Narcissistic injury

For other uses, see Narcissism (disambiguation).

In psychology, narcissistic injury, also known as narcissistic wound or wounded ego, is emotional trauma that overwhelms an individual's defense mechanisms and devastates their pride and self-worth. In some cases, the shame or disgrace is so significant that the individual can never again truly feel good about who they are. This is sometimes referred to as a "narcissistic scar".[1][2][3]

Freud maintained that "losses in love" and "losses associated with failure" often leave behind injury to an individual's self-regard.[2]

  1. ^ "The Narcissistic Wound". Psychology Today. Retrieved 2022-08-10.
  2. ^ a b Freud, Sigmund (1991) [1915]. On Metapsychology. London, England: Penguin UK. p. 291. ISBN 978-0140138016.
  3. ^ Lavender, Neil J. (January 10, 2014). "The Narcissistic Wound: The first cut is always the deepest". Psychology Today. Retrieved 10 January 2014.