Now, this is a bit of a touchy subject. Really peeling away the layers of the narcissist can reveal incredibly worrying traits.

Traits you’ve only ever seen on True Crime.

When you get to the bottom of narcissism – it is a personality disorder. It’s so much more than posing vainly in front of a mirror for a selfie and likes.

It’s dangerous. 

It destroys families and leaves a lasting negative impact on those who fall victim.

I want to deepen your knowledge and bring together the identity of a narcissist, a sociopath, and a psychopath… Let’s see where you find the similarities…

Deepening Your Knowledge: Psychopath Traits

Psychopathy is a personality disorder, just like narcissism.  You could characterize it by looking for persistent behavior that screams antisocial.

Psychopaths by nature are often charming, not to mention intelligent. This is a dangerous storm for being highly manipulative and dangerous. 

Here are some key traits of psychopaths, which I’m sure you’ll find interesting:

#1 Superficial Charm

Psychopaths will often possess this superficial charm. It’s so captivating, yet noticed as fake only really when some kind of damage has been done. 

They’re known to use their charm to manipulate others, wearing a mask to hide who they truly are. This deception runs deep, and hurts many in the process. 

#2 Lack of Empathy

Now, a hallmark trait of psychopaths is their overwhelming lack of empathy. 

I mean, it’s rather extraordinary how much they simply cannot care. 

Psychopaths are unable to understand or care about the feelings of anybody. 

You. Me. The homeless. The unwell. 

This allows them to engage in really quite cruel and manipulative behavior without a shadow of remorse.

#3 Dishonesty

Psychopaths are compulsive liars, and that’s putting it mildly. 

They will not hesitate to lie and deceive to achieve their goals. They also don’t care  about the consequences of their actions, or how it might affect others.

#4 Manipulation

I don’t need to tell you how manipulative psychopaths are. 

The way they lure people into relationships or false sense of security is enough to know how low they’d truly stoop to get what they want. 

#5 Impulsive Behavior

Psychopaths express this impulsive behavior and a love for taking risks without considering what potential harm it can cause.

Not just harm to them – but harm to you.

Yes, it’s not unusual for this to lead to criminal activities or reckless decision-making. Again, dangerous.

#6 Lack of Guilt

Psychopaths do not feel any guilt for their actions. Why would they?!

Regardless of the harm they cause, they will happily continue their manipulative and harmful behaviors without so much as a single sleepless night.

This lack of guilt stems from their lack of any other emotional depth too. Nothing is ever truly ‘felt.’ 

Traits of a Sociopath

Now.- Let’s look closely here. 

Sociopathy is also known as antisocial personality disorder. Are you seeing those links yet?

It has some similarities with psychopathy but there are also some distinct differences. Sociopaths also show antisocial behavior and a lack of empathy (that goes without saying), but their behaviors are often less calculated. This means you’re looking at more erratic behavior than those of psychopaths. 

Let’s look at some key traits of sociopaths now:

#1 Erratic Behavior

Sociopaths are more prone to display higher levels of erratic and impulsive behavior compared to psychopaths. 

Their actions can often be unpredictable and reckless, making them more likely to have violent outbursts. 

These really aren’t pleasant. 

#2 Unable to Form Attachments

I mean, does this come as any surprise?

While psychopaths may fake those close relationships so they can manipulate others, sociopaths have difficulty forming genuine attachments at all. 

Their relationships are always going to be shallow, and never last long.

#3 Hot-Tempered by Nature

Sociopaths are far more prone to anger and emotional outbursts, becoming easily agitated. They’re less able to control their emotions, leading to aggressive and sometimes violent behavior.

It’s a worrying portrayal, isn’t it?

#4 Serial Liars

Like psychopaths, sociopaths love to lie. I mean, it’s like a hobby for them.

Now, these lies often involve less thought or strategy, but end up being more reactive. Sometimes those lies are used to cover up their impulsive behavior, or to avoid any consequences.

#5 Lack of Planning Ability

Sociopaths are much less capable of long term planning. They literally give nothing to anything worthy of thought. These actions are more off-the-cuff, and less calculated than those of psychopaths.

I don’t know about you, but I see chaos!

#6 They Don’t Care About Social Norms

Lastly, sociopaths have such an obvious disregard for laws, or what’s acceptable in society. They will engage in behaviors that are considered unacceptable or illegal, often with no care about what happens next.

Arrested? Okay, sure. 

Eeek…

Narcissism: Where it Fits In

So here we are, at narcissism. Now, narcissism, or narcissistic personality disorder (NPD), is characterized by several sets of behaviors, which I will point out in just a moment. 

While narcissism shares some traits with psychopathy and sociopathy, it also stands apart in several key ways. 

Here’s how narcissism fits into the toxic mix:

#1 Grandiosity

Narcissists are famous for their exaggerated sense of their own importance. This extends to their abilities, too.

I’m better than you at everything!

They believe they are special and unique. They feel they deserve excessive admiration and attention from everybody, and if they don’t get it, you’d better watch out. 

#2 “I Need Admiration!”

The central trait of narcissism is the vomit-inducing need for admiration and validation.

I’m not talking just from you, I mean all people.

Narcissists thrive on praise and attention and will go to great lengths to ensure they receive it. 

#3 “I Will Exploit You!”

Narcissists often exploit others to achieve their own goals. They see people as tools to be used for their own benefit and have little regard for their feelings or well-being.

#4 No Empathy

Similar to psychopaths and sociopaths, narcissists also lack empathy. It seems like this trait is shared equally between all three personality disorders,s and comes as no real surprise to me.

They are unable to understand or care about any emotions, and will be unable to understand what people go through, or the painful things they experience.

#5 Such Arrogance!

Narcissists are arrogant – there’s no two ways about that.

And their sense of entitlement?! Well, that goes without saying. 

They believe they deserve special treatment. Do you?

#6 No Empathy

Despite them being confident on the outside, narcissists are actually very fragile people. Their self-esteem is always threatened by absolutely anything, and they’re highly sensitive to criticism.  

If you challenge them, they will rage back at you to hide their shame.

Childhood Signs

All three personality disorders begin in those early years, and the red flags you can spot will continue to grow as they do. 

Worryingly, they all have a fair bit in common, don’t they? 

The slight differences greatly affect how they present in the real world. Although all are damaging and destructive, they are usually at different intensity levels.