I don't see this mentioned a lot when reading about narcissism. It's not in the diagnostic manual and a lot of writings overlook or omit this. This concept has been crucial to my understanding of how to deal with a narcissist. Many people assume that a narcissist has an overly inflated self esteem. In fact, that is the origin of the name, narcissism, from the Greek myth of Narcissus who was so in love with himself that, when he caught a glimpse of his reflection in a pond, he was unable to turn away and died from admiring himself.