Narcissism

[Christ_empowered]

I should have written that better. Towards me. I was tormented at an expensive, for profit mental hospital at age 20...because they diagnosed NPD.

 

[Deborah13]

so you Have never done any of that? you have never manipulated another for ones gain? never lied to make oneself more important then one is?

I think that this is manipulation that causes someone else pain. It is the pain of the other person that satisfies a need in them. It would be like setting up a scenario where the other person will look foolish or stupid. It makes them feel good about themselves, clever or powerful maybe, when that person is embarrassed.

 

[reba]

wow Deborah13 your really mean that
added
ok i guess not

 

[reba]

I tend to agree with jason in that most every one shows some of those trates at some time. to some degree.... 'true narcissism' goes way over the top.....

 

[Deborah13]

wow Deborah13 your really mean that
added
ok i guess not

Maybe I didn't understand you. splain please

Yup and I'm with Jesse that doesn't sound at all like our jasonc .

 

[reba]

you double posted so i said.... wow Deborah13 your really mean that

then you deleted the second post ........ so i said ... ok i guess not

i was just being silly

 

[reba]

• Has a grandiose sense of self-importance (e.g., exaggerates achievements and talents, expects to be recognized as superior without commensurate achievements)
• Is preoccupied with fantasies of unlimited success, power, brilliance, beauty, or ideal love
• Believes that he or she is “special” and unique and can only be understood by, or should associate with, other special or high-status people (or institutions)
• Requires excessive admiration
• Has a very strong sense of entitlement, e.g., unreasonable expectations of especially favorable treatment or automatic compliance with his or her expectations
• Is exploitative of others, e.g., takes advantage of others to achieve his or her own ends
• Lacks empathy, e.g., is unwilling to recognize or identify with the feelings and needs of others
• Is often envious of others or believes that others are envious of him or her
• Regularly shows arrogant, haughty behaviors or attitudes

You have never in your life felts some of the above to a lesser degree?


I grew up poor i did envy
i showed arrogance to hide my fears
I so need a good pat on the back...
coming from poor i fantasized about success being pretty and being loved by THAT guy

over the top i hope not

 

[Gary]

Everyone is narcissistic to a certain degree.

There really is no cure for narcissism. I'll be this way til the day I die.
.

 

[Kathi]

It is a lot easier on everyone is someone will recognize that they have NPD rather than be in denial.

 

[Christ_empowered]

I just don't think narcissism is incurable, largely because I a) don't believe people are that inflextible and static and b) because I believe in the saving and transforming power of Christ.

 

[Christ_empowered]

According to secular mental health, what's the point in owning up to NPD? A lifetime of therapy that cannot cure you and periodic treatment with numbing antidepressants?

 

[Kathi]

According to secular mental health, what's the point in owning up to NPD? A lifetime of therapy that cannot cure you and periodic treatment with numbing antidepressants?

I don't see how antidepressants could help NPD.

 

[Christ_empowered]

They're supposed to help symptoms, like fits of low mood.

 

[Kathi]

They're supposed to help symptoms, like fits of low mood.

I think that is over medicating to put someone on antidepressants for NPD unless their is a mental illness attached.

 

[Kathi]

I know that manipulative behavior is seen in NPD but what about controlling behavior?

 

[Christ_empowered]

I would think that controlling behavior could be a form of manipulative behavior (?). Apparently, narcissistic men don't care for smart women, so there's an element of misogyny there. NPD is found more often amongst men who have sex with men, too, which explains a lot about the gay community (in old school psychoanalytic theory, homosexual behavior was seen as an expression of narcissism).

I just have issues with psychiatry as a whole and with the idea that they should condemn people with a diagnosis. I mean, if people can recover from Schizophrenia, why not NPD? Also, because of my own NPD diagnosis, I was subjected to all sorts of torment, all the while being told that there is no cure. So...I was subjected to expensive torment, but there is no hope, supposedly. See what I'm saying?

I also have issues with people labeling others. Saying someone is NPD isn't helpful. You may just not like that person. That person may just be particularly arrogant, filled with self-love and pride, or immature. They may be on drugs that make these things worse.

As Christians, we are to love others, even the un-teachable, un-reachable, wretched, and un-lovable. I think a lot of mental health, inc. practices go against both the spirit of Christianity and The Bible itself. Based on my own personal experiences, I'd say this is particularly true of the way "personality disorders," especially narcissism, are dealt with.

 

[Deborah13]

Sure, I used to envy women who owned their own home. I'm a real nester and I'm picky about where and what colors the feathers are that line my nest. I like to garden, lots of pretty flower gardens. Renting doesn't always allow these nesting behaviors to flourish. Now I have my own home. Let's see, how many I's is that? 5 Guess that's not too bad.

I still envy people who can sing really, well.

I can feel arrogant with certain people sometimes when I get impatient with them.

 

[Jethro Bodine]

I just don't think NPD is incurable. Maybe outside of Jesus, yes, but...

...speaking of when I had the dreaded NPD, a little bit of empathy would have gone a long way.

I'm not saying this about you, but generally speaking the problem with that is the narc thinks you owe them that sympathy or empathy. They are the most unappreciative and thankless people on earth because any good or favor they receive was, in their minds, owed to them anyway. When they receive it it validates their original feeling that they deserved it anyway. It's a twisted no-win situation with them. You can't win if you give them sympathy, and you surely can't win if you don't give it to them.

 

[Jethro Bodine]

Everyone is narcissistic to a certain degree.

There really is no cure for narcissism. I'll be this way til the day I die.

Case in point. The need to remind us this was said earlier.

(Glad Gary's a good sport).

 

[Willie T]

• Has a grandiose sense of self-importance (e.g., exaggerates achievements and talents, expects to be recognized as superior without commensurate achievements)
• Is preoccupied with fantasies of unlimited success, power, brilliance, beauty, or ideal love
• Believes that he or she is “special” and unique and can only be understood by, or should associate with, other special or high-status people (or institutions)
• Requires excessive admiration
• Has a very strong sense of entitlement, e.g., unreasonable expectations of especially favorable treatment or automatic compliance with his or her expectations
• Is exploitative of others, e.g., takes advantage of others to achieve his or her own ends
• Lacks empathy, e.g., is unwilling to recognize or identify with the feelings and needs of others
• Is often envious of others or believes that others are envious of him or her
• Regularly shows arrogant, haughty behaviors or attitudes

You have never in your life felts some of the above to a lesser degree?


I grew up poor i did envy
i showed arrogance to hide my fears
I so need a good pat on the back...
coming from poor i fantasized about success being pretty and being loved by THAT guy

over the top i hope not

You just spoke a well understood truth in the psychiatric community. We've all "got" some of "everything" in the book, (the DSM). Just to greater or lesser degrees.