Research/facts on Narcissism

Research shows that only 1 to 6 percent of the population is diagnosed with narcissistic  personality disorder, also known as NPD. NPD is a personality disorder characterized by an  individual that demonstrates poor levels of empathy, self-regulation, self-worth, and self awareness. Although the disorder itself is rare, people with narcissistic traits can be found  everywhere in our world. People who have NPD or narcissistic traits, emotionally and physically  abuse others in order to get their needs met. This type of abuse is formally called narcissistic  abuse. Narcissistic Abuse includes harmful behaviors such as lying, manipulation, exploitation,  verbal and physical abuse, gaslighting, coercive control, and impulsive, entitled, and malicious  behavior towards other people. As you can imagine, enduring narcissistic abuse has devastating,  prolonged effects in slowly deteriorating a person's mental health, physical health, and nervous  system functions. The people that have been clinically diagnosed by a therapist to have these  abusive behaviors are called narcissists. Since often narcissists don't see a problem with their  behavior, they rarely end up taking themselves into therapy. This means most narcissists will  never be properly diagnosed or accounted for in this estimated 1 to 6 percent of the population  that research shows. Due to these factors, I believe narcissists and narcissistic abuse are far more  common in this world than the numbers are reflecting.  

There are also other mental health disorders or personality disorders that have narcissistic  behavioral traits apart of their diagnoses. When left untreated, mental health diagnoses such as  bipolar disorder, histrionic personality disorder, borderline personality disorder, and antisocial  personality disorder can all display narcissistic behaviors, leading to narcissistic abuse to the  people around them. These diagnoses listed above are more commonly found in the world, which  means it is likely that you will be impacted by narcissistic abuse at some point in your lifetime.  

By the slim chance you don't come in contact with a narcissist directly, or any of the mental  health diagnoses above, there is a good chance that you may come across someone that has  developed narcissistic traits from having complex traumatic stress disorder, or CPTSD from their  childhood. It is generally accepted that most children will not develop out of their childhoods  without some sort of trauma, whether the CPTSD is diagnosed or undiagnosed. In order to  survive in these narcissistic environments as children, many children found themselves adopting  narcissistic behaviors as defense mechanisms to protect themselves from their narcissistic family  members. A couple of CPTSD symptoms include flashbacks, OCD, anxiety, depression,  addiction problems, anger issues, control issues, eating disorders, sleep disorders, gastrointestinal problems, bladder dysfunctions, autoimmune diseases, concentration problems, and many others.  Sadly, many of these children grow up and continue to carry these narcissistic behaviors into  their adult relationships until they become aware of it themselves. In these situations, these  children aren't classified as "narcissists," but rather as people that may "display narcissistic  behaviors."  

When all the layers are finally peeled back from trying to get to the root cause of CPTSD, I  believe people who have endured narcissistic abuse are at the core of most CPTSD diagnoses.  Although research is still developing on this theory, I believe there is an uncanny connection 

between narcissistic abuse and the development of most people's CPTSD. Many children that  have CPTSD, likely have either had one family member that is narcissistic, or one family  member that may have had a similar mental health disorder, displaying narcissistic  characteristics. 

Although research shows that many people may never come in contact with a clinically  diagnosed narcissist, almost everyone will encounter someone who has a mental health disorder  or CPTSD. This means narcissistic abuse will directly or indirectly impact you at some point in  your life. These are just a few observations I have observed and accumulated from informational  videos, and my own personal experiences. This is why education on narcissistic personality  disorder and narcissistic abuse is extremely important in protecting your mental health. I believe  narcissistic abuse is one of the biggest, untapped mental health areas. I believe bringing  awareness to this issue, its resources, and possible future cures will help save this world!