By Jason Lincoln Jeffers

According to a recent article in the New York Times, the upcoming revision of the psychiatric diagnostic standards manual, the DSM-V, does not include narcissistic personality disorder. Insurance companies, hospitals, treatment facilities and protocols will no longer be recognizing it or using it to direct treatment. Ostensibly, narcissism has become so pervasive in our society that it is now being viewed by our therapists and counselors as normal and acceptable behavior.

In ancient Greek mythology, the hunter Narcissus gazed down into a still pool of water and immediately fell in love with his own reflection. This surface, mirrored reflection is a metaphor for our phantom sense of self that we call the ego. The ego is not your true, eternal Self, but rather is based on whatever you identify with in the finite and transient amount of time that you have here on Earth. Read More→