Most of us have either heard about people with narcissistic personalities or have had personal experience with them. In fact, you may even wonder whether you yourself have a narcissistic personality. Well, to determine whether someone is a narcissist, it is important to know what signs to look for.

Many people are aware of a couple of the signs of narcissism, but sometimes these can be non-specific signs that do not necessarily mean the person is a narcissist. However, if there are several key signs present, the chances are you are dealing with a narcissistic personality – or that you do have a narcissistic personality yourself. In this article, we will look at some of the key signs that indicate if someone has a narcissistic personality.

What Are the Signs?

So, what are the main signs to look out for if you want to identify a narcissistic personality? Well, here are some of the top ones:

It's All Me, Me, Me

One very notable thing about narcissists is that it is all 'me, me, me'. For instance, if they are having a conversation with you, they will want that conversation to be centered around them, not you or anyone else. Even if the topic is completely different when you start the conversation, it will soon become about them. It could be anything from their experiences and the day they have had to their appearance or their job. Nobody else comes into the equation.

Delusions of Grandeur

Another thing you will notice about narcissists is that they have delusions of grandeur when it comes to their job, their aspirations, their finances, and their life in general. They will often fantasize about their power and success, even if they do not actually have any in real life. Because of these fantasies and delusions, they want and expect the best, which results in them also having a sense of entitlement.

Superiority Complex

Many narcissists have a serious superiority complex where they think they are better than anyone around them and they put themselves on a pedestal. If they do come across someone they feel may be as superior as they are, they tend to think that these are the only other people who can come close to understanding them. Which sometimes leads to the development of cliques. This is because they want to be surrounded by others who they feel are similar to them, although, ultimately, they still want to be in control of the clique.

Cannot Take Criticism

Taking criticism is difficult for many people, but for narcissists, it is like the end of the world! These are people that want to be praised all the time and want others to talk very highly of them both in their presence and when they are not around. So, when someone criticizes them for what they do, they have no idea how to handle it other than becoming either openly or silently outraged. When they are openly criticized, it can lead to an outburst where they display their anger, which then sometimes results in the other person apologizing or having to change the subject.

Always Taking Advantage

With their manipulative and controlling nature, one thing that narcissists always do is take advantage of others. Some people have no idea they are being taken advantage of, and narcissists will never consider the feelings of the other person. Their only aim is to get what they want, and if they have to walk all over people to get it, they will.

Many Undesirable Qualities

As you can see, the narcissistic personality has many undesirable qualities, and these are ones that some people will be all too familiar with having experienced a narcissistic person at some point in their lives.