Narcissistic Personality Disorder––The Disease's New Poster Boy Appears To Have Won The White House

The criteria for Narcissistic Personality Disorder (from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders––DSM-5, published by the American Psychiatric Association) are used to diagnose this mental condition. They are listed at the Mayo Clinic website:

1. Having an exaggerated sense of self-importance
2. Expecting to be recognized as superior even without achievements that warrant it
3. Exaggerating your achievements and talents
4. Being preoccupied with fantasies about success, power, brilliance, beauty or the perfect mate
5. Believing that you are superior and can only be understood by or associate with equally special people
6. Requiring constant admiration
7. Having a sense of entitlement
8. Expecting special favors and unquestioning compliance with your expectations
9. Taking advantage of others to get what you want
10. Having an inability or unwillingness to recognize the needs and feelings of others
11. Being envious of others and believing others envy you
12. Behaving in an arrogant or haughty manner

Mayo's website goes on to say "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."

Extreme narcissism may cause an individual to inflate his or her own worth to the extent that other people's worth is degraded to zero.

It may cause you to believe your desires overrule and negate other people's wishes.

It may cause you to think that anyone who disagrees with you is evil and deserving of extreme vengeance to the end of time.

It may cause you to think the thoughts that pop into your head are pure genius. It may also cause you to think that the new idea that directly contradicts the brilliant idea you had five minutes ago means that your mind is a direct oracle from the Almighty capable of changing humanity's fundamental rules of right and wrong and true and untrue on a minute by minute basis. (Some of this description overlaps with key signs of the more severe forms of mania, so it might not be incorrect to call such an individual a "maniac.")

What's that? I believe we have a winner.

The man over on the far right, with the orange tan and the blond comb-over, the one sitting in the gold chair, is shouting "Bingo!"