The man who has the same condition shared in a video that this one question could help people identify the narcissists around them.
We often use the term "narcissist" very loosely, but did you know that it is an actual mental health condition? Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD) is a mental health condition in which people have an unreasonably high sense of their own importance. They need and seek too much attention and want people to admire them, according to Mayo Clinic. Jacob Skidmore–who goes by @thenamelessnarcissist on TikTok–claims to have this condition and shared that one question can help identify people like him.
He started the video by saying, "I would put money that 80% of narcissists can be diagnosed with this question." Skidmore then went on to reveal that he is a diagnosed narcissist and this question was proposed to him by his friend, who also has the same condition. He expressed, "And when I heard it, I was like, 'Oh my God, yes, finally somebody said it.' Like the answer to this question felt so objectively true to me." He added that he was shocked to hear the question and felt like someone could actually understand what he was struggling with.
Skidmore then spoke about the question that was asked to him. He said, "Ask them: 'Don't you think that there are just objectively better and worse people in the world, and people who are superior and inferior and the rest of the world just wants to ignore that?'" He went on to explain that it would be better if the question implied that they and the person asking are both part of the "upper echelons." He then shared why he thought this was the best question to diagnose the condition.
He elaborated, "Narcissists view the world through that lens, through the ideas that there are people who have more inherent self-worth and some people who have less self-worth, people who are better than other people and people who are worse. That is a central core belief that drives their actions. And it is why constantly they're trying to prove that they are part of the better people because, deep down, they think they're part of the worst people." He captioned the post, "This is no replacement for a diagnosis and it's not 100%, but seriously, I've never met a narcissist who didn't have the same reaction."
People shared their views in the comments. @tonythedon1 commented, "Just ask a narcissist to tell you a time when they were wrong and felt bad about the wrong they did. They will deflect the question." @little.miss.ashly wrote, "I don’t think people are better or worse, but I feel some people are genuinely good and some are genuinely bad, but most fall in the middle." @xxlifeisbeautiful expressed, "You don’t even have to ask. Once they start saying things like, 'You think you’re better than me?' That’s a dead giveaway." @like_woah_bro wrote, "I think an even more telling question would be how they define who’s better and who’s worse."
Skidmore, a content creator based in Ohio, has been sharing his NPD journey on social media. He spoke about the apprehension he felt before he opened up to anyone about the condition. He told LADbible, "Nowadays, I’m very open about my condition but since I was aware of the opinion most people had about it, I didn’t tell anyone for around two years." He said that there are people with the same condition who haven't disclosed it for decades due to the fear of judgment. "It’s hard to tell anyone something that you think they’ll judge you for," he added. However, now he makes sure that he uses his platform to respond to all questions related to the disorder.
@thenamelessnarcissist This is no replacement for a diagnosis and its not 100% but seriously ive never met a narcissist who didnt have the same reaction #npd #mentalhealth #mentalhealthawareness #mentalhealthmatters #narcissist #selfawarenarcissist #narcissisticabuse #narcissisticabuserecovery #narcissisticpersonalitydisorder #narctok #gaslighting ♬ original sound - The Nameless Narcissist
You can follow Jacob Skidmore (@thenamelessnarcissist) on TikTok for more content on NPD.