Rethinking Narcissism

The central premise of this book is that narcissism is a spectrum disorder in which there is a healthy amount of narcissism which would mean one thinks of themselves and their contributions as valuable to others. People at the high extreme of the spectrum are what people traditionally think of as narcissists: someone with an inflated sense of self-worth to the point of delusion and harm to others. People on the low extreme of the spectrum, whom the author deems *echoists*, don’t perceive themselves to have any value and often defer to the needs and wants of others. In both extremes, the root issue is an overestimation of one’s own importance.

Both narcissism and echoism are mechanisms through which people seek to gain control of their lives and relationships and lead them to overestimate the effect they have on others. Echoists tend to take the blame for their own mistreatment, claiming that their own shortcomings are the root cause of their own mistreatment and self-improvement will convince their abusers to change.

Most importantly, people on both sides of the spectrum are capable of moving towards the healthier center. Narcissists can practice empathy and identifying their emotions. Echoists can practice self-advocacy.