Freud11 noted narcissistic mortification as intense fear associated with narcissistic injury and humiliation. He also observed the shocking reaction when individuals face the discrepancy between an endorsed or ideal view of the self and a drastically contrasting realization.12

Rothstein13 associated such fear of falling short of ideals with the loss of perfection and accompanying humiliation, an important aspect of narcissistic personality functioning. Fiscalini14 emphasized fear of autonomy in narcissistic interpersonal relations, and Kohut4,15 pointed to fear associated with rejection, isolation, Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical and loss of contact with reality, and loss of admiration, equilibrium, and important SRT1720 chemical structure objects. Recently, Horowitz16 highlighted fear in the context of Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical wishes and defenses, and Kernberg17-19 has referred to the unfolding of underlying fear in treatment of people with NPD, including fear of dependency and destroying the relationship with the analyst, fear

of retaliation, of one’s own aggression and destructiveness, and fear of death. Maldonado20 identified the narcissistic intrapsychic trauma caused by the loss of a bond with a good object associated with ideals and meaning. Such a trauma threatens the individual’s sense of continuity, coherence, stability, and wellbeing. Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical In the delicate balance between repairing such traumas and working through conflicts, reactivations of fear inevitably occur, especially in the context of aggression and Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical shame. An additional limitation in DSM is the absence of diagnostically specified levels of personality functioning. Narcissism ranges from healthy and proactive to pathological and malignant. Consequently, pathological narcissism and NPD often co-occur with consistent or intermittent areas and periods of high functioning,21 including areas or periods

of real competence and qualities, as well as cognitive, emotional, and interpersonal capabilities, and social skills. In clinical and social psychological reports, identification of narcissistic Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical character pathology takes into consideration the functional aspects of shifts between selfenhancement and self -deflation, with intermittent periods and areas of competent old functioning. Dimensions of character functioning that enable such evaluation include selfagency22-25 and self-directedness.26 These dimensions, which capture the individual’s intentions, choices and strivings, purpose and goals, causal influence, and prediction and problem-solving skills, are especially useful for defining narcissistic self- and self-esteem regulation. Decision-making, a central component in self -regulatory and self-directing efforts, has gained attention in psychoanalytic studies, and recently also in social psychological studies of narcissism.