There are what are known as "overt" and "covert" narcissists in terms of NPD. An overt narcissist is someone like Donald Trump or, ironically, Patrick Tomlinson. They're loudmouths who won't shut up about how great they are. They are over-confident and over-secure and it can take a LOT to break them - look how long Pat has been humiliated over and over and he's nowhere near as detached from reality as Jackie (although he's on a downward slope as anyone who has read his court filings can tell you). Jackie is a "
covert narcissist" (sometimes known as a "vulnerable narcissist") who develop narcissism to counter feelings of insecurity and inferiority. Rather than aggression and bravado, they manipulate others by playing the victim, guilt tripping and crybullying. They are indeed "protected" by their delusions, but unlike the overt narcissist that doubt is always there and it is much more vulnerable to reality intruding, because the narcissism is a coping mechanism rather than an inherent personality trait. Hence Jackie, when confronted with her own failure, has to maintain her self-image, and the only way to maintain that self-image is to depart reality altogether. Add paranoia and persecutory delusions and you get the "people are after me because I know the truth/I am a threat to them because of my brilliance" type thinking that you see in Jackie and many other cows.
Seethe deployed
