertile, but limited to a very private world in which only they have full access. Only if you are very intimate can you share part of that person's world, otherwise you will only be the object of observation by this introspective individual.
Introspection is the act by which the subject observes the contents of his own mental states, becoming aware of them. Among the possible mental contents subject to introspection, beliefs, mental images, memories (whether visual, auditory, olfactory, sound, tactile), intentions, emotions and the content of thought in general (concepts, reasoning, associations of ideas).
Seemingly antagonistic, it is perfectly possible for a person to be narcissistic and introspective, or rather, a narcissist in disguise.
If the narcissist likes to get attention and the introspective is a shy guy, the disguised narcissist is, in general terms, a person who likes to get attention by his introspection. That person who apparently trying to minimize the fact of being shy ends up being more in evidence, can often be purposeful, even if in their subconscious. Do you know anyone like this?
- Written by Diego Rennan of Team Eu Sem Fronteiras.
