Free Chapter: The Narcissist in You and Everyone Else

Chapter Seven: When Narcissism and the Enneagram Collide

Below is the Introduction from Sterlin’s book, The Narcissist in You and Everyone Else: Recognizing the 27 Types of Narcissism, available on Amazon and where other online books are sold. To get a 30% discount purchase directly from Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, use the code: RLFANDF30

CHAPTER SEVEN

When Narcissism and the Enneagram Collide

As discussed in Chapter VI, the nine Enneagram types will be the starting point for understanding the 27 narcissistic subtypes. The core type intersects one of the three instinctual types (Social, Self Preservation, and Sexual), creating an instinctual subtype. These subtype labels combine the dominant instinct and the core Enneagram type (e.g., Self Preservation Four, Sexual Two, Social Seven, etc.). Just as the 27 instinctual subtypes create a unique archetype of the core type and the instinct intermingling, the 27 narcissistic subtypes create an archetypal character structure. The 27 subtypes in the following chapter are the product of the instinctual type, the Enneagram type, and narcissistic traits combined. However, we first need to understand the difference between narcissistic traits and Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD).

Narcissistic Traits vs. Narcissistic Personality Disorder

All of us, without exception, have some degree of narcissism present in our psyche. We touched on this concept in Chapter III; however, it bears repeating before we delve into the 27 subtypes. Having an ego necessitates narcissism. The ego is primarily concerned with meeting its immediate needs (as dictated by one or more instinctual drives). Once we recognize a survival need, whether it's food, companionship, sex, shelter, money, or any other host of needs, our ego kicks on to help us ensure that our need is satiated. Depending on our psychological and emotional development, we employ a host of different strategies depending on our Enneagram type, instinctual type, and other developmental and environmental factors. Those strategies may be healthy, well-adapted, and largely effective. Our Enneagram type provides us with specialized skills in a particular arena.