Freeing Yourself From the Narcissist in Your Life
By Linda Martinez-Lewi, PhD (Tarcher/Penguin, $23.95)
According to the psychotherapist author, narcissists are people with extreme senses of superiority who possess no empathy. Martinez-Lewi believes that high-level narcissists are unlikely to change, so she offers methods for readers to maintain personal boundaries, remain psychologically secure and live the life they choose.
1. As our culture has emphasized financial success and fame, we have begun rewarding high-level narcissism.
2. There is such a thing as a healthy narcissist. He or she “has a firm realistic sense of self.”
3. “A successful narcissist deludes others into believing he is genuinely interested in them.”
4. To withstand an eruption of ego from a narcissist, one must be psychologically grounded. “A grounded individual is secure and calm; he feels solid at his center.”
5. The world of a narcissist is often complicated. To combat being part of that world, simplify your own.
