Louis is a social activist known for his community work. Being the flag bearer of working on social issues, he has a dream of running an orphanage. Louis is a well-known philanthropist of his high school. But oftentimes, his friends have noticed that his private life doesn’t match much with the public display of selflessness. He’s mostly quarreling with his parents and siblings despite having financial liberty and a reputable image in the community. People usually appreciate Louis’s selfless philanthropy but don’t like him being all about himself; most of the time, it hints at an unbearable amount of self-serving entitlement. Doesn’t it seem like a paradox? At one end, Louis wants to show his selflessness, but at the other, he bombards people with his self-serving publicity. We all encounter such community workers who behave like Narcissists, but you wonder what exactly is this type of Narcissism. It is called “Communal Narcissism”, and these kinds of people are called “Communal Narcissists”.
To know more about the disparity of self-serving and selflessness paradox, you can’t miss this article till the end.
- Narcissism; Communal Narcissism
- Signs of Communal Narcissism
- Self-serving vs Selflessness Bias
- Dealing with Communal Narcissism
Narcissism & Communal Narcissism
Narcissism is a tendency to feel superior and entitled without the context of reality, while Narcissistic Personality is a psychological concept that talks about the dimensions of Narcissism in personality traits and behaviors. The array of Narcissistic Personality traits include; self-grandiosity, egocentricity, constantly seeking attention and admiration, lacking empathy, and intense need for possession of power.
We’ve earlier talked about Louis, a Communal Narcissist, and now here, lacking empathy and seeking attention or admiration, must be ringing some bells. You got it right! Communal Narcissists display their personality as selfless and altruistic to positively execute their self-grandiosity over others. In communal narcissism, a person engages in social issues and community work on a big scale. To attain their default need of entitlement, communal narcissists appear self-sacrificing; they show deep compassion to help the community, whereas it is their other strategy to gain self-serving popularity.
What differs Communal Narcissism from Grandiose Narcissists is that their way of fulfilling Narcissistic needs is positive, and they get upset when people overlook their works of philanthropy, unlike Grandiose Narcissists who go for devious tactics like enforcing dominance and demanding adulation without acts of service.[1]
Signs of Communal Narcissism
Communal Narcissism has yet to make it to the list of classified Narcissistic Personality Disorders, but its severity and impact on society are highly devastating. It is beneficial to identify Communal Narcissists around you by watching out for the following signs;
1. Facade of Altruism:
Community settings and social work are the playground for Communal Narcissism. They display themselves as helping, kind, charitable, and moralistic, but their egoistic self shows biases in their personality and actions.
2. Investing in Philanthropy:
You will see them spending hefty amounts in charitable donations, fundraising events at church, helping victims of social calamity, running orphanages, etc., everything but with their name being displayed. They feel special in appearing as the “Saviour” or “Messiah” of the community. Communal Narcissists crave this adulation and recognition they receive for their philanthropy.
3. Moralistic Manipulation:
You may catch them questioning other people’s faith and empathy for others when someone refuses to lend any donations. Communal Narcissists feel nobody can match the level of respect they have on moral grounds. They manipulate others by landing favors and help.
Communal Narcissism is not easy to identify, but you can see the signs in social leaders around you. If they give you unsolicited advice without listening to your problem, start teaching you about morals and ethics, and become group leaders without being appointed. These are some of the very common signs of Communal Narcissism.
Understanding their self-serving behavior and selfless persona is the most complex paradox of Communal Narcissism. Let’s dig deeper to understand it better.
Self-serving vs Selflessness Bias
Communal Narcissism signs and strategies are, to some extent, observable to the community, but their underlying motives are harder to bring forth.
Self-serving Bias is the psychological construct that shows; when a group member internalizes the gains and associates a win with himself while blaming the loss on everyone. In communal narcissism, you can see the narcissists reclaim all their generosity to themselves; they will flex their altruism to prove that nobody can serve the community better than them. But when things go south, they will blame it on the lawlessness of the society and as the fault of other people.
Communal Narcissists eagerly adapt to a role in which they lead social groups; they cunningly use power. In Communal Narcissism, their primary interest is to take communal actions without thinking about them. When people try to rectify their moral behavior and hold them accountable, Communal Narcissists don’t pay any attention to critiques.
Now, it must have made some sense why Louis was not happy with his family. They don’t treat him as the community savior Louis but as a compassionate child. Louis, as a Communal Narcissist, was expecting the same idolization from his family that his schoolmates were treating him with.
This lack of consistency between their claims and actions shows that Communal Narcissism exploits the community by rendering help to everyone. If somebody is genuinely interested in serving society, they would never ask for public or private recognition. A big question mark to Communal Narcissists’ paradoxical selflessness is their desperation to take credit for every single act.
Due to the Communal Narcissist’s habit of self-boasting and making others feel inferior, when the donor is being constantly admired, the victims feel distressed and lose trust in legitimate community work. Social media has also led to maintaining this perception of a community-oriented individual, mostly Communal Narcissists display their social works to gain fame and recognition worldwide.
Dealing with Communal Narcissism
1. Establishing Boundaries
Do not seek excessive favors from Communal Narcissists; set clear boundaries about your needs and rights.
2. Assertive Behavior
Adapt to assertive behavior by saying no to constant validation and admiration of their self-boasting talks. Be communicative about how the actions of Communal Narcissists are affecting your life.
3. Seek Social Support
Before you reach out to Communal Narcissists for help, seek social support from your family, friends, colleagues, and support groups. Interact with people who have experience of dealing with Communal Narcissism.
4. Reshape Your Coping Mechanisms
Communal Narcissists induce guilt when you are at the receiving end of their self-serving. Be aware of different coping mechanisms and apply them to your situation.
5. Seek Professional Help
Consult a professional mental health practitioner to check your emotional and mental well-being. Dealing with Communal Narcissism is not easy but a Psychotherapist can help you to combat it.
Further exploring Communal Narcissism helps you to identify Narcissists in other spheres of life.
If you want to know more about Communal Narcissists, then click here!
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