The Narcissus Myth

Your beauty, intelligence, and charm are surety that you're the best. No one ahead of you in your mirror. You're the only person who looks at yourself with adoration. Well done! You probably have narcissistic tendencies.

There is an unusual mental condition called narcissism which was mentioned in ancient Greek mythology. The name of the character responsible for this condition belonged to some fascinating character - his story can teach you a lot about how too much self-love can lead to problems. There are reasons why people behave narcissistically, but we won't know them until we take a look at the myth. Several versions of this story exist - and they all have something to teach us. Narcissus was the son of two mythical creatures - a fortune teller told his parents that their son would stay alive until he saw himself, so they removed all mirrors and reflective objects from his home. Narcissus was a beautiful young man, admired by everyone around him, including local nymphs and girls in love with him. However, as long as he remained unattainable to them, narcissists didn't really care for anyone else. He liked to walk in the forest and listen to birds singing - everything was beautiful to him.

One day, a nymph named Echo fell in love with Narcissus after seeing him walking among flowers and trees. She told him about her feelings, but he rejected her; this broke her heart. Later, she died from sadness and left only her voice behind. Someone named Nemesis heard her voice and was outraged that Narcissus had rejected Echo. Nemesis decided to punish him by making him fall in love with himself. This could get confusing, so let's just move on.

When Narcissus first saw his reflection in the pond, he was unable to take his eyes off of it. He stared at himself for several weeks before life finally left him because he didn't drink or eat anything during that time. Unfortunately, Narcissus vanished, but not before leaving behind a stunning flower that they named after him. Well, that's better than being called Potsi now in another version. The nymph Echo was punished by Hera for misbehaving in a Zeus-related matter, so you should know your Greek deities and things. Ever since that time, she had been unable to talk normally and can only repeat what she hears when asked. Echo didn't want to live with such a curse so she hid in a dark cave and decided to live there until the end of her days. The nymph immediately found a new purpose in life as she fell in love with the young man, but how to confess her feelings? She couldn't talk to him normally so Echo decided to ask the forest for help she had some magic abilities that allowed her to control animals and trees she used birds and leaves to somehow share her feelings with Narcissus.

Echo became even sadder she returned to her cave and began to cry she couldn't eat and drink she decided that she would stay here forever in the last days. Echo asked Nemesis to restore justice and punish Narcissus for his arrogance Nemesis deprived him of the opportunity to love someone else and forced him to love only himself and the one hot day Narcissus went to the Pond to cool down a little he bent on his knees to drink some water and saw the reflection at that moment the prophetess's words came true Narcissus was so amazed by his beauty that he couldn't take his eyes off the Pond.

He got so caught up, he kept himself from eating or drinking. The water was in front of him, but he didn't quench his thirst because the beauty wasn't letting him go. Wow, there's a whole lot of starving going on over somebody's good looks. Anyway, Narcissus is bent down so low that he fell into the water and, uh, never surfaced again. The nymphs of the forest couldn't find him. Many women grieved. A beautiful flower with white petals appeared on the river shore. They named it after the handsome young man. While the nymphs mourned him on Earth, Narcissus was in the Underworld, and even there he couldn't stop admiring himself. Narcissus was doomed to look at his reflection in the River Styx for an eternity. It was like a daze. This self-love hypnotized him. The eternal gaze and his reflection made him infinitely unhappy and happy at the same time. Such a character causes no sympathy since people don't like narcissistic personalities.

Another version of the famous legend justifies the young man's actions. A famous Greek traveller and geographer wrote in one of his books a description of Greece. Narcissus had a beautiful twin sister. They looked like two drops of water, and one terrible day she passed away. Grief broke Narcissus's heart, but then he saw his reflection and couldn't take his eyes off it. But not because he fell in love with himself, but because his face reminded him of his sister. He looked at himself because he didn't want to part with her again. Yeah, this story seems sadder, but in any case, these are all myths that give us an accurate description of a specific type of person's personality: all narcissists.

Think about their success splendor beauty and some perfect love,with ideal people they're sure they're unique and better than other people. They want to communicate only with those with the same high level of uniqueness. Narcissists live in a fantasy world about their greatness.There's nothing wrong if people love themselves, but sometimes this love becomes too strong. It's challenging to have a relationship with narcissists because they

concentrate only on themselves and don't have empathy. They can't read other people's feelings. You're crying after watching a sad movie, but a narcissist is ill-equipped for understanding your emotions. But with all these negative qualities, narcissists are very charming people. It's always fun with them, and they know how to make you laugh and get your attention. If a person loves himself, then he becomes attractive to others.

It's challenging to have a relationship with narcissists because they concentrate only on themselves and don't have empathy. You realize that it's challenging to be friends with this person because you can't share joy, sadness, and other feelings. Now, don't think that narcissists have a complex character because they're not good people.

Parents praise you from the day of your birth only for your achievements and appearance. Did you win the swimming competition? Great! Have you passed the exam? Perfect! You're so handsome! Your parents tell you "good job" and that you'll become a good doctor, firefighter, or lawyer. Sounds cool, doesn't it? But what about your inner state, your feelings? If no one sees it in you, then you won't be able to appreciate it in other people. You'll pay attention only to your superiority and a sense of success because your parents loved you only for this. Ultimately, you will also appreciate others for these qualities. If you're as popular and successful, and even more fantastic, narcissists will pay attention to you. Perhaps the mythological parents of the Narcissus character admired his beauty so much that they forgot about the moral formation of their son.

Everyone needs the support of inner emotions and state to prevent forming an emotional void inside. Narcissistic people try to fill it with a sense of admiration and praise, but these things can't replace love. That's why so many narcissists suffer inside. Fortunately, modern advances in psychology can help get rid of narcissism. The doctor tries to guide the patient through the feelings and emotions they experienced in the distant past. They try to find the reasons that made them a narcissist. It's a long and complex therapy, but it is pretty effective. It's difficult to make a person who admires him or herself go through it. If they agree to the therapy, they admit that something is wrong with them, and such recognition is a challenging test to those who love themselves too much.