Mirror, Mirror on the Wall: Can Psychedelics Deflate the Biggest Ego of Them All?
Are the ego-dissolving & empathy-inducing powers of psychedelics enough to offer an antidote to narcissism? 🍄🪞
Prepare to shatter your preconceptions about narcissism.
The term “narcissism” is painted with broad strokes of vanity and self-obsession — but it’s much more than that and the word has lost its true meaning.
You may have caught yourself or someone else saying something like “he’s just a narcissist” because they take a lot of selfies — or “I always end up dating narcissists” because there’s always some form of conflict in your past relationships.
But these kinds of statements are superficial, reducing a complex psychological condition to mere stereotypes and clichés.
It’s important to understand that narcissism is a spectrum and that the term “narcissism” is not equal to narcissistic personality disorder (NPD).
This spectrum exists between mild narcissistic traits that we all have to an extent (feelings of self-importance, attention-seeking behaviors, etc.) and actual narcissistic personality disorder, the most extreme manifestation of narcissistic traits and behaviors.
Narcissistic traits include:
Excessive reliance on external validation for a sense of self worth and self-esteem
Exaggerated inflated or deflated self-appraisal (aka feelings of grandiosity or defeat)
Fluctuating self-esteem
Goal setting motivated purely on the potential of outside approval
Lack of awareness of one’s own motivations
Either excessively high or low personal standards (high to accommodate feelings of grandiosity and low due to a sense of entitlement)
Difficulty identifying with the feelings and needs of others (impaired ability to empathize)
Excessive attention to the reactions of others that are relevant to self
Distorted appraisal of one’s effect on others (either over or underestimating)
Fostering superficial relationships which only serve to regulate self-esteem
Little interest in others, which affects a sense of cooperation or mutuality
Relationships are developed or maintained only for personal gain
An NPD diagnosis can only be made if the following conditions are also present:
The traits listed above are stable through time and in different situations
The traits are not explained by development stages that can adequately apply to the patient or socioeconomic or cultural factors
The traits are not due to the effects of substance use or a medical condition
For more information, read the full explanation of diagnostic criteria for NPD.
But we’re talking about psychedelics today — so where does this technicolor thread weave into the grayscale fabric of narcissism?
Early research suggests psychedelics bear the unique capacity to invigorate pro-social attitudes and rectify disruptive behavioral patterns involved with narcissistic personality disorder.
This level of social enrichment stems from traits like amplified empathy, a profound sense of unity, transcendental self-experience, and the phenomenon of ego-dissolution.
So How Can Psychedelics (Potentially) Disentangle Narcissism?
Let me preface by stating that this field has almost no research. The information we have access to so far on the potential role of psychedelics in the treatment, or better yet, “disentanglement” of narcissism, relies largely on anecdotes and theory.
With that disclaimer out of the way, let’s examine some of the ways psychedelics may help reduce or manage narcissistic traits.
1. Enhanced Empathy
One of the main traits of NPD is a lack of empathy and regard for others.
Can psychedelics increase empathy? If yes, maybe narcissism and other empathy-related disorders could, after all, be “cured.”
We know that some psychedelics — such as psilocybin and MDMA — do increase emotional empathy.
Similarly, research on LSD has shown increased empathy scores; subjects report feeling closer to others and a sense of caring for and wanting to be with others.
It’s important to differentiate emotional empathy from cognitive empathy:
Emotional empathy measures the subjective experience of other peoples’ emotions (how I feel about other people’s emotions).
Cognitive empathy refers to the ability to identify other peoples’ emotions more accurately.
Although studies have shown psilocybin exerts changes in emotional empathy, it doesn’t seem to affect cognitive empathy.
Learning to identify others’ feelings may take more than a simple mushroom trip.
However, emotional empathy could bring awareness to the emotional response toward other people’s feelings, which may be a stepping stone for developing a stronger sense of cognitive empathy too.
2. Awe & Ego Death
Another mechanism through which psychedelics may keep narcissism in check is through the frequently experienced sense of awe and vastness that psychedelics may induce.
This experience can lead to a reduced sense of self.
Narcissism is often characterized by an excessively inflated sense of self (especially in grandiose cases), so an experience of awe may put narcissistic beliefs and maladaptive behaviors into perspective.
Similarly, ego death or ego dissolution may be a catalyst for change in narcissistic personalities.
Ego dissolution is the experience of detaching from the self or “sense of self.”
An experience of this nature could very well provide a glimpse into a view of the world that is not self-focused, which could lead to a shift in perspective.
3. Connectedness & Transcendence
The so-called “mystical experience” — a common experience with psychedelics — involves a deep sense of connectedness with others, with everything around them, and often with the universe at large.
This feeling of connectedness can humble one’s sense of self-importance and lead to more pro-social and pro-environmental behaviors that oppose classic narcissistic behaviors.
4. The Ruthlessness Gene
Scientists have recently discovered the so-called “ruthlessness gene” — which is believed to be involved in the process of empathy on a biological level (more on this later).
This is important to bring up because at least one drug — balovaptan (RG7314) — an atypical benzodiazepine, was found in at least one study to alter the way this gene expresses itself in cognitive and behavioral processes.
It’s believed this could be a mechanism some psychedelics use to alter the way we experience empathy.
Most research on balaptovan and the ruthlessness gene (V1AR) focuses on autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
So why is this important?
The idea is that certain empathogenic drugs could theoretically be used to “turn-on” cognitive empathy.
The Narcissist's New Reflection: The Transformation of Integration
A single mushroom or ayahuasca trip isn’t going to change narcissistic behavior by itself.
The biggest growth comes from a process of integration.
This is the ongoing work that takes place after the psychedelic experience that carries the greatest weight in changing the way one thinks and acts.
Dr. Ramani — an acclaimed psychotherapist specializing in narcissistic personality disorder — states that a psychedelic trip alone is not enough to fix narcissism-related issues and warns that in many cases, narcissists who go into the spiritual journey of psychedelics may easily fall into the trap of spiritual bypassing.
Spiritual bypassing is another way to:
Avoid doing the actual inner work to address vulnerability and maladaptive patterns, and…
Further encourage feelings of “I am more spiritual than you” superiority that leads to devaluation and judgment of others and the use of spirituality as a justification for more abuse and manipulation.
These traits of spiritual narcissism are rampant in new-age spirituality but are not new by any means.
After all, many religions have a sort of collective sense of superiority and see other faiths and practices as inferior, unholy, and deviant — an attitude that celebrates narcissistic traits.
Shades of Self: Understanding Diverse Narcissistic Profiles
There’s a stereotype associated with the term “narcissism.”
This image is often of a successful person, male, attractive by social standards, entitled, arrogant, with feelings of grandiosity, and whose relationships are exploitative and one-sided.
This type of manifestation of NPD is known as narcissistic grandiosity, or grandiose narcissism, where the above symptoms are observable — but behind it, there’s often a hidden picture of poor self-esteem.
Grandiosity implies that the person:
Has great feelings of entitlement
Believes they are better than others
Condescending attitude toward others
On the opposite end of narcissistic grandiosity, we have narcissistic vulnerability or vulnerable narcissism.
In vulnerable types of narcissism, there is usually an external manifestation of low self-esteem and lack of self-confidence with an inner sense of superiority. Attention-seeking behavior is especially common with this form of narcissism.
Attention seeking implies that the person:
Excessively seeks to be the center of attention
Seeks admiration and praise from others
Delving into clinical classifications, narcissistic personality disorder (NPD) is nestled within the cluster B category of personality disorders. This group includes companions such as antisocial personality disorder, borderline personality disorder, and histrionic personality disorder.
The Narcissism Knot: Difficulties in Present-Day Therapies
Treating those with NPD is a challenge that only certain counselors are willing to undertake. This is a challenging condition to fix by all accounts…
To begin with, people with NPD don’t tend to seek therapeutic support.
Dr. Ramani states that people with NPD tend to believe any problems they may have are someone else’s fault and rarely seem to feel the need for guidance, support, or a new perspective. Because of this, people with NPD tend to ignore, dismiss, or skeptically scrutinize any insight the therapist may offer, and that’s if they even make it to the counseling office to begin with.
Another big issue in the therapeutic treatment of NPD lies in the dynamics of transference and countertransference.
Transference is when clients project or place their feelings, beliefs, or desires onto the therapist.
Similarly, countertransference is when the therapist directs their emotional response, desires, and beliefs to the client.
Transference and countertransference dynamics happen in all therapeutic relationships; many therapeutic modalities, as early as Freudian psychoanalysis, believe that skillfully navigating these dynamics is a key aspect of the therapeutic process. However, these dynamics can be incredibly challenging for the therapist to navigate in NPD cases, as these clients tend to project their feelings of superiority and grandiosity onto the therapists, making the therapist a devalued and inferior counterpart.
Despite the challenge, and maybe because of it, there’s a growing interest in narcissistic personalities and the efficacy of different treatment modalities such as psychedelics.
This is an exciting field of research, but we still have a long way to go in understanding how or even if psychedelics can finally offer a solution to the longstanding conundrum of effectively treating narcissistic personality disorder.
Further Reading: Narcissism & Psychedelics
Should I Stay or Should I Go – Dr. Ramani
Navigating Narcissism (Podcast Hosted by Dr. Ramani)
The 3 Signs You’re Dealing With A Narcissist & How To Set Boundaries – Dr. Ramani & Jay Shetty
The Psychology of Narcissism – W. Keith Campbell
The Handbook of Narcissism and Narcissistic Personality Disorder: Theoretical Approaches, Empirical Findings, and Treatments – W. Keith Campbell, Joshua D. Miller
Narcissism and Insecure Attachment – Diana Diamond
Narcissism vs. Narcissistic Personality Disorder – Dr. Ramani in MedCircle
Are Narcissists Born or Made? – Psychology Element
Help Us Grow 🌱
Tripsitter was built by a community of psychedelic advocates — but it’s people like you that allow us to thrive.
Credits & Shoutouts:
Article & Artwork by Natalia Sarmiento
Composition & Editing By Justin Cooke
Special Mentions:
Dr. Ramani Durvasula (Clinical Psychologist & Author)
 | A guest post by
|