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Narcissism, A Succinct Guide to Understanding and Dealing with It

Narcissism at it's essence is a higher than average need to be admired / treated as SPECIAL coupled with a lower than average concern for others. This mix of "I want you to really care about me" and "I don't really care about you" is truly a frustrating paradox that results long term in unpleasantness for those that are around it (and probably those with it). This is why the more narcissistic someone is the more likely they are to not maintain long term relationships, as most people tire of this dynamic.

It would be unwise to maintain an association with someone of this disposition who A. did not acknowledge the above and B. you did not see improvement on in the aforementioned. People's dispositions tend to originate from genetic and environmental factors, but their continuation of those behaviors is to some degree volitional, a choice. And if they choose to continue to be like that, it's unwise for someone without those issues to continue to tolerate that / them.