Mental health language occasionally makes its rounds on the social media sphere. Even though this is a plus for mental health awareness, too often, it is taken way out of context and even benign behaviors are tagged with a clinical diagnosis.

Over the years, the social trending world discovered bipolar, borderline, PTSD and now, the mental health word of the day is narcissist. Suddenly, each person knows someone with this in-season psychiatric affliction. The question is are these mental health disorders as prevalent as the online world would make it seem?

Trait or Disorder

An undergrad psychology professor once emphasized that we all have traits of one or more disorders. If you dare to read through the list of psychiatric disorders, it’s guaranteed that some of your behaviors will match a few. Does that mean you have a mental illness? Maybe or maybe not.

If you are concerned about your mental health, then seek out a licensed provider. It is important to keep in mind that a legitimate mental health diagnosis relates to a set of repeated behaviors and thought processes that are disruptive or distressing in various ways in a person’s life e.g. relationships, jobs, daily functioning etc.

In the clinical world, narcissistic personality disorder (NPD) “a condition described in the DSM-5-TR, is more severe, persistent and problematic” which differs from “the term narcissist, referring to a person who is very self-centered, boastful and hungry for attention and admiration” (Psychiatry.org, 2024).

The following are the basic criteria for NPD:

• An excessive sense of self-importance
• An extreme preoccupation with themselves
• A lack of empathy for others
  (MedlinePlus, 2024)

The Complication of Labels

Each psychiatric diagnosis has specific criteria which is widely understood. In the social media sphere, this is not necessarily the case. It is so easy to attach a label to someone after hearing an anecdote or seeing brief glimpses of behaviors. Keep in mind, if there is no consensus on what a label means, then it is useless.

Instead of assigning misunderstood labels, it would be more helpful to describe specific behaviors which provides more clarity. For e.g. ‘Johnny is a narcissist’ gives no details about the person. On the other hand, ‘Johnny repeatedly lied to me, cheated and cares nothing about my feelings’ give more information that is better understood. While these behaviors do not indicate any clinical definition of narcissism, the online trend would undoubtedly declare Johnny a narcissist.

Social media mental health labels are sometimes used to demean or to be excusatory. This contrasts with clinical diagnoses which are meant to provide a roadmap to understanding and applying appropriate interventions.

It’s Just a Cigar

Sigmund Freud had stated “sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.” This statement came during a time when professionals, including Freud, viewed basic behaviors as having a psychological meaning. Freud, who was a cigar smoker, wanted to highlight that not all behaviors needed a clinical tag.

Our thoughts and behaviors can be complex. This drives a relentless quest to find easy terminologies to explain actions that appear deviant, unacceptable or hurtful. Ironically, many of the labelers are entangled in relationships with these so-called narcissists. Perhaps, the quickness to point a finger is an attempt to avoid individual responsibility of being in an unhealthy relationship or situation.

References

American Psychiatric Association. (2024, January 30). What Is Narcissistic Personality Disorder? https://www.psychiatry.org/news-room/apa-blogs/what-is-narcissistic-personality-disorder

MedlinePlus. (2024, July 17). Narcissistic personality disorder. https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/000934.htm