Covert narcissism is not hidden pathological narcissism — it’s introverted grandiosity. Dr. Craig Malkin’s framework with signs and recovery.
Echoism
Echoism is a term coined by Dr. Craig Malkin to describe the opposite end of the narcissism spectrum from grandiosity — a pattern in which a person is so averse to seeming self-interested, needy, or demanding that they suppress their own needs, opinions, and desires entirely, often in response to having grown up with a narcissistic parent or partner.
The echoist is the person who finds it almost impossible to say what they want, who compulsively attends to others’ needs at the expense of their own, and who mistakes self-effacement for virtue. Echoist traits are among the vulnerabilities that exploitative people identify and targets. For example: the woman who has been trained not to ask for too much, who will try to understand his circumstances rather than assess them, and whose empathy flows outward so completely that she has very little left for her own situation.
Recovery from a narcissistic abuse frequently involves addressing echoist patterns as part of developing the internal security that makes the this type of manipulation less effective.
Echoism is the trait at the opposite end of the narcissism continuum. Dr. Craig Malkin’s framework explained — causes, signs, and recovery.
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Acquired Situational Narcissism was coined by Robert B. Millman to describe the late-onset Narcissistic Personality Disorder.