Most of us are instinctively aware that America is becoming a nation cluttered with narcissistic individuals, and we also know that you couldn’t swing a cat by its tail in Hollywood party filled with celebrities without hitting plenty of Narcissusias.

A forthcoming study about narcissism among celebrities will soon be published in the Journal of Research and Personality by psychiatrist and “Loveline” radio show host Drew Pinsky.

I’ll let you read the information about Dr. Pinsky and the study in Robin Abcarian’s LA Times article, but what interests me is the idea that the word narcissism seems to have lost its pejorative status.

In her article, Abcarian writes, “Researchers distinguish between normal or healthy narcissism and excessive narcissism….” Correct me if I’m wrong, but didn’t we once use different words for a healthy regard of one's self—words like self-assured or self-confident? One builds confidence over time from things like self-discipline, learning, practicing virtue, and faith.

Narcissism is the opposite of self-confidence because it refers to someone who is self-absorbed, conceited, or egocentric, and ultimately empty of things that count. The person is self-indulgent, irrational, boring and unpleasant to be around.

I guess people have stopped reading cautionary fairy tales about narcissistic individuals who gaze at their own reflection and waste away to nothing.