Page 1 of 1 [ 7 posts ] 

ThePerfectionist
Tufted Titmouse
Tufted Titmouse

Joined: 10 May 2019
Age: 23
Posts: 31
Location: Deep within the depths of my vast mind

10 May 2019, 6:18 pm

I suffer from the narcissistic trait of being "grandiose". That is, I believe myself to be an individual of particular excellence due to my high intelligence and unorthodox worldview. I have high hopes for the future and hope to someday be a top tech CEO with a lot of money and a privately owned city. In my head I know this is insane, but part of me still wants to actually give these goals a shot. Additionally, I take my autism as a source of pride because it makes me different and unique, and I believe that makes me mpre valuable, especially when coming up with new ideas and using logic over emotion.

I am wondering if perhaps, I am the only autistic with this kind of grandiosity characteristic in narcissism. NOTE- I am not interpersonally exploitive so on that note, I am not a true narcissist and do not have NPD, only the ego part.

Is this common in ASD?



MrsPeel
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 1 Oct 2017
Age: 52
Gender: Non-binary
Posts: 1,746
Location: Australia

10 May 2019, 9:25 pm

I've noticed something similar in other young men with AS here on WP. (It doesn't seem so common in girls).

I'm not trying to be provocative or anything, but I think it's a form of the compensatory strategy that Tony Attwood (in The Complete Guide to Asperger's Syndrome) refers to as "denial and arrogance". This helps people with AS to maintain a healthy sense of self-worth and avoid the issues with internalising and low self-esteem that can otherwise develop. So it's no bad thing, especially while you're at the stage of life where you need to get some experience in work and independent living.

Unfortunately, AS being what it is, the actual chances of being a super-successful CEO are not that great. Which is no big deal, because over time you'll develop other strategies to handle the AS.

As long as you're not hurting others in pursuing your dreams, all is well (and you're not a narcissist) :)



Darmok
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 18 Dec 2015
Gender: Male
Posts: 12,030
Location: New England

10 May 2019, 9:31 pm


_________________
 
There Are Four Lights!


ThePerfectionist
Tufted Titmouse
Tufted Titmouse

Joined: 10 May 2019
Age: 23
Posts: 31
Location: Deep within the depths of my vast mind

10 May 2019, 10:15 pm

I do not believe I would use my social skills to do this, but rather my techological skills and mathematics to engineer something marketable and use the sheer merit of that invention to make it successful.



jimmy m
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 30 Jun 2018
Age: 75
Gender: Male
Posts: 8,549
Location: Indiana

10 May 2019, 10:53 pm

Might you have an INTJ personality type?

INTJs are one of the rarest personality types, accounting for approximately 1.5 percent of the population. Some INTJs describe themselves in the following way “We choose to be ourselves and not care what others think. Intellectually being an INTJ is fun as hell! When presented with relevant, challenging, and coherent problems/books/ideas then we go crazy theorizing! In some ways the INTJ is a mixture between a seasoned professor and a observant fun-loving child.” “our logic is almost never wrong” “If suddenly something captures our attention, we just have to know each and everything about it.” “We are self confident individuals who know our strengths and weaknesses.” “Ideas are our forte. We identify with our ideas.” “INTJs can usually be quite good at accepting constructive criticism, if the INTJ respects the person giving the criticism.” “Things like authority, rank, and seniority mean little to most INTJs. For better or for worse, if I think someone is wrong, I will say so, whether they be a colleague, a teacher, or the CEO of the company. What matters most to many INTJs is getting the correct solution; it doesn't matter who produces it.” “ I prepare thoroughly before giving a formal presentation.” “utter earnestness, sincerity, and thoroughness. And a systems-oriented, big-picture mind.” “We usually see things from a million perspectives.” “We can stay alone for a loooong time: because there is a party going on inside our heads. A 100 voices talking, debating with each other about the best course of action around something.” “I felt very alone and ostracized as a child and youth because I didn't value the same things other kids did, didn't act the way they did, was consistently at the top of any scored intellectual activity (which always makes you less popular), didn't know how to gain the acceptance of my peers and didn't quite have a language to describe these feelings to my parents or others.” “Super Human Analytical Skills. I rely on this instinct often and it serves me well. Usually my snap decisions and judgments are spot on and brutally harsh.” “I learn quickly, sometimes intuitively. I can ride a motorcycle, go to sleep, play a computer game or otherwise ‘turn off’ active thinking, and come back and sit down and know exactly how to solve extremely complex problems. It's not that I didn't think about it, but instead my mind thought about it for me.” “ I’m hardly ever bored, because there are worlds, inside worlds, inside worlds in my own head.” “I am also an intensely private person. Most of the time even my closest friends and family don't know exactly what I'm thinking about or feeling because I prefer to keep it to myself.”

If so, framing yourself as narcissistic, may not apply.

To outsiders, INTJs may appear to project an aura of "definiteness", of self-confidence. This self-confidence, sometimes mistaken for simple arrogance by the less decisive, is actually of a very specific rather than a general nature; its source lies in the specialized knowledge systems that most INTJs start building at an early age. When it comes to their own areas of expertise --and INTJs can have several -- they will be able to tell you almost immediately whether or not they can help you, and if so, how. INTJs know what they know, and perhaps still more importantly, they know what they don't know.

INTJs are perfectionists, with a seemingly endless capacity for improving upon anything that takes their interest. What prevents them from becoming chronically bogged down in this pursuit of perfection is the pragmatism so characteristic of the type: INTJs apply (often ruthlessly) the criterion "Does it work?" to everything from their own research efforts to the prevailing social norms. This in turn produces an unusual independence of mind, freeing the INTJ from the constraints of authority, convention, or sentiment for its own sake.

INTJs are known as the "Systems Builders" of the types, perhaps in part because they possess the unusual trait combination of imagination and reliability. Whatever system an INTJ happens to be working on is for them the equivalent of a moral cause; both perfectionism and disregard for authority may come into play, as INTJs can be unsparing of both themselves and the others on the project. Anyone considered to be "slacking," including superiors, will lose their respect -- and will generally be made aware of this; INTJs have also been known to take it upon themselves to implement critical decisions without consulting their supervisors or co-workers. On the other hand, they do tend to be scrupulous and even-handed about recognizing the individual contributions that have gone into a project, and have a gift for seizing opportunities, which others might not even notice.


_________________
Author of Practical Preparations for a Coronavirus Pandemic.
A very unique plan. As Dr. Paul Thompson wrote, "This is the very best paper on the virus I have ever seen."


1986
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 28 Mar 2018
Gender: Male
Posts: 698
Location: Tokyo

11 May 2019, 12:25 am

Quote:
I'm not trying to be provocative or anything, but I think it's a form of the compensatory strategy that Tony Attwood (in The Complete Guide to Asperger's Syndrome) refers to as "denial and arrogance".

I found this very interesting. Can you elaborate a bit on what's written about it?

Basically I went through the first 30 years of my life in such a state, believing I was destined for great things and that any suggestion otherwise would be uninformed or a misunderstanding. Now I'm struggling with coping with a reality without grandiose illusions. This is because by and large I managed to accomplish what I set out for -- changing country, graduate from a top university and marry the most beautiful woman. I know, superficial boasting. In reality, now that I have those things, I've learned how extremely tough it is for me to *retain* them. Learning the language of my new country has also grounded me -- before I had the illusion that I could just passively absorb it in 2-3 years by living here. Well, it's been almost 4 years and I'm still struggling with basic conversations. Finding out that I was not as good as I thought I were was both painful and a sobering-up. Better the truth even if you don't like it, than a beautiful lie.



magz
Forum Moderator
Forum Moderator

User avatar

Joined: 1 Jun 2017
Age: 39
Gender: Female
Posts: 16,283
Location: Poland

11 May 2019, 4:21 am

Do you believe you deserve special treatment because of your uniqueness? Or do you want to compete with others on equal terms?
How do you response to your failures? Do you blame others or are you ready to admit your errors and learn from them?

Maybe it's not grandiosity, just ambition and strong sense of your strengths.


_________________
Let's not confuse being normal with being mentally healthy.

<not moderating PPR stuff concerning East Europe>