What exactly is a “Somatic Narcissist”? The most common examples of outlandish Somatic Narcissist behaviors can typically be seen enacted by star celebs and their co-narcissist entourages that run in the wealthiest class of Hollywood social circles.
In order to be more like one, all one has to do is behave with an extreme sense of entitlement, spend all your time obsessing over what you look like and status symbols, and treat other humans beings like tools to be used and discarded when and if they no longer appear to be valuable to you for support any particular minute of any given day.
Celebrity Narcissists are typically people who display personality traits of people with Cluster B personality disorders, specifically one called NPD or Narcissistic Personality Disorder.
But when it comes to Hollywood culture, toxic peers and workplace bullies tend to keep celebrity eyes focused on developing unhealthy levels of Somatic Narcissism, especially — the type of narcissistic thinking that fosters extremely high levels of competition between humans who thirst for power, control, and to impress others with their looks, money, or status.
Narcissism discussions have been all the rage of debate in the news as of late since reality television star Donald Trump first starting making headlines with his election 2016 campaign.
Many psychologists, psychiatrists, and mental health experts on Narcissism have come forward to explain from their academic perspective what it is about the presidential candidate that hallmarks his personality type as one that is deviant.
As writer David Paul pointed out in a Huffington Post news article titled “Donald Trump Is Not Who You Think He Is, That I Can Tell You” published on May 26, 2016, “So Se Pyong, North Korea’s ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, said it all the other day: There is no meaning, no sincerity to a word that Donald Trump says.”
Such behavior is absolutely typical for a Somatic Narcissist, a person compelled to win social interaction rather than to collaborate and foster success through the reciprocity of respect.
For them, sucking up, making disingenuous statements to emotionally or psychologically impress a listener, and backstabbing all their friends, closest family members, and workplace associates behind the scenes is seen as normal, healthy, socially advantageous behavior.
Their truth is no one else’s typical reality. What’s more, the only people who tend to feel good after having spent time with them are new marks who are being targeted as new Narcissistic Supply sources for them hint the writers of the news blog over on Psych Central.
To say someone has Narcissistic Personality Disorder is a serious claim, and the word Narcissist should by its clinical definition never be used or taken like it’s an insult. People who behave in predictable ways in public or private are classified according to their core beliefs and the way their brain handles and processes external stimuli as well as internal information.
The Mayo Clinic website contains very frank discussions about NPD, Cluster B, and Narcissism in general on their medical-theme, research-backed domain. The source notes the following diagnostic criteria (or symptomatology) of people who exhibit high traits of Narcissism, one of the four Cluster B personality types.
Regarding everyday, run of the mill NPD, the medical experts had the following scientific research-backed observations to share. They write:
DSM-5 criteria for narcissistic personality disorder include these features:
- Having an exaggerated sense of self-importance
- Expecting to be recognized as superior even without achievements that warrant it
- Exaggerating your achievements and talents
- Being preoccupied with fantasies about success, power, brilliance, beauty or the perfect mate
- Believing that you are superior and can only be understood by or associate with equally special people
- Requiring constant admiration
- Having a sense of entitlement
- Expecting special favors and unquestioning compliance with your expectations
- Taking advantage of others to get what you want
- Having an inability or unwillingness to recognize the needs and feelings of others
- Being envious of others and believing others envy you
- Behaving in an arrogant or haughty manner
Although some features of narcissistic personality disorder may seem like having confidence, it’s not the same. Narcissistic personality disorder crosses the border of healthy confidence into thinking so highly of yourself that you put yourself on a pedestal and value yourself more than you value others.
The source brings into clear focus what many people in Hollywood social circles presume are normal, healthy, life-affirming (rather than soul-crushing) behaviors. Because so many people drawn to seeking fortune and fame are in fact narcissistic by nurture (if not also that way by nature), it’s important for any rising star, celebrity actor, famous person, or wannabe starlet to pay careful attention to the condition of their mental health status as well as to their looks and figure.
Somatic Narcissism, compared to average Narcissism as a clinical diagnosis of personality disorder, is a specific subset of those people who by nature or nurture tend to operate in social spheres in ways that are highly egotistical, self-aggrandizing, and competitive. Somatic Narcissists tend to keep their attention focused on the most shallow levels of human success.
Measuring themselves competitively with other human beings, people like Donald Trump, Kanye West, Kim Kardashian, Kylie Jenner, and Kris Jenner tend to think that looks, power, and money are the most valuable of human commodities to possess. People who suffer from Somatic Narcissism are prone to go to any extreme to self-promote.
It does not matter if they have to lie, steal, cheat, or con their way to the top. Most will do whatever is necessary to do what they think will keep the public eye on them at all times.
The ultimate attention seekers, their typical conversations never go much deeper than the price of their shoes, how much money someone paid for their new handbag, where they went shopping or on vacation most recently, and how much money they dropped on that last bottle of wine or champagne when they were ordering a round of drinks for everyone in the “in crowd” sitting at the VIP lounge, country club, or nightclub table. Think Gwyneth Paltrow’s GOOP blog minus good taste or heart.
Truly, Somatic Narcissists, by and large, only seem to be socially or emotionally impressed with other people who are exactly like themselves. That’s part of the reason why it’s so easy to figure out who’s who in Hollywood when it comes to personality type.
Pay careful attention to the kind of people that the star celebs party with behind the scenes or travel with on lavish vacations. Narcy people tend to run in packs, with the most Covert Narcissists befriending and enabling the most Overt Somatic or abusive Narcopaths.
If someone presents themselves as a Jennifer Aniston type (presenting themselves to the world as a “girl next door”, “natural beauty” type but secretly have had tons of plastic surgery and cosmetic procedures done over the years to maintain and/or create a false or artificial impression they have great genes), they just might just be a Covert Somatic Narcissist.
[Just an aside — Jennifer Aniston (who recently claimed her mother Nancy Dow was a Narcissist following her celebrity death this past week) is best friends with talk show host Chelsea Handler and “Friends” actress Courtney Cox. All three women are suspected of having various types of Cluster B personality disorders ranging from Somatic Narcissism to Dark Triad.]
Compared to someone like Kim Kardashian or Heidi Montag are you that bad? No.
But compared to someone like morning talk show host Kelly Ripa (who readily admits she has a few small Botox injections several times a year to keep areas known for developing deep wrinkles on the face due in part to genetics), if someone spends every waking day at the spa, at the salon, at the beauty parlor, or contemplating the fitness level and aesthetic look of their own navel and the might have themselves a serious NPD problem.
