Vanity can be deadly for a man: Plague of worries so intense it causes stress and heart problems

  • Narcissism, or self-love, is on the rise in men
  • Too much narcissism can cause tension, depression and personality disorders

By
Tamara Cohen

Last updated at 12:21 AM on 24th January 2012


Men who showed 'unhealthy' amounts of narcissism also had high levels of corisol, even relaxed situations, the study found

Men who showed ‘unhealthy’ amounts of narcissism also had high levels of corisol, even relaxed situations, the study found

Men with an inflated view of their own brilliance might look like they breeze through life in a bubble of confidence.

In reality, though, they are likely to be so plagued by worry that they put their health at risk, according to a study.

It found narcissism, or self-love, is on the rise in men and is causing them to suffer stress-related illnesses such as high blood pressure, which can lead to heart disease.

Psychologists asked 106 men and women
to take personality questionnaires and took two saliva samples from them
to measure levels of cortisol, a stress-related hormone.

Men who showed ‘unhealthy’ levels of
narcissism in the questionnaires also had high levels of cortisol, even
in a relaxed situation. In women, this was not the case.

The study’s authors say the reasons
are unclear, but suggest the pressure to fulfil traditional male traits –
such as strength and dominance – may be taking its toll. ‘Even though
narcissists have grandiose self-perceptions, they also have fragile
views of themselves, and often resort to defensive strategies like
aggression when their sense of superiority is threatened,’ said
co-author David Reinhard of the University of Michigan.

‘These kinds of coping strategies are
linked with increased cardiovascular reactivity to stress and higher
blood pressure, so it makes sense that higher levels of maladaptive
narcissism would contribute to highly reactive stress response systems
and chronically elevated levels of stress.’

The scientists defined narcissism as ‘an inflated sense of self importance, overestimation of uniqueness, and a sense of grandiosity’.

While a ‘healthy’ degree of narcissism is good for you, they say, too much can cause tension and in extreme cases lead to depression and personality disorders.

There was no relationship between healthy narcissism and cortisol in either the men or women.

But the researchers say an unhealthy form of the personality trait, reflected in exploitativeness and a sense of entitlement, appears to ‘chronically over-activate’ the body’s ‘HPA axis’, also known as the ‘stress circuit’.

Professor Sara Konrath who led the study, said narcissistic men pay a high price with their health

Professor Sara Konrath who led the study, said narcissistic men pay a high price with their health

Signals from the brain trigger the release of hormones including cortisol from glands associated with energy expenditure, the immune system and mood change. Many anti-depressant drugs work by inhibiting activity in the HPA axis.

This work supports previous studies that have shown that while narcissistic people think they are happy and have high self-esteem, many actually display characteristics associated with unhappiness and insecurity.

The authors are not sure why this effect is not seen in women, but suggest they may conform to social stereotypes to value relationships and seek the support of others to a greater extent than men.

Professor Sara Konrath, lead author of the study, which was published in the journal PLoS ONE, said: ‘Narcissistic men may be paying a high price in terms of their physical health, in addition to the psychological cost to their relationships.

‘Our findings suggest the HPA axis may be chronically activated in males high in unhealthy narcissism, even without an explicit stressor.’

Prof Konrath hopes to conduct further research examining why narcissism is not as physiologically taxing for women.

Here’s what other readers have said. Why not add your thoughts,
or debate this issue live on our message boards.

The comments below have not been moderated.

This profile fits Tony Blair to a ‘T’. He should apply for psychiatric help immeadiately.

Is it against the law to marry your own reflection?

Is it against the law to marry your own reflection?

My sister in law found a neat way to avoid some vanity obsessed men, she just avoids iphone owners. Her conclusion came after a few guys she has met over the years, each one was ‘prancing’ around with their phone as a ‘look at me’ banner. They were so self absorbed that any relationship would have been one sided.

Give them a mirror, problem solved.

anybody who worries thier life awy over stupid and pointless worries isnt gonna do them selves good

Ah, yes, the ‘Men bad – Women good’ article. I was a little worried about this one because it’s been over an hour since the last one.

“Narcissistic men may be paying a high price in terms of their physical health, in addition to the psychological cost to their relationships.” — The cost is not just psychological. Just look at the stories of those men who killed their entire families.

Another piece of fine research about men lead by a women to what end?When it comes to narcissistic tendencies I fear the female of the species displays this in abundance everyday hence no change in the levels of cortisol. I shall now go and mature my low self esteem and enjoy a longer life.
– Expat, Udon Thani, 23/1/2012 21:06
=============== Women have historically been diagnosed higher with narcissistic personality disorders, largely and mostly because of their more open displays and institutional beliefs. However, narcissism and egotism has been more likely to show up in more destructive ways in men – such as their greater likelihood to take down their entire families and even strangers when they decide to off themselves – and the only reason it has gone ignored is because people deliberately ignored these types of crimes and the fact it was committed by (mostly) men.

Well said, Lucky Escape. Being in a relationship with a maladaptive narcissist is much more stressful. Lucky escape indeed

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