February 25, 2025

Ep 22: Vulnerable and Grandiose Narcissism | The Mirror Has Two Faces

35 minutes

In this episode of the Personality Couch Podcast, we (licensed clinical psychologists Doc Bok and Doc Fish) delve into the complexities of pathological narcissism, exploring its various expressions, including covert, overt, grandiose, and vulnerable narcissism. We discuss how these themes of overt and covert narcissism appear in all narcissistic individuals, as do grandiose and vulnerable themes. We articulate how covert narcissism is under the surface in thoughts and fantasies, whereas overt narcissism is behavioral. We also highlight the shiny, extroverted themes of grandiose narcissism, while discussing the underlying emotional issues associated with vulnerable narcissism, including shame, anger, and moodiness. We overall emphasize the overlap between grandiose and vulnerable narcissism, detailing that both can coexist within a single individual, leading to a range of ways pathological narcissism can present.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Pathological Narcissism

03:26 Distinguishing Between Covert and Overt Narcissism

09:39 Exploring Grandiose and Vulnerable Narcissistic Themes

12:37 The Psyche of Grandiose Narcissism

19:54 The Psyche of Vulnerable Narcissism

30:10 Similarities Between Grandiose and Vulnerable Narcissism

33:19 Summary and Closing

References

Akhtar, S. (2000). The shy narcissist. In J. Sandler, R. Michels, & P. Fonagy (Eds.), Changing ideas in a changing world: The revolution in psychoanalysis: Essays in honour of Arnold Cooper, (pp. 111-119).

Blaney, P. H., Krueger, R. F., Millon, T. (Eds.). (2014). Oxford textbook of psychopathology (3rd ed.). Oxford University Press.

Kernberg, O. F. (2009). Narcissistic personality disorders: Part 1[Editorial]. Psychiatric Annals, 39(3), 105–107, 110, 164–166.

Horowitz, M. (2009). Clinical phenomenology of narcissistic pathology. Psychiatric Annals, 39(3), 124–128.

Pincus, A. L., & Roche, M. J. (2011). Narcissistic grandiosity and narcissistic vulnerability. In W. K. Campbell & J. D. Miller (Eds.), The handbook of narcissism and narcissistic personality disorder: Theoretical approaches, empirical findings, and treatments (pp. 31–40). John Wiley & Sons.

Wink, P. (1991). Two faces of narcissism. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 61(4), 590–597 Personality Couch Links Website https://www.personalitycouch.com/ Blog https://www.personalitycouch.com/blog/ Instagram https://www.instagram.com/personalitycouch/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/personalitycouch #mentalhealthpodcast #mentalhealthprofessionals #mentalhealth #narcissisticpersonality #narcissism #narcissist #narcissitic #personalitydisorder #personality #personalitypsychology #narcissisticabuse #narcissismawareness #bpd #borderline #borderlinepersonalitydisorder #borderlinepersonality #toxicrelationships #vulnerablenarcissism #grandiose #covertnarcissist #overtnarcissist

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