In Greek mythology, Narcissus was a handsome young man who rejected all love. One day, he saw his reflection in a pond and fell in love with the figure he could not have. His unrequited love made him suffer and die, and where he died, a narcissus flower grew.
The story of Narcissus inspired a British health expert in the late 19th century, Havelock Ellis, to use the term narcissism to describe a person's tendency to be overly obsessed with themselves or their body.
This term was then adopted in the discipline of psychology by Sigmund Freud in the early 20th century to describe an obsession with oneself. Freud then developed this concept in his psychoanalytic theory to explain individuals who love themselves excessively and lack empathy for others.
Now narcissism in the information technology age has found its place. As many avenues for self-expression emerge, narcissists are making them windows to show off. Social media such as TikTok and Instagram encourage them to continue showing off their perfect lives and excessively curating their self-image.
In the context of human relationships, people with high self-obsession also have a tendency to be the center of attention in their community, office, or company. They see themselves as the main character and tend to exhibit behavioral patterns such as demanding more attention and making decisions on their own.
This symptom refers to Main Character Syndrome (MCS), a term for individuals who like to seek recognition for their achievements and downplay the roles of others.
Narcissism and MCS both involve the urge to be the center of attention and feel like the most important person in a situation. For those with MCS, the world revolves around them. They often dramatize situations, feel they must always be validated, and tend to shift the focus of conversations back to themselves.
This condition can disrupt team dynamics and collaboration in an organizational context, due to egocentric attitudes, lack of empathy, and a tendency to dramatize situations. This behavior can lead to an authoritarian leadership style that likes to dictate, or a more passive style, but still self-centered, which ignores input from colleagues.
On the other hand, this syndrome can be a defense mechanism to overcome a lack of attention or feelings of worthlessness, where someone tries to attract attention to feel more valued.
However, some people may feel isolated or lose their sense of belonging in a physical community, thus creating a main character persona online to feel that they still exist.
For those who feel like the main character in a story at the office, they need to be invited to activities that require empathy: listening to other people's life stories, reading biographies, or participating in social activities. These activities help broaden perspectives and realize that the world is not just about them.
They also don't need to be reminded that they are not the main character, the most important person, but help them see that being a main character who can serve, inspire, and be part of other people's stories is something more valuable. The sun is indeed the center of the solar system, but it does not hesitate to continue sharing its light, so that the life of the universe continues to exist.
In any case, people who have narcissistic attitudes will be exhausted from constantly making themselves the coolest. They can get tired on their own, and in their isolation, they can suffer like Narcissus, who then died. And of course, no narcissus flower will grow after that; he will only be forgotten.
