What Happened to a Man Who Fell in Love With Himself

You love yourself more than anyone else. You have no doubts about your beauty. You’re sure that you’re prettier, smarter, and more charming than others.

You’re the best. The only person you look at with adoration is you in the mirror. So, congrats, you probably have narcissism.

The word that describes this unusual mental condition appeared in ancient times. According to Greek mythology, the name Narcissus belonged to some fascinating character. His story can teach you that too much self-love can cause too many problems. There are reasons why people behave narcissistically. But before we know them, let’s take a look at the myth. So, there are several versions of Narcissus’ stories.

He was the son of two mythological creatures. When he was born, a fortune-teller told his parents: “Your son will stay alive until he sees himself.” So they removed all mirrors and reflective objects from the house. Narcissus was a handsome young man.

Everyone admired his beauty. Local nymphs and girls were in love with him. But Narcissus didn’t like anyone. He liked to walk in the forest, eat fruit, and listen to birds singing. And then, one day, a nymph named Echo saw him walking among flowers and trees.

She fell in love with him right at that second. After a while, she told him about her feelings, but Narcissus rejected her. It broke Echo’s heart. She ran away and hid in the depths of the forest. She couldn’t drink and eat because of such sadness, so she passed away.

The only thing that remained after her was her voice. It echoed through the trees and bushes. And someone named Nemesis heard it. She was outraged that Narcissus had rejected the nymph. She decided to punish him. So, Nemesis made him fall in love with himself. Wow, Nemesis, Narcissus...this could get confusing...

Anyway, one day Narcissus saw his reflection in the pond and couldn’t take his eyes off. He looked at himself in love for many weeks until life left him since he didn’t drink or eat anything all this time. Oops. Narcissus disappeared but left behind a beautiful flower near the pond. They called this flower after his name. I guess that’s better than being called “Potsy”...

In another version, Hera punished the nymph Echo for one misconduct related to Zeus. (Hey you gotta be up on your Greek gods and stuff.) Hera made it impossible for her to speak normally. So, from that moment, she could only repeat what she heard.

If you had asked her: “Hey, is it a bird or a dinosaur?” She would have answered: “Hey, is it a bird or a dinosaur?” Yeah, that could get annoying. Echo didn’t want to live with such a curse, so she hid in a dark cave. She decided to live there till the end of her days.

A little time had passed, and then she noticed Narcissus walking by. The nymph immediately found the new meaning of life as she fell in love with the young man. But how to confess your feelings? She couldn’t talk to him normally.

Therefore, Echo decided to ask the forest for help. She had some magic abilities that allowed her to control animals and trees. She used birds and leaves of trees to somehow share her feelings with Narcissus. The young man immediately realized the nymph was in love with him.

But he did say “no” without hesitation. He was too interested in himself and didn’t want to share such a person with someone else. Or maybe he liked nobody at all. Perhaps he was looking for his ideal of beauty that didn’t exist in nature.

The already unhappy Echo became even sadder. She returned to her cave and began to cry. She couldn’t eat or drink. She decided that she would stay here forever. In the last days, Echo asked Nemesis to restore justice and punish Narcissus for his arrogance.

Nemesis deprived him of the opportunity to love someone else and forced him to love only himself. And then, one hot day, Narcissus went to the pond to cool down a little. He bent on his knees to drink some water and... saw the reflection. At that moment, the prophetess’ words came true.

Narcissus was so amazed by his beauty that he couldn’t take his eyes off the pond’s surface. He got so caught up, he kept himself from eating or drinking. The water was in front of him, but he didn’t quench his thirst because the beauty wasn’t letting him go. (Wow, there’s a whole lot of starving going on over somebody’s good looks.)

Anyway, Narcissus bent down so low that he fell into the water and um, never surfaced again. The nymphs of the forest couldn’t find him. Many women grieved. A beautiful flower with white petals appeared on the river shore. They named it after the handsome young man.

While the nymphs mourned him on Earth, Narcissus was in the Underworld. And even there, he couldn’t stop admiring himself. Narcissus was doomed to look at his reflection in the River Styx for an eternity. It was like a daze. This self-love hypnotized him.

The eternal gaze in his reflection made him infinitely unhappy and happy at the same time. Such a character causes no sympathy since people don’t like narcissistic personalities. But another version of the famous legend justifies the young man’s actions. A famous Greek traveler and geographer wrote in one of his books, “Description of Greece,” Narcissus had a beautiful twin sister. They looked like two drops of water.

And one terrible day, she passed away. Grief broke Narcissus’s heart. But then he saw his reflection and couldn’t take his eyes off it. But not because he fell in love with himself, but because his face reminded him of his sister. He looked at himself because he didn’t want to part with her again.

Yes, this story seems sadder, but in any case, these are all myths that give us an accurate description of a specific type of person’s personality. All narcissists always think about their success, splendor, beauty, and some perfect love with ideal persons. They’re sure they’re unique and better than other people. They want to communicate only with those with the same high level of uniqueness.

Narcissists live in a fantasy world about their greatness. There’s nothing wrong if people love themselves, but sometimes this love becomes too strong. It’s challenging to have a relationship with narcissists because they concentrate only on themselves and don’t have empathy. They can’t read other people’s feelings. You’re crying after watching a sad movie, but a narcissist is ill-equipped for understanding your emotions.

But with all these negative qualities, narcissists are very charming people. It’s always fun with them, and they know how to make you laugh and get your attention. If a person loves himself, then he becomes attractive to others.

Do you want a jump with a parachute? No problem! (It’s a bigger problem if you jump without one. ) How about you fly to another country right now? Sure, why not? It’s all cool, but then you realize that it’s challenging to be friends with this person because you can’t share joy, sadness, and other feelings.

Now, don’t think that narcissists have complex characters because they are not good people, and they like it. Such a personality grows over the years, but it all starts at an early age. Imagine that your parents praise you from the day of your birth only for your achievements and appearance.

Did you win the swimming competition? Great! Have you passed the exam? Perfect! “You’re so handsome,” your parents tell you. “Good job! You’ll become a good doctor or a firefighter or a lawyer.” Sounds cool, doesn’t it? But what about your inner state? Your feelings?

If no one sees it in you, then you won’t be able to appreciate it in other people. You will pay attention only to your superiority and a sense of success because your parents loved you only for this. Ultimately, you will also appreciate others for these qualities. If you’re as popular and successful and even more fantastic, Narcissists will pay attention to you.

Perhaps, the mythological parents of the Narcissus character admired his beauty so much that they forgot about the moral formation of their son. Any person needs the support of inner emotions and state, to prevent forming an emotional void inside. Narcissistic people try to fill it with a sense of admiration and praise. But these things can’t replace love.

That’s why so many narcissists suffer inside. Fortunately, modern advances in psychology can help get rid of narcissism. The doctor tries to guide the patient through the feelings and emotions they experienced in the distant past. They try to find the reasons that made them a narcissist.

It’s a long and complex therapy, but it is pretty effective. It’s difficult to make a person who admires him or herself go through it. If they agree to the therapy, they admit that something is wrong with them. And such recognition is a challenging test for those who love themselves too much.