what are the differences between the two? are they mental illnesses?
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Psychopathy is characterized by diagnostic features such as superficial charm, high intelligence, poor judgment and failure to learn from experience, pathological egocentricity and incapacity for love, lack of remorse or shame, impulsivity, grandiose sense of self-worth, pathological lying, manipulative behavior, poor self-control, promiscuous sexual behavior, juvenile delinquency, and criminal versatility, among others. As psychopaths age, they are not able to continue their energy-consuming lifestyle and become burned-out and depressed while they look back on their restless life full of interpersonal discontentment. Their health deteriorates as the effects of their recklessness accumulate.
Narcissism means self-love which in itself is not pathological. It is how we come to understand accepting one’s strengths and weaknesses and building self-esteem. This is normal and as a ‘normal’ person matures, they learn to have regard for themselves as well as others. This is the primary distinction between normal and pathological narcissism which is recognized as a full-blown disorder by the Diagnostic Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders carefully revised over the years as new clinical findings come to light.