Psychiatr. praxi 2015; 16(3e)

Narcissistic personality disorder and depression

Mgr. Zuzana Sedláčková¹, prof. MUDr. Ján Praško Pavlov, CSc.², PhDr. Marie Ocisková, Ph.D.^{1, 2}, MUDr. Dana Kamarádová, Ph.D.², doc. MUDr. Klára Látalová, Ph.D.²

¹ Katedra psychologie, Filozofická fakulta Univerzity Palackého v Olomouci

² Klinika psychiatrie, Lékařská fakulta Univerzity Palackého v Olomouci a Fakultní nemocnice Olomouc

Narcissistic personality disorder is characterized by grandiosity, a belief in personal uniqueness and exclusivity, a need for limitlessadmiration or an insufficient level of empathy. Comorbid disorder of anxiety or affective spectrum is easily developed in case of failure,reverse or overload. Some of the most common comorbidities are depression or dysthymia, which significantly impair the adaptationand ability to cope with injury or failure and increase the risk of suicide. In case of comorbid depressive disorder the treatment is primarilyfocused on alleviating depressive symptoms, usually by using antidepressants. However, residual depressive symptoms andincreased vulnerability, associated with untreated problems and injuries, often persist that require long-term systematic psychotherapy.

Keywords: narcissistic personality disorder, depressive disorder, comorbidity, pharmacotherapy, psychotherapy

Published: August 1, 2015  Show citation