Featured Image Credit: YouTube/Vice
Topics: Mental Health, Social Media
Joshua Nair
The topic of narcissism appears to be under the spotlight now more than ever, with more and more health experts educating us on what it means to be a narcissist.
Industry professionals have weighed in on the signs a narcissist shows, as a lawyer recently pointed out five things she's seen from them in court that highlights that they are exactly that.
Health experts have also shared the signs to look out for in intimate relationships, or even just friendships, that could indicate that the other person is indeed a narcissist.
But one aspect of the personality disorder is that those who have it often don't admit that they do.
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In fact, one of the main traits of narcissists is the ability to pathologically lie to get exactly what they want, seemingly at the expense of anyone and everyone who stands in their way.
However, one diagnosed narcissist made some time to talk to Vice about his condition, opening up about what his life is like now he is aware of it.
Upon being asked if he had 'any friends as a child', Sam Vaknin simply replied: "No, that's an easy one," bursting into laughter while sipping his tea.
Vaknin - who is the author of Malignant Self-love: Narcissism Revisited - went on to explain: "I don't think I could be a good friend to anyone, in the sense that I don't think I would have an emotional correlate.
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"If I become friends with you, there will always be the question of 'what's in it for me, how can I leverage you to obtain certain goals?'"
Continuing the explanation, he said that there would always be a 'comeuppance' about it, as he would try to compete with his 'friend', to try and 'establish a hierarchy'.
"It would be a contaminated version of friendship, so contaminated that I sincerely doubt whether it complies with the definition," Vaknin concluded.
The damning statement might be the most honest thing that people would have heard from a narcissist, as he was shockingly transparent about his life, though he did not seem too bothered by it all.
Users left their thoughts on him being interviewed as a self-aware narcissist in the comments.
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One posted: "To become the best narcissist, one must acknowledge their own narcissism - then market the s**t out of it.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Narcissist Prime."
Another commented: "On one hand, he's revealing a lot about himself, but on the other hand, he uses this to get narcissistic supply. Seemingly a win/win situation."
While a third put: "Narcissist gets interviewed, gets to talk about himself and be the centre of attention. Loves it."