Judy Dyer - Narcissist : a complete guide for dealing with narcissism and creating the life you want

Once upon a time, there lived a handsome young Greek man, he was a hunter and the son of Cephissus the river god. He had many admirers; all the women loved him and would throw themselves at him; however, he showed no appreciation towards them, only contempt and disdain. One day, while Narcissus was searching for food in the woods, Echo, the Oread nymph saw him and fell in love with him and started following him. Narcissus sensed that he was being watched and Echo revealed herself and attempted to hug him. He shoved her out of his way and told her to get out of his space. Echo was devastated, her heart was completely crushed and as a result, she ended up living as a wanderer in the woods for the remainder of her life, until she disintegrated and all that was left of her was an echo.

Nemesis was the goddess of revenge and retribution, and when she found out what had happened, she took Narcissus to a river and made him look at his reflection, he fell in love with himself but didnt realize that it was only a reflection. Once he came to the conclusion that there was nothing he could do about the love that he was feeling, he became depressed and killed himself.

The mythology of Narcissus is where the term narcissism originated; however, it wasnt coined until the end of the nineteenth century. The story is a reflection of how todays narcissistic relationship plays out. Narcissus was too concerned with himself to notice that someone genuinely wanted to love him, and Echo desperately wanted to be heard, only to be pushed to the side. There are several versions of the story, and in one of them, Narcissus is so prideful that when someone tries to love him, he is horrified. He hears what Echo has to say but shouts at her to be quiet. Just as in a relationship with a narcissist today, the woman will often aggravate her partner to anger when she says or does something that he doesnt agree with. Just as the mythological story reveals, a narcissistic person is destructive to himself and to those who have a desire to love him.