Hello I m Darren Magee and today s question asks if I d discuss the common characteristics
of a narcissistic sociopath, sometimes referred to as a narcpath , but more commonly referred to
as a malignant narcissist. Now this is when narcissism and sociopathy are comorbid. So
in this video I'm going to look briefly at the differences between sociopathy and narcissism,
then outline the common characteristics and behaviours whenever they co-occur together.
So if you like this video, if you find it helpful or interesting please consider subscribing to my
channel. But just as a reminder, this video is for information purposes only and is not a
substitute for support from a mental health professional. Now a narcissistic sociopath
would describe someone who demonstrates several traits, characteristics, symptoms
of both Anti-Social Personality Disorder and Narcissistic Personality Disorder. And I ve made
videos on those personality disorders previously as well as the characteristics of sociopathy, so I
ll put links to those videos in the description of this video if you want to check those out.
But with narcissism what we often see is grandiosity, there's arrogance, a sense of self
importance and entitlement. There's been highly disagreeable and highly resistant to criticism
and there is a constant need for external validation. A sociopath, now that's a term that
would come under Anti Social Personality Disorder. With sociopathy what we see is aggression,
impulsivity, a disregard for rules, law, social norms. Sociopaths are often described as being
cold and emotionless, and they are either unable or unwilling to take into account the feelings
or the needs of other people. Sociopaths are driven by their own self interest. They will do
whatever it is they have to do to get them ahead in any particular situation. Sometimes they can
be a bit of a con artist. Narcissists are more like a hurt child. They have tantrums, lash out,
They fake superiority to hide their inner pain, their inner turmoil. They would be once known
as ego driven. Now ego in the sense that a lot of that kind of behaviour such as the lying,
the gaslighting, the constant one upmanship, the not taking responsibility for themselves
is because their ego, their self concept they fear is under threat, it s at stake. So when these come
together, what we often see is someone who has a lack of regard for the feelings and the needs of
others. Someone with a limited range of emotion. They don't really experience feelings of love
and affection or emotions like guilt and shame the way others do. The only strong emotion they really
feel seems to be anger, which often manifests itself is outrage whenever they re offended,
or there perhaps refused something they believe they are entitled to, or if they're not treated
in a way they think they should be treated. And many narcissistic sociopaths would tend
to have sadistic qualities, sadistic tendencies. They get a sense of satisfaction, pleasure even
from other people suffering, and some people have described seeing a momentary yet very
intense look of excitement on their face whenever they re causing hurt. And the impulsivity can
make them unpredictable and dangerous in the sense that they have very destructive urges.
Sometimes they may hurt, lie, deceive others even when there's no real gain in it for them. So
some of the common characteristics and behaviours would include firstly being obsessed with power
and control. Now, not just power and control over other people, but perhaps over projects, tasks,
social events even. They can devalue and rubbish, maybe even at times try to sabotage anyone else's
achievements or goals. And they can spend a lot of time and effort getting into positions
of power and responsibility over other people. The obsession with power can make
them relentless. They will climb over anyone in their way, discrediting the opposition, character
assassination even. That obsession with their own power and control can often have them disrespect,
sometimes not even acknowledge any other kind of authority. Now, whether that's their boss at work,
civic leaders, church leaders or even the law of the land. Now when in positions of power and
responsibility they rarely, though there can be exceptions, but they rarely make good leaders.
They demand a perfection that doesn't exist. They demand others follow rules that make no sense,
do tasks that have no real purpose and can change their mind several times in just one conversation.
Then there is a lack of morals, often described as having no moral compass and a callousness
in the sense that there can be little to no concept of what is right and what is wrong,
and don't really care either, so there's no guilt either. For example, if they were
caught stealing from work, it would be the organisations fault, the management s fault,
they were at fault. If they were caught cheating on a partner, it would either be dismissed as not
that big a deal, or they would blame their partner for not being enough or for making them do it.
They tend to see other people as either being useful to them, or being deserving of their
malice. They may hold onto relationships that are useful to them, but if they are no longer useful,
or if a better offer comes along, they will dump them just like that. However,
if they become useful again, they'll just turn up as if nothing happened. Next, they tend to see
things in a very distorted way and that distorted view of importance and grandeur, they believe they
can do whatever they want. The rules only apply to other people. And whatever it is they want,
no matter how malicious, illegal or sadistic they are, they tend to show no remorse and can justify
pretty much anything, and to Hell with the casualties. Now with narcissism, there is a belief
that they are special and unique and believe that others envy them. With sociopathic narcissism,
this becomes something of a paranoia that others are up to no good, they re out to get them, out
to usurp them, out to take something from them. Which can sometimes lead them to, if you will pre
emptive strikes. They lash out and hurt. Which leads me onto the next common characteristic.
They can be very dangerous whenever they feel threatened. They can become vindictive, malicious,
even violent. With malignant narcissism we often see a tendency to be very easily offended and
the offender has to be punished. Now that offence could be something as simple as a blow to the ego,
their self esteem. Something as simple as a different opinion, a disagreement.
They can become very hostile, fly into a rage, threaten, or even be physically violent. Another
common characteristic would be they get bored very easily. Bored with people, tasks, hobbies. So they
just abandon whoever or whatever it is if they are no longer interested, no longer entertained.
They tend to seek out cheap thrills, instant gratification, if you will. Either that or
they find destructive outlets then which can be very aggressive, impulsive things like crime,
violence, drug use, infidelity. I think the low emotional range can be one of those reasons for
the destructive behaviour. They get to feel something. And lastly for today, they tend to
feed off negative energy. They feed off chaos, drama and the pain and humiliation of others.
These things tend to excite them, and their targets often fear showing any sense of joy
or accomplishment, anything that doesn't glorify them somehow for fear of the wrath and punishment.
They take pleasure wiping the smile off other people s faces in very cruel and vicious ways. And
the malignant narcissist can be very dangerous to cross. As I said previously they can be sadistic,
but also very vindictive. Their abuse doesn't seem to end even after you've tried to end the
relationship. In a lot of times that's actually when it ramps up a gear. So that's a brief
outline of the narcissistic sociopath, or the malignant narcissist. If you ve any comments,
anything I haven t included by all means please feel free to use the comment box below. There
are some interesting comments and conversations starting around these videos. If you liked this
video if you found it helpful or interesting please consider subscribing to my channel for
future updates on mental health related topics and until next time, thanks for watching.