Bee on the lookout, for Royal pains in the...as in post toxic posting...

Lots to un-pack here: A very current saying, even though people have been packing and un- for eons, all of a sudden, it has been woven into the fabric of our daily lives, what we are discussing, especially when "it's a lot". This together with what we are once again noticing buzzing about, about to pollenate, the flowers and other greenery that has been a big focus of you and I these past few weeks, from 4/20 on...just in time for US to all rest up here, to celebrate with them Brits over there, across the pond, what's referred to in those that have Royalty, a "coronation" Which will be a focus of at least on post this week ("Rained out, Reining in") along with at least one on bee-ing ("How you bee?") and the last but certainly in their own estimation, not least, as in a brief consideration of a few add-ons as to how to best, effectively respond to the group of persons, of which we all know at least one, who are a royal pain -- who, despite not reaching such heights, expect to be treated with royalty...none other than the "narcissists"! The kind of individuals who may first endear themselves to you, ingratiate, solicit your attention, and then, through a gradual but steady process that in health care is oft referred to as insidious...they now have, demand, our full-on attention...a toxic, ob-noxious situation indeed...

"What can I say?" More than a rhetorical question this. As I, your seasoned one, who has dealt with more than I like to admit, and even more who have had the 'pleasure' of  the company of a 'true narcissist' - one who has some of the requisite characteristics of a sub-group of what we psychologists have come to call "personality disorders", examples of which have been around us since the Greeks, as in the very first "Narcissus" -- the one whose fatal flaw involved the love and preoccupation with self...who fell in love with his own image, to such a degree it was his downfall -- whether he actually fell into the pool in which he saw his own attraction and drowned, or simply wasted away as he could not bear to tear himself away from such a beautiful sight, and neglected his other ADL's...still a matter of fun conjecture. As well as a more serious study as to what gives rise to such personalities in the first place -- are they born this way, or become one, due to circumstances and choices...I mean, would any one actually choose to be such a pain in the...

"Ask me, I dare you" How, who I am, where I've been, what I've been up to...whatever...any even innocent, apparently benign, even 'banal' (when was the last time you used this word in daily convo?) question, one that may show an individual inclined to narcissism the slightest interest...

Mere, mirror exposure effect: In psychology there's actually a 'thing' called "mere exposure" effect, which refers to a liking you may acquire after repeated presentations (picture, song, whatever), which tends to reach its peak effect after 10-20 presentations and, in the context of social psychology, can also be referred to as the "familiarity effect". Which, in the case of interacting with a "true narcissist" may wear out after only a few minutes and tempt you to turn to a new iPhone app I'm at least thinking about...which could turn your phone from something you actually talk to someone through, into a mirror which, in the case of someone who loves nothing more than peering, ("lean into" in today's lingo) an image "so striking, beautiful..." that they can't turn away, even as you yourself have already, as in "a 180" -- just trying to perfect how to not have the image shrink as you fade into the distance...

In the meantime...As in the time you have to put up with such character traits, as I always advise those, especially if they "see them coming"...it's always good social policy to have a graceful exit plan, planned in advance. 

Speaking of: Advance planning, in order to have enough seed money to get this app, invention off the ground, I'll need some suckers, I mean venture capitalists, to join me. Given the numbers of people we see indulging in "selfies" it sure looks like a rise in narcissism and thus, a call for such gadget is ensured. A stroke of brilliance, if I say so myself...don't you agree...hey, where you going...get back here...it's all about me, after all!