There Is No “Why” in the World#4

Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD)

Believe it or not, there exists a type of person in this world who believes they are superior to others. This is so even when they cannot explain, in language understandable to others, what that supposed ability actually is.

Among them, those who tend to hide low self-esteem, react sensitively to criticism, and exploit others to serve their own interests are referred to in psychiatry as Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD).

The traits commonly observed in this type of person include the following.

Grandiosity: They exaggerate their abilities and achievements and regard themselves as special.
Sense of entitlement: They expect special treatment and demand compliance from others.
Lack of empathy: They fail to recognize or ignore the feelings and needs of others.
Excessive need for admiration: They constantly seek praise and recognition.
Exploitative relationships: They use interpersonal relationships to achieve their own goals.

People with NPD tend to regard their superiority as a self-evident fact.
The problem is that they cannot explain why.

They believe “I am a genius,” but when asked why, they usually respond like this.

“Because that’s just how it is.”
“My achievements prove it.”

To fill this gap, they become obsessed with external recognition.
Social media likes, promotions at work, the cheers of fans.

All of these become pieces of evidence that supposedly support their superiority.

Interestingly, people of this type often do achieve remarkable success. Their obsession with recognition itself becomes a powerful source of motivation. Like machines fueled by praise, they continue running toward higher positions.

But there is a fatal problem here.

The evidence of success they accumulate can never become absolute proof.

A single rejection, a single failure, a single moment of dismissal can collapse all those achievements.

For example, the case of mixed martial arts fighter Conor McGregor presents a series of interesting scenes.

In 2019, he assaulted an elderly man in a pub after the man refused to drink the whiskey brand McGregor had launched. Later he reportedly purchased the pub for about 3 billion won and banned the man from entering it for life. The elderly man later said in an interview that he had no intention of returning anyway.

On another occasion, at the Video Music Awards red carpet, he reportedly asked rapper Machine Gun Kelly, who was dating Megan Fox at the time, for a photo. When he was refused, he threw a drink and caused a disturbance.

Yet in other situations he appeared very different.

When he was involved in a bicycle accident after being hit by a car, he did not blame the driver and instead comforted him.
He has remained loyal to the woman who supported him when he quit his plumbing job and began his career as an unknown fighter while living on unemployment benefits.
He has made regular donations to hospitals in Ireland and has provided housing for homeless people.

Of course, I have neither the authority nor the ability to diagnose whether Conor McGregor has NPD.

The way the diagnosis of NPD actually occurs in psychiatry is also interesting.

Although the DSM-5 provides various criteria, the moment someone is judged to have NPD in real life usually occurs in a particular kind of situation.

It happens when an inflated sense of self-love produces a meaningful conflict with other people.

A friend’s betrayal, a romantic breakup, a social scandal.
When such events occur, someone says:

“That person is NPD.”

In the end, the diagnosis is less about discovering an inner essence and more about naming a conflict that appears within relationships.

Perhaps people with NPD receive two exam sheets at every moment.

The first exam sheet asks this.

“I am clearly superior to others.”

To answer it, they accumulate success, gather evidence of admiration, and continuously confirm their own specialness.

But a second exam sheet also exists.

“I am superior to others, but I still respect other people as much as I respect myself.”

So they must tell themselves this.

I am not a monster.
I am simply superior.
Others just have not understood it yet.

And my ability is not something explained by results, but something that existed from the beginning.