Narcissism

We have heard a lot of talk these days about Mel Gibson’s apparent narcissistic rage. It is impossible and unethical for a professional psychologist to make a diagnosis of mental illness without seeing the subject as a client. Although Mr. Gibson may have presented characteristics of narcissism there is no way to know if he qualifies as suffering from Narcissistic Personality Disorder as it is defined by the Diagnostic Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders the manual professionals use to diagnose mental illness. What we can say with some certainty after listening to Mr. Gibson’s painful tirade is that he is suffering…and suffering quite a bit.