Posted on 03/21/2009 6:50:32 PM PDT by Free ThinkerNY
Half the harm that is done in this world is due to people who want to feel important. They don't mean to do harm, but the harm does not interest them. Or they do not see it, or they justify it because they are asbsorbed in the endless struggle to think well of themselves.
T.S. Eliot
Sigmund Freud introduced the concept of narcissism in his 1914 essay On Narcissism: An Introduction. Freud suggested that a basic self-love might not be as abnormal as previously thought, and was even a common component of the human psyche. He argued that it was the desire and energy that drives our instinct to survive- he called this Primary Narcissism.
But he also described the existence in some of an abnormal Secondary Narcissism- a pathological condition that occurs when the libido (the psychic and emotional energy behind human actions) withdraws from objects outside of the self. Freud said that Secondary Narcissism is an extreme, exaggerated form of the narcissism present in all of us.
To care for someone is to convert ego-libido (self love) into object-libido by sacrificing some self-love to give to the other person, which leaves less ego-libido available for primary narcissism and the protecting and nurturing of the self. When that affection is returned in kind, so is the libido... thus restoring primary narcissism and self-worth.
As the child grows and his ego develops, he is contantly giving of his self-love to people and objects, the first of which is usually his mother. That diminished self-love should then be replenished by the affection and caring returned to him. However, any failure to achieve, or disruption of, this balance causes psychological disturbances. In any such case, primary narcissism can only be restored by withdrawing object-libido to replenish self-love/ego libido.
(Excerpt) Read more at reaganiterepublicanresistance.blogspot.com ...
my
gosh!
That is totally freaky!
bttt
Dr. Vaknin has no credibility within the field. And the quoting Freud doesn’t really help, either.
It’s not the article that’s the selling point - it’s the picture.
And was Vaknin even the subject of this thread?
Sounds to me like you are an Obama supporter trying to shoot down the whole idea of NPD, since you can not deny that Obama fits ALL of the NPD criteria.
DSM-IV was NOT authored by Vaknin, and it IS recognized by EVERYONE in the field.
“Half the harm that is done in this world is due to people who want to feel important.”:
So very true.
I’m a psych student.
Yeah, I’m an Obama supporter. e_e I’m not saying that he doesn’t have it, I’m saying that we can’t prove it because you cannot diagnose someone from afar. It’s unethical and an insult to the field. If someone ever diagnoses Obama properly (as in, actually meets with him, does a clinical interview, or at least distributes psychological testing), I will be thrilled, but that hasn’t happened yet.
Dr. Vaknin is not the subject but he IS the source of the article.
Your chosen field hardly EVER diagnosis ANY personality disorders!
Many reasons for this, all valid for further exploration:
1.) There is NO CURE for any personality disorder. Therefore, diagnosis would tend to end the patient visits.
2.) Insurance, government and private alike, will not pay for treatment aimed at a personality disorder, so the patient will be forced to pay 100% of the cost of any such, unproven, “treatment”.
3.) Personality disorders in general, and NPD in particular, include the trait of blaming all of your problems on someone else. Those with NPD do not think that anything is wrong with them, in the first place, so why in the world to they “need” any therapy?
4.) Individuals with NPD do not suffer from NPD, the rest of us suffer.
Anyway, I have had to teach 3 different psychiatrist/psychologists about NPD. Your field, in general, is very, very ignorant on the matter, It is not a money maker for you. There are no prescriptions to write, no treatments to be done and no money to be made.
Show me anyone who has had to deal with this issue, first hand, in someone else, and has read a few books on the subject, and I will show you someone who is far more of an expert, in this matter, than the vast majority of “shrinks” who generally never deal with the subject matter, at all.
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