Abstract

The story of Narcissus comes from Greek mythology and is most famously told in Ovid's Metamorphoses. Narcissus was a beautiful young man, the son of the river god Cephissus and the nymph Liriope. His beauty was so exceptional that it attracted the admiration of both gods and mortals. However, Narcissus was vain and refused to love anyone, even those who were infatuated with him. One of those who fell in love with Narcissus was the nymph Echo. She became captivated with Narcissus and tried to embrace him, but he rejected her cruelly. Heartbroken, Echo retreated to the mountains, where she faded away, leaving only her voice. In some varieties of the story, the goddess Nemesis, who is responsible for punishing excessive pride, took notice of Narcissus's vanity. She led him to a pool of water where he saw his reflection. Enchanted by his own image, Narcissus became transfixed and could not look away. He fell in love with the reflection, unable to realize that it was merely an image and not a real person. Narcissus became obsessed with the image, and in some versions of the myth, he either died staring at himself or wasted away due to his inability to leave the water. This story symbolizes aspects of Narcissism and lays the ground work to study theories on human behavior, thought process and actions in everyday life as discussed in this review article.Lasch the American Historian argued that as societies became more individualistic, people started to develop a sense of entitlement and an obsession with self-image, leading to the rise of narcissistic behaviors. He saw this as a reflection of deeper cultural shifts, which includes consumerism, media influence, and the disintegration of traditional social structures, leading to escalation in self-centeredness and a superficial focus on success and appearances. Epidemiological studies have shown that the prevalence of narcissistic traits and NPD has been rising in recent decades. Research has also shown that narcissism can be exacerbated by parenting styles that either excessively praise children or fail to provide adequate emotional support, leadingto a distorted self-image. This review article traces historical contributions of various psychologist, psychiatrist to the theories and conceptualization of Narcissism and NPD (Narcissistic personality disorder), along with its progress to a clinical diagnosis in the DSM classification of mental disorders. It also discusses the epidemiology in recent times and the challenges faced while managing patients with prominent narcissistic traits are discussed.