Would you recognise if you were a victim of narcissistic abuse?
Christine Louis de Canonville is an author and psychotherapist with expertise in the subject.
She will be speaking at the Narcissistic Abuse Awareness Conference at the Talbot Hotel in Stillorgan this Saturday, and she joined us on The Last Word to explain more about what narcissism means.
Christine describes narcissists as "people who are very much into their own selves."
"They're selfish, they have an inflated ego, so everything is really about them."
Everyone has a certain degree of narcissism, which Christine says is necessary for our wellbeing.
However, for some people, it can be a serious problem.
She describes two types of narcissists, overt and covert: "The overt one will be very grandiose and looking for attention."
"The covert is quite introverted and hypersensitive, and that can be problematic because they get their power and control in the home."
The typical characteristics of a narcissist include shallow emotions, which results in being easily upset or shamed and leads to rage, and instilling fear in a person, which gives them more control.
It can be difficult to treat, depending on where they are on the spectrum.
"They don't see anything wrong with themselves, but there are times when they might become a little unhinged. They constantly need victims to boost their morale and keep their ego intact."
