I always get confused by how people use this term. If they’re referring to actual narcissistic personality disorder, it’s relatively rare and it’s a serious, life-disrupting disorder. It’s also not someone’s fault if they have NPD, or any personality disorder, it’s usually caused by some combination of genetics and intense trauma.

I think people use it like “bad person I don’t like = narcissist” which is just not fair. It detracts from the disorder which needs to be taken seriously. Untreated NPD can lead to addiction, depression, suicide, not to mention lifelong issues with work and relationships. People with NPD need help and they are already unlikely to seek it out so demonizing the term “narcissist” seems counterproductive.

I feel strongly about this because I dated someone with a different Cluster B disorder, BPD, which is also extremely stigmatized. They were fairly self-aware and it sucked to see how hard it was for them to get help, and how differently people (including doctors) treated them when they found out they had BPD.