Where does the name Narissistic Personality Disorder come from?
A NPD gets it’s name from the Greek mythological person named Narcissus. In Ovid’s legend of Narcissus the young boy fell in love with his reflection in a lake. Narcissus was struck by how good he looked and was unable to see his dark shadow (or false self). Narcissus became fascinated by his own reflection that he eventually died without really getting to know his true self or experience love. The legend suggests that Narcissus was under a spell from the Greek God Zeus who loved Narcissus, but Narcissus would not return this feeling of love. The legend goes on to say that a beautiful flower sprouted in the spot where Narcissus died. Today we call this the Narcissus flower.
