The default behaviors We are all afraid of new situations, new possibilities, new challenges, new circumstances and new demands. Being healthy, being successful, married, a mother, a boss - are such abrupt breaks with the past. Some self defeating behaviors are intended to preserve the past, to restore it, to protect it from the winds of change, to decimate the draft through the open window of opportunity. It is ALL-pervasive. MUCH MUCH more so.
Alcoholism is impulsive behavior.
You CAN compare narcissism to depression or to other disorders. But not to traits or attributes that we can change at will. I AM narcissism. Narcissism is the color of my skin, not my choice of subjects at the university. Narcissism and Culture I am preceded in my response by a series of illustrious thinkers, such as Karen Horney.