Narcissism: More Stressful for Men Than Women
Think the world revolves around you? If you're a guy, your narcissism is really stressing you out.
In a study published in the publication PLoS ONE, researchers gave 106 undergrads a Narcissistic Personality Inventory, in which they chose from either narcissistic responses or non-narcissistic ones. Researchers also tested the subjects' "passive drool," better known as saliva, to measure their level of cortisol — the stress hormone.
The researchers broke down the responses into unhealthy narcissism — which was characterized by "entitlement" and "exploitativeness" — and healthy narcissism, which they associated with qualities like leadership and self-sufficiency.
Turns out, the men who exhibited unhealthy narcissism in the Inventory had higher cortisol levels than non-narcissistic men. The women who chose unhealthy narcissistic responses also had higher levels of cortisol, but not nearly as much as the men.
Researchers then attempted to explain why men might me more stressed out by their own narcissism:
"Perhaps females can escape more severe physiological consequences of narcissism because there are different expectations for their roles in society."
They add that female gender roles encourage women to seek support, which could help lower their risk for chronic stress. But I guess that would mean women are less stressed overall, too.
The study's coauthor, Sara Konrath, adds that " societal definitions of masculinity that overlap with narcissism — for example, the belief that men should be arrogant and dominant — men who endorse stereotypically male sex roles and who are also high in narcissism may feel especially stressed."
And that's not the only reason to check your ego at the door. The study also points out that high stress levels could lead to cardiovascular problems. So being an egomaniac might very well be hazardous to your health.
And again sociopath doesn't = narcissist, stop confusing the two. Sociopaths have no concern for others, narcissists can be confident in themselves, and still care for others.
this is a very very important for people to read we live in a society with many narcisstic people and those people can make ones life a living hell i have a co worker and a neighbor like this and u cannot win with people who r sick but i have learned that those peoples lives are a hell, so stay positive and never engage with sick people who exhibit selfish tendencies.
Truthhurts sounds like a whiney ****. Maybe if you'd spend less time sitting by yourself feeling self-righteous and looking for ways to put other people down you would have more friends. Not all people are narcissists, and just because people find you odd or don't want to be your friend does not make them a bad person. In your case it might make them a wise choice of character.
If a person is consistently rejected by others in a variety of social situations you can ascertain that the problem probably lies with them.
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