Originally Posted by
Deborrah
Narcissism in itself is a way of relating to others. Narcissistic personality disorder, is when this relation causes significant problems with relationships, self-image, and mental health in general. In a way, we are all a little bit narcissistic - some moreso than others - but NPD is a set of symptoms that relate to narcissism which in turn causes problems in the individual's life, or makes the individual a problem to others/themselves.
Personality disorders can have overlapping symptoms and that's one of the reasons why they are paired in clusters. NPD is part of cluster B together with antisocial personality disorder(psychopathy/sociopathy), borderline personality disorder, and histrionic personality disorder. When you look at the other disorders in this cluster, they are all "dramatic". There is some overlap in how the symptoms present. HPD is characterized by attention seeking and being the center of attention, while NPD comes with a need for admiration - two different symptoms, but in certain cases can present very similarly. Cluster B disorders also seem to have the most "issue" with empathy - APDs feel little to no empathy towards others, and people with NPD have lessened empathy as well(although this depends of course). People with BPD tend to have no empathy as well, or all empathy, which depends on the individual. The big overlap with cluster B is that a lot of the people in this category rarely seek professional help, if ever - people with BPD are the most likely, but NPD rarely ever seek out help. APD tend to get in trouble and end up in prison rather than therapy.
With all this said, I'm not a professional and speak from my own research and experience(I have borderline personality disorder myself)
Check out Dr. Ramani Durvasula on YouTube. She specializes in narcissism and has lots of information. She also did a series on personality disorders with MedCircle, and I found her very clear and easy to listen to when I was researching my diagnosis.