Narcissism redux redux

Erika West recently commented:

"There's nothing wrong with being narcissistic. It's an adjective applied to anyone who knows what to effectively rely on. It's a transcendence, actually, and being able to admit and embrace it is a step toward survival without regrets."

In Greek mythology, Narcissus was so infatuated with his own looks that he just stayed in the makeup room adoring himself, missing the preshow tease and not arriving on the set until 20 seconds into the news open.

Okay, that's not really what the Greeks believed. I added the TV news angle because during my 25 years in that business I got see what I called narcissism up close and personal. (In the myth, Narcissus sat by a pond or pool adoring his own looks until he starved to death. With my face and my appetite, this is not something I personally worry about overmuch.)

I didn't know this until I started Googling the subject a little while ago, but narcissism and narcissistic personality disorder are not considered the same thing – at least on Wikipedia.

Narcissism
Narcissistic Personality Disorder

"At least five of the following are necessary for a diagnosis [of NPD]:

1. has a grandiose sense of self-importance
2. is preoccupied with fantasies of unlimited
success, power, brilliance, beauty, or ideal love
3. believes that he or she is "special" and unique and can
only be understood by other special people
4. requires excessive admiration
5. strong sense of entitlement
6. takes advantage of others to achieve his or her own ends
7. lacks empathy
8. is often envious or believes others are envious of him or her
9. arrogant affect."

(Doesn't sound like anyone I ever knew. Nope. Not at all. Just my two cents.)

When Erika West commented about narcissism, I think she was using the term more accurately than I did, because I always thought narcissism was more like narcissistic personality disorder, and when I wrote 'narcissism,' I was thinking about something more like NPD.

But do I have NPD? More like the opposite, actually.

As I mentioned previously, my own background and upbringing emphasized self-sufficiency and self-reliance.

But this wasn't a rugged individualist's sense of self and independence. It was the result of having two parents who weren't very parentally-inclined, thereby prompting me to find ways of doing things that didn't require their input or aid, and which preferably escaped their notice altogether. It was more of a Radar O'Reilly sense of self-reliance than a John Wayne sense of it.

I didn't learn to take care of myself well, but I did learn to take care of myself.

I was (and am) self-centered, but not arrogantly or megalomaniacally so. I don't like asking others for help and I don't expect others to help me. Although, thank god, other people have been willing to come to my aid when I was physically unable to take care of myself.

I think this is something I'll encounter more often as I get older –– the need to rely on other people. So I have to work on being more community-minded, and less of a loner.

For my own part, I find I am more willing to offer help than in the past - something which I attribute in large part to my conversion to Kindasorta Buddhism.

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That's all I have for now. Which was more interesting... this, or the talking dinosaur?