Dr. Jameca Cooper breaks down how histrionic and narcissistic personality disorders both crave attention, but for opposite reasons. People with HPD need it to feel connected and visible. People with NPD need it to confirm they're superior.
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Hi, this is Dr. Jameca Cooper, and today we're talking about the difference between histrionic personality disorder and narcissistic personality disorder. I know everyone is so curious and fascinated about narcissistic personality disorder, and most people probably think you know one live with one, date one, have dated one, married one. For some reason, everyone feels that they have some connection to narcissistic personality disorder, and it could be true. So today I want to talk to you about the differences between narcissistic personality disorder and histrionic personality disorder. But first, I want to tell you how they are similar. So they both have this trait of exaggerated emotion, So instead of just being, "Oh, sad because I had a bad day at work," "I am extremely sad because I had a bad day at work." So a very exaggerated presentation in what some might say is just simple emotional ups and downs. Another trait that they would share is not feeling comfortable when the attention is not focused on them. So both a narcissist and a person with histrionic personality disorder would be very uncomfortable if they were sitting, let's say, at a dinner table with 10 other people, but the conversation was focused on another couple or one of the people at the table and all of their accomplishments. Both a histrionic personality disorder individual and a narcissist would be very uncomfortable with that situation. But what I want to share with you is that underneath that being uncomfortable are two different things. So when we look at a person with histrionic personality disorder, they're uncomfortable because without that attention that someone else is getting, they feel inadequate, they feel invisible, and they don't like that feeling. So they will hate and be uncomfortable with that for that reason. So they like attention for attention's sake, and they like attention because it means that they have a relationship with you if you're paying attention to them. Whereas an individual who suffers from narcissistic personality disorder, they feel as though they want, need, and deserve that attention because they're better than everyone else. They're more superior to everyone else. So if they are more superior, they deserve the attention, they deserve the conversation to be focused on them. So while both of these personality disorders share some of the similar traits that I mentioned before, like the exaggerated emotion, One way that they differ is why they need the attention. One needs the attention for attention's sake, and the other needs the attention because it enables them to continue to feel better and feel that they are better than everyone that they are around. So it's that whole idea of superiority that a narcissist craves, and they need, and they in some circumstances demand in lots of social situations. So There you have it, a few similarities and differences between an individual with histrionic personality disorder and an individual with narcissistic personality disorder. I hope you learned something today. Make sure you subscribe to this channel. Come back for more videos. Thank you. I'm Dr. Jameca Cooper.
