Narcissistic or confident? How could a person tell the difference?

Well, some narcissists know it's all about them and they are happy about it! I've lived with someone like that. They have an absence of compassion for others except those that they feel are in their inner circle which may be large or small. Unfortunately they are ignorant of how others truly feel so it's hard on those in their firing line.

A confident person is capable of displaying a balanced emotional life. A narcissist is not.

A lot of people have narcissistic traits, but to have full blown narcissistic personality disorder, that's another thing entirely. If you have this, you exploit people for your own gain, you're apathetic, you're hypersensitive to criticism, you feel you should get favorable treatment above all others, exaggerate achievements or talents. If you KNOW you're arrogant, at least you're aware of it, that's not full blown narcissistic disorder. A full blown narcissist doesn't think they're arrogant or wrong about ANYTHING, that's the delusional part of it. Another thing is they don't CARE what others think. It sounds like you do. You sound pretty aware of your behavior actually, there are some narcissistic traits here but not to the point that you're a complete *****. Narcissists really aren't that quiet either, they're not shy at all, in fact they're usually at the center of the attention. You could ask some of your friends what they think of you. You could talk to psychiatrist (not a psychologist you're just wasting your money) about this. That's the thing about narcissists, they don't really have friends, these are viewed as just tools to get what they want then they move on. That doesn't sound like you here.

A narcissist is not always confident and a confident person is not necessarily a narcissist.

Its my understanding that a narcissist is basically an extremely selfish person. Every situation whether good or bad has to revolve around them and their situation. People told me that my ex was a narcissist but I disagreed thinking that a narcissist was a person who loved themselves too much, she has very low self esteem but she is very very selfish even to the exclusion of the kids. A narcissist must have the world revolving around them whether they are depressed or happy. If she is sad then the whole world has to be sad and damn you if you aren't. If she is happy and you are not then you are a downer and must be cast out.

Confidence is a feeling that you can face up to what you need or want to do. It is not a selfish feeling and your actions do not come off as selfish. You may come off as arrogant which can be confused with selfishness or self love.

Narcissism does not even require love.

Phae and others are right, except sometimes narcissists do know or suspect. It seems to be passed on within families. It is probably not genetic, but the personality disorder is transmitted by circumstances. Here is a quick and fun test you can take to see if you or someone is a narcissist. (reference below) Just remember please, that every healthy person is at least a tiny bit narcissistic some of the time.

Interesting question.

If a person "comes across" as confident they probably are a narcissist (self-absorbed) which causes you to label them with that term.

Confidence is an attribute that should manifest itself as personal passion/purpose and a demonstrable engagement and interest in others and the world. That is what you would notice about a confident person - WHAT they love.

But, someone who simply walks around acting confident with little interest in others? Definitely has some self-absorption issues. :-)

To be fair, there are inherent aspects of narcissism found in human nature. I'm am of the opinion that some one coined the term to remind us not to be too terribly self-indulgent.

To answer your question, narcissism and confidence are semantically linked. Etymologically speaking, the narcissist fell so head over heels for their beauty that they ceased to place any importance upon anything else; on the other hand, the confident was one whom another could trust. Perhaps, this is how one could tell the difference.

A narcissist has eyes only for themselves. It is always all about them. A person who is confident is also humble enough to know that sometimes they are just not the most important person in the room.

Blessings!

Confidence is sexy. It speaks volumes to others that this person knows who he or she is and what he or she believes and wants out of life. In a nutshell, to me, a narcissist is someone who is in love with him- or herself and spends lots of time pampering self and calling attention to self. It's a self-inflated, all-important ego. Confidence is positive; narcissism is negative.

I think you could be right about them not realizing that they love themselves so much hehe I will not mention names but I know a few people in life that are like this every conversation is about their looks and physical appearance they stare in the mirror a lot.........and talk about themselves always!!!! This one person I know everytime I speak to them the conversation is about them always and how they look and they are so beautiful etc............hehehe

All I can tell you is that the two cannot coexist under the same roof and maintain a relationship worth preserving.