Narcissistic defenses are coping techniques that preserve idealized aspects of the self while repressing limitations. They tend to be rigid and totalistic, and are often driven by feelings of shame and guilt, conscious or unconscious. Narcissistic variants are among the earliest defense mechanisms to emerge, and include denial, distortion, and projection. Splitting is also common- seeing people and situations in black and white terms, either as all bad or all good. A narcissistic defense, with the narcissist’s typical over-valuation of the self, can come to the fore at any stage of development.
The narcissist typically runs through a sequence of defenses to discharge painful feelings until he or she finds one that works: unconscious repression, conscious denial, distortion (including exaggeration and minimization) and lies, psychological projection (blaming someone else), and finally, enlisting the help of one or more of his or her codependent friends who will support his or her distorted view.
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The Daily Omnivore 