Both forms of narcissism are found to be associated with various personality traits, grandiose narcissism typically correlates with high levels of extraversion, openness and emotional stability, whereas vulnerable narcissism correlates positively with neuroticism and negatively with extraversion.

Thank you Himani Singh Birhman for the prompt response. I was actually wondering whether or not individuals, who score high on neuroticism, would automatically score high on vulnerable narcissism. Thank you once again.

Narcissism and neuroticism are not the same. The former is a personality disorder and from that often the environment suffers more than the person him/her self. A neurotic person suffers more than the environment from his/her symptoms. There is also a difference in reality perception.

Thank you very much S. Béatrice Marianne Ewalds-Kvist , greatly appreciated!

Vulnerability to one's sense of self significance and worthiness is formulated and manifested in both similar and differential ways considering precipitating factors that contextualize the quality and configuration of the person's woundedness. Neuroticism is indeed similar to narcissism in terms of preoccupations with heightened sensitivities to perceived threats to one's self-image and concept associated with a lack of boundaries discerning confusion of imagined "insults" to one's sense of integrity as compared to the common-sense reality of how frustrations and offenses happen as part of the ways of life itself. It's been said that the neurotic builds "sandcastles in the sky" and psychotics seek to live in them! Neuroticism is a tendency towards exaggerated fears and worries regarding how life events could be dangerous and chaotically going out of control coupled with feelings of inadequacy to cope or problem-solve as if one's very survival of self-identity could be at risk of falling apart. This state of alarm requires panicked, emergency measures of defensiveness, safety and exhibiting anxiety states of tension with desperate attempts to protect one's immediate sense of safety and survival both emotionally and at times physically. Anger and hostility could be utilized in this defensive context of relating to the psychosocial context.

Narcissism as a personality disorder is a characteristic way of living and perceiving themselves as entitled and deserving of special consideration elevated above those in the context of life events. Narcissism says life is unbearable if not treated with elevated esteem and regard with a tendency to live in their "own worldview or domain where the narcissist, as does the psychotic seeks to move into their own "sandcastles in the sky". Indeed, narcissism of such intense self-involvement could have emerged originally out of a neurotic fearfulness of life being dangerous without any adequate empowered ability to protect one's self where exaggeration of the EGO'S SELF IMPORTANCE NOW BECOMES THE "DEFENSE" against chaotic events and uncertainties. Comorbidity of narcissism with hypo and hyper mania in bipolar disorders is associated with this elevated sense of self-importance bordering on "psychotic" breaks with reality as one could begin to become delusional about how their worldview living context must be.

It would not be hard to imagine that narcissism and neuroticism (not just because of word similarity) could reverberate in behaviors where the narcissist becomes hypervigilant about slights to their ego and sense of entitlement "neurotically" defensive and critical of any slight or negative comments about themselves as threatening and chaotic to their fragile EGO. By the same token, the neurotic already anxious and fearful of everyday events going "dangerously wrong" (is the front door locked, is the gas stove shut off, why did that person yell out aloud when passing by, etc) could generate self-absorbed narcissistic-like self-

preoccupations.

However, reverberating and at times interchangeable these similar behaviors may appear, the core self formative rules of apperception within these disorders is highly distinguishable. The neurotic believes the world is dangerous and threatening and feels inferior and inadequate to cope with it. The narcissist believes in their special condition of entitlement and that the world becomes

offensive and unacceptable when their specialness is not adored and admired.

Behaviors may appear similar but their core configuration is vastly different.

There is an old saying: "IF IT WALKS LIKE A DUCK AND QUACKS LIKE A DUCK, THEN IT MUST BE A DUCK!" YET, LIKE ALL GENERALIZATIONS, THEY REALLY AREN'T VALID AS APPEARANCES ARE DECEIVING! SO "DUCK" THE APPEARANCES AND TAKE A CLOSER LOOK AT WHAT IS THE PATH THAT PERSON IS WALKING!.

Narcissists believe "I'M OKAY AND YOU'RE NOT!"

Neurotics believe "I'M NOT OKAY WHETHER YOU ARE OR NOT!"

The differences between "Neuroticism", "Covert Narcissism", "vulnerable" and "hypersensitive" are several, not "some": First of all, the term "Neuroticism" has been discontinued for quite some time, as you well know, of the Metalanguage and the Language of Mental Health, Psychopathology, Psychiatry, etc. at least officially, in fact, it does not appear either in the "DSM" (APA) or in the "ICH" (WHO).

On the other hand, such a term, of Psychoanalytic origin, alluded to the compendium of Mental Disorders that could be classified as Neurosis in its various subtypes. It is true that some Scales and Inventories, not Psychodynamic, such as Eysenck's which evaluates his Model of THREE PERSONALITY FACTORS "PEN" (Psychoticism, Extraversion and Neuroticism) contrary to the most in current fashion of the FIVE FACTORS (Pentafactorial Models or "Big Five "); but, even for the brilliant German / British author, Neuroticism actually alluded to ANXIETY; but it is not included either in the Catell Model, nor in the "16 PF" Scale that measures it, also speaking of ANXIETY.

On the contrary, Narcism is a Trait or Pattern of Personality that can become a serious picture of Personality Disorder (Narcissistic Personality Disorder) and that, even, is part of the unfortunately known as "DARK TRIAD" (together Machiavellianism and Psychopathy); then THEY HAVE NOTHING TO SEE BOTH TERMS OR CONCEPTS. (For further clarification, below in another answer, I conceptualize both Concepts).

As indicated above, we can see that:

Regarding NEUROTICISM (anxiety): This dimension is tectonic, so we only find a pathology at one end of it, the high pole in neuroticism, while at the opposite pole is the control of emotions, that is, , The normality. The nine factors of the dimension are anxiety, depression, guilt, low self-esteem, tension, irrationality, shyness, sadness and emotionality. The biological bases of this dimension are related to the activation of the Autonomous Nervous System and, according to Eysenck, this is the emotional dimension of Personality in its "PEN" TRIFACTORIAL MODEL.

On the contrary, NARCISSISM, clinical and regardless of the adjectives that may qualify it, or NARCISITE PERSONALITY DISORDER (one of several types of personality disorders) is a mental disorder in which people have an inordinate sense of their own importance, a deep need for excessive attention and admiration, troubled relationships, and a lack of empathy for others.However, behind this mask of extreme security, there is a fragile self-esteem that is vulnerable to the slightest criticism (hence the "vulnerability" and "hypersensitivity" or "very thin skin", metaphorically speaking).

The interrelatedness of narcissistic personality disorder (traits with distinct qualities and features) with what is termed "neuroticism" (States of waxing and waning negative, anxious emotionality) from older nomenclature reflects both similarities and quite distinct core differentiation. These interrelated qualities and properties are highlighted in my statements 4 days ago. Clarifying definitions of terminology into updated nomenclature eg: DIAGNOSTIC STATISICAL MANUAL 5 (DSM-5) is important to be clear what indeed we are talking about in terms of constructs that are relevant. Terms like narcissism and "neuroticism" (an older term for contemporary constructs of various anxiety states of exaggerated fears, worries, self-depreciation, negativity, difficulty with emotional regulation, Poloyvagal nerve theory of the autonomic nervous system, etc) actually labels and categories needed to differentiate psychological phenomena.

However, it is important to recognize, as did the committee upgrading the DSM-5 manual, that many diagnostic differentiations are not hard and fast but rather operate on a continuum and spectrum of degrees of overlap and severity. Case in point, autism spectrum disorder where there are ranges of variation in how autistic qualities and properties are manifested. What is "labeled" narcissism and the older term neuroticism (referring to anxiety states of disorder) are both distinct in themselves and yet share many qualities and features but for different etiological or causal factors. They are both diagnosable and are painful conditions that share features of sensitivity, preoccupation with self issues of esteem and adequacy, highly vulnerable to criticism, disapproval and at their core suffer severely from feelings of marked inadequacy and lack of self-efficacy.

They are both conditions that have their own pathologies except one -narcissism is a personality trait meaning a lifelong property of that person's character structure and the other-neuroticism or anxiousness with its multiple issues mentioned is a fluctuating state of conditional affect that could emerge when triggered by both internal emotional self-talk and environmental stimuli perceived to be stressful and/or threatening.

Traits of narcissism and States of anxiousness "neuroticism" are both distinct and yet overlap on a spectrum of vulnerability, hypersensitivity, suffering and unrealistic expectations and limiting core beliefs that interrupt healthy and vital life functioning. When pathological beliefs, whether of one's exaggerated, narcissistic self-importance or exaggerated "neuroticized" fears, anxieties and/or catastrophic preoccupations with disaster, the hyperbolic distortions of real-world perceiving become impaired and are in need of detoxification and healing whether living with a character trait and/or an emotional state.

DSM-5 diagnosis of Narcissistic Personality Disorder is based on the grandiose presentation, 'vulnerable narcissism' can also be diagnosed with NPD since both share the same core sense of entitlement, self absorption, lack of emotional empathy, arrogance and attention seeking behavior. These ref may help: Cheek, Jonathan; Hendin, Holly; Wink, Paul (22 June 2013). An Expanded Version of the Hypersensitive Narcissism Scale (The Maladaptive Covert Narcissism Scale). Association for Research in Personality. doi:10.13140/RG.2.1.3216.1761.