What is Narcissism Part 2: A Functional Definition of Narcissism
This video is the second part of a two video series. Part 1 can be found here: • What is Narcissism Par...
The popular idea of narcissism is deeply flawed. Narcissists are often portrayed as villains: evil, vain, manipulative, and cruel. Such portrayals rest on the problematic DSM-5 definition of Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD), and research supporting it using the Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI). Unfortunately, neither the DSM construct nor the NPI actually describe or measure mental illness. Instead, they both describe a personality type that is maladaptive in some settings, but highly adaptive in others.
In this video, narcissism specialist Dr. Mark Ettensohn builds on the foundation of Part 1, discussing grandiose and vulnerable dimensions of pathological narcissism, and highlighting important recent research developments like the Pathological Narcissism Inventory (PNI), a full-spectrum measure of the disorder.
Dr. Ettensohn is also author of the book, Unmasking Narcissism: A Guide to Understanding the Narcissist in Your Life, available on Amazon here amzn.to/3nG9FgH.
To learn more about NPD from a compassionate perspective, visit Dr. Ettensohn's website at www.DrEttensohn.com.
References
American Psychiatric Association. (1980). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (3rd ed.). Washington, D.C.: American Psychiatric Association.
American Psychiatric Association. (1987). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (3rd ed., rev.). Washington, D.C.: American Psychiatric Association.
American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). Washington, D.C.: American Psychiatric Association.
Buss, D.M., & Chiodo, L.M. (1991). Narcissistic acts in everyday life. Journal of Personality, 59, 179-215.
Cain, N.M., Pincus, A.L., &Ansell, E.B. (2008). Narcissism at a crossroads: Phenotypic description of pathological narcissism across clinical theory, social/personality psychology, and psychiatric diagnosis. Clinical Psychology Review, 28, 638-56
Caligor, E., Levy, K.N., & Yeomans, F.E. (2015). Narcissistic personality disorder: Diagnostic and clinical challenges. The American Journal of Psychiatry, 172 (5), 415-422.
Dimaggio, G. (2012, July 18). Narcissistic Personality Disorder: Rethinking what we know. Retrieved from www.psychiatrictimes.com/perso...
Johnson, S. M. (1994). Character styles. New York: W. W. Norton & Co.
Miller, J.D., & Campbell, W.K. (2008). Comparing clinical and social-personality conceptualizations of narcissism. Journal of Personality, 76(3), 449-476.
Miller, J.D., McCain, J., Lynam, D.R., Few, L.R., Gentile, B., MacKillop, J., & Campbell, W.K. (2014). A comparison of the criterion validity of popular measures of narcissism and narcissistic personality disorder via the use of expert ratings. Psychological Assessment, 26(3), 958-969.
Pincus, A.L., Ansell, E.B., Pimentel, C.A., Cain, N.M., Wright, A.G.C., &Levy, K.N. (2009). Initial construction and validation of the Pathological Narcissism Inventory. Psychological Assessment, 21, 365-79.
Pincus, A.L., & Lukowitsky, M.R. (2010). Pathological narcissism and narcissistic personality disorder. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, 6, 421-446.
Raskin, R., &Novacek, J. (1989). An MMPI description of the narcissistic personality. Journal of Personality Assessment, 53(1),66-80.
Schoenleber, M., Roche, M.J., Wetzel, E., Pincus, A.L., & Roberts, B.W. (2015). Development of a brief version of the Pathological Narcissism Inventory. Psychological Assessment, 27(4), 1520-1526.
#npd #narcissism #mentalhealth #mentalhealthawareness #psychology #healing #dsm #narcissus #psychologist #psychoanalysis #traumahealing #diagnosis
I will remove comments that are abusive to any individual (including myself) or population. This includes comments that are abusive toward pwNPD.
I think another good example of Vulnerable Narcissism might be Squidward from SpongeBob SquarePants. He is constantly occupied with his own success and fantasies, but he is depressed and neurotic and clearly miserable in his life.
I nearly cry when I watch your videos...i wish more therapists were like this...let alone regular people. I've kept everything inside. Very rarely been hurtful to anyone, already feel my existence is a burden and seeing therapists treating narcissists with the derision they do, makes it hard to stay hopeful.
I get that. I think there are many people who struggle with feelings of hopelessness in the face of stigma toward and NPD diagnosis.
Keep going on your healing journey! 🤗
@@shannonluck5066 ☺️❤️
I had trouble holding back tears while listening to this.
Thank you for sharing your experience.
helpful, but heartbreaking!!!! because NO ONE should have to walk around like this. and for most of society to demonize them is, just heartbreaking!!!!!!
Dr. Ettensohn, Thank you for your devotion to narcissism. The world is better for this video.
You're very welcome. 🙂
You know what's the worst of any emotional wound? Not noticing until you're bleeding out: maybe at the time you didn't feel it that way, but later you start to see how much it's been affecting you. This happened to me recently and I can't help but question everything I've felt, seen or done, thinking that my perception of reality was altered, like I had a cloud above me. To anyone in this situation, I wish you the best of luck: living in this rollercoaster is hell.
The beauty is though, that now you are aware; and thats a huge positive. Stick with the journey 👍
I’m not a bad person! I have so many mirrors in my home not because I like myself so much, on the contrary, I have them everywhere to remind myself that I’m not so ugly as I like to think most if the time while most people think I’m a model! Sometimes even the whole world inventory of mirrors won’t make me see that! I have empathy (sometimes too much especially for animals) I treat people with respect and dignity but I just don’t bond with them unless they give me a constant positive feedback or else I feel invisible, unwanted and forgotten! Dealing with people make my soul feel polluted! I know exactly what happened to me that made me that person and I have enough self-awareness to diagnose myself but I would never share my diagnosis with anybody although i’m very open about my OCD and ADHD conditions because of the stigma! Yesterday, I would never think of myself as NPD! I volunteer, I advocate for the animals (i’m a vegan) and I always stand up for the underdog but I was sure i’m not just bpd because! I like being alone most of the time and i don’t need people or chase them! I actually push them away! Until I’ve watched a video about the vulnerable narcissist and a lightbulb turned on in my head! All that confusion was because of that missrepresentation of this disorder in the media and the caricatural portray of it in our culture! I am nothing like Donald Trump! They almost describe psychopathy, not narcissism! I feel so bad if I hurt others and i’m tuned to others’ feelings and needs! I read people very well and I know what to say to make them feel better except when I’m not validated, then i’m so blind and it’s all about me and about soothing the low self-esteem volcano inside me that I can be cruel to others, but I also apologize a lot. i’m not sure if I have love in my heart toward those people but I make sure I’m always fair and morel but again being fair and moral has been always a part of my false self! My image of the perfect person! I have a grandiose side that helped me survive the world! It’s not there often and I admit sometime I even induce grandiosity to get rid of constant feeling of inadequacy because I have no balanced self-esteem! It’s either or or. I also induce it to help me in specific situations! I don’t walk around 24/7 thinking that I am special and awesome! It’s not a second nature! I wish it were this way! I only fell in in love once and he was a reflection of myself, physically and mentally! The resemblance was uncanny! This is the first KZhead comment I write without checking my grammar because fuck perfection! i’m sick of that protective false self! I know now that even when I show flaws, it’s because it makes me look impressive and strong and being a bad ass rebel who doesn’t care about others’ opinion is part of my false self! My false self is so strong that I made sure to wear make up before going yo the ER and first thing I’ve done after my surgery was looking at the car mirror! Nobody ever has seen me without my glam and I call that being a fighter and being resilient but now I know it’s bullshit! The only time I felt loved without a full face of make up is when I was on psychedelic! I still think of that feeling! I felt so free! Loved just because I exist, not because I’ve earned it! It was a foreign concept to me but i’m glad that I’ve experienced it, even if it was very brief and was chemically induced! I now know how normal people feel all the time! How easy must be their lives! I even reflect my insecurity to others when I see people who don’t look perfect I always doubt their partners’ love to them! I’m not shallow and I don’t “intellectually“ evaluate people’s value according to their appearances! I just reflect my “unworthy of love unless I’m perfect” self image on others! Unfortunately deep down! I don’t feel that I would be ever loved if I lost my beauty and youth! This video was very eye-opening! I honestly thought I’m bipolar because of this swinging between inadequacy and grandiosity, between so special and not worthy but now I understand! Thanks you for your explanation and for your compassion!
Thank you for sharing your mind fellow newly discovered Narc
Genuinely thank you for this destigmatized definition of narcissism. Wonderful video!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Thank you for information provided in the video and the thoughtful way it is presented. You have once again helped to facilitate my journey from “hate” to compassion for one in my life who I believe to be a vulnerable narcissist. I look at all my experiences with the person in a very different way because of the knowledge you imparted. This healthier view of the person is helping me immensely on my healing journey from the relationship.
Thank you for your compassionate explanations. I wish that this channel will help many listeners and spread courage to trust therapy. It is so important that people stop feeling ashamed for their mental condition. Much love for every single person who finds the courage to seek help. It is hard to fight the fear that it couldn't work or that society could punish those who confess their symptoms.
Thanks for watching. I’m glad to know you find the channel helpful. 👍🏻
The most compassionate and insightful information on NPD. Thank you for sharing.
This is fantastic. This is the best breakdown of narcissism based on my experiences that I’ve ever seen!
This channel is outstanding. Thank you for your involvement.
I am so grateful for this perspective! I left an emotionally abusive marriage and now co-parent with a person I believe has NPD. 😢 I have been trying to cultivate a better understanding of what he goes through in a way that releases my feelings of resentment and anger. I think if there were less stigma with NPD, more people would seek help and the whole world would suffer less 🙏
🙏😭 I already am aware of these things about myself and others but damn, it was still emotional to watch and see the narrative reflect more of the reality of my experience.
Belle also chose to come back and protect the Beast from the angry mob of townsfolk. Belle also played a very important role in the film. Something that is completely overlooked, especially from the Dr. Ramani fan base. Beast's realization of "you came back" was an epiphany that he was loved and accepted for who he was, not his fortune, power, or posessions. If we say, "but Belle liked his books" these are representative of the knowledge within Beast and the knowledge that he possesed she was intrigued by. Women and men play a very important role to each other, in the current world, this is all completely disregarded.
In Brazil we don't have professionals with this knowledge, I really miss it. I need this kind of help. Thanks for your videos!
SO GRATEFUL!!!! i intend to revisit ALL of my other comments on the OTHER CHANNELS about this topic and include YOUR CHANNEL!!!--THE CHANNEL THAT SHOULD BE WATCHED!!!!! i'm so grateful i didn't give up my KZhead research!!!! NOW i can BEST understand what the person i did the research for is going through!!!... THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
As with your first video on the subject this is amazingly eye-opening. Thank you again for this much needed information.
I'm so glad you found it helpful. Thanks for watching!
All I know is there is a lot of pain and hurt and wounds they have to endure and I believe they need others to take some of it.💔 My ex narcissist pushed all that pain onto and into me. I am in therapy because I couldn't handle it.
Yeah...I remember Freud writing about narcissism....very well put at this point !
I love how you described narcissism through the lens of the funnny cartoons 'The Beauty and the Beast,😅!I can tell a very creative thing but educational 😊!
With videos like yours and “confessions” from people diagnosed with NPD I feel like I have learned more about the nature of narcissism than some clinicians. I have been able to recognise many people around me that clearly have narcissistic ways of perceiving the world. I am truly convinced that the percentage of people suffering from this disorder is much higher than the 1% that are diagnosed. Do you have any advice on how I could make them realise that they might have a disorder and should seek help from a professional (a few of them have visited a psychiatrist, but I guess they were not honest about their experiences, and were just prescribed antidepressants without treating the underlying problem)? I really want them to feel better about themselves and form healthier relationships with others. Thank you.
I have friends and family with and without a dx that struggle with all this. Thank you for helping me better understand what they live with. Having my own various diagnosis's i know what it's like to be judged and shunned. I was always told, be kind. Something we all need and often don't receive.
narcissism is difficult because of projection, deflection and alloplastic defenses... and that is probably not going to get better any time soon - like the only thing you must avoid at all costs is calling the narcissist a narcissist
I really enjoyed listening to your views on Narcissism
Thank you for this, was married to a narcissist for 28yrs years and gave me HELL, HE DID HAVE A HORRIBLE HORRIBLE UP BRINGING, snd 100pc sure he suffered sexual abuse, he his own worst enemy, doesn't bother with his own children or Grandkids.
This was a very compassionate video. It helped me to shed some light on what my friend is going through. I couldn’t understand the hot and cold behaviour but this video was very informative. Thank you!
Glad it helped
This was beautiful ❤
There was so much here that I could identify with and it felt great to feel understood. I am kinda trying to solve some really difficult questions as a newly wed who has been really struggling with a lot of different thoughts.
I just found your channel and I feel in line with your vision about narcissism. Although it means that I have to admit that I am or I was a narcissist myself. You are talking beyond the more common victim-mentality. I have felt a victim of my narcissistic father and 2 husbands..... Now I understand and KNOW that although the difficulties I had and still have to endure.... it was always "me". After my second devorce my total world went upside down (again a sudden very young woman) My kids turned against me in favour of my second husband (not their father) it was extremely hard! Now I can see that I had to build my Self! A Self who has always been there for me, but I did't dare to trust my Self! I'm still learning and becoming stronger and stronger IN myself. But there is a negative part on it too! I always tried to be likable for others (with succes) now..... I am in constant contact with my Self and I observe how that threatens other people and bring out quite some agression towards me. That's not funny.... not for me and not for them either..... "I" don't change of the anger of others, because I stay connected to myself.... but many relationships I had just stopped because of my own feeling of well-being. I don't have contact with my 4 kids and 9 grandchildren because I am such a 'bad person' from their opinion. My second husband became their 'father' and grandfather and I ..... see a group of people I can't belong to, because "my language" has changed. That's a very sad thing too! I can't step back and become the people-pleaser again..... I only can support my Self in a very respectful way! The feeling I have towards myself now was really worth the pain I had/have to endure! Thank you for putting my process in words!
8:45 common features of pathological narcissism.
In my case I figured out the feelings of superiority came from the disconnection to others. I concluded that the reason others couldn't relate was because they weren't intelligent or sensitive enough to connect with me. They also apeared highly incompetent which is what pointed me to that conclusion.
this was very informative! thank you
Glad it was helpful!
This is outstanding. Thanks for sharing this info.
Glad it was helpful!
@@healnpd I've been watching all your videos. It's like someone described me perfectly. Felt invisible all my life.
Thank you doc!
Excellent news
thank you so much
You are welcome! Thanks for watching.
Great video !
Thanks for your feedback!
I've enjoyed all your videos so much and have been reading your book, too (which I very much recommend to people here who suffer from NPD). Do you have other resources that you recommend? Like books, blogs, or KZhead channels? And on a different note: Are there other examples of characters who you think accurately portray NPD?
Thanks for your feedback. I'm glad to know you are enjoying the channel and my book. With respect to other resources...I recommend @TheNamelessNarcissist channel for a solid first-person perspective on the disorder. I also recommend reading Alice Miller's stuff, particularly The Drama of the Gifted Child. If you want a more clinical overview, Stephen Johnson's work is awesome. I can't recommend his book, Humanizing the Narcissist Style highly enough. I think that Nate from Ted Lasso is a pretty accurate portrayal of NPD. Things look like they might be starting to go off the rails a bit into villain territory, but in the earlier episodes he is portrayed as a conflicted character whose self esteem struggles are grounded in his relationships with his parents.
Fantastic video It really is nice to find a channel about narcissism that both focuses on and is compassionate towards the narcissist. I understand the fact that narcissism is often as destructive (if not moreso due solely to the amount of people affected) to others as it is the narcissist and so the sources that talk about healing from and getting out of narcissistic relationships more than essential... but it only really solves half the problem. While it's not these peoples jobs to understand and fix the narcissists problems and rightly shouldn't feel oobliged to help them, It's somewhat disheartening that even the people in the mental help field have given up on them. I do hope this gets to more people and that maybe someday the mental health field would at the very least no longer think of them as the grandiose caricature that they're made out to be. An odd question/suggestion also You've mentioned a couple of examples of narcissism and I'm honestly surprised to not see Bojack Horseman there. I haven't watched Ted Lasso but I'd honestly would've said Bojack was the most sympathetic portrayal of a narcissist. I'd struggle to say realistic as it's one of those shows like The Simpsons and Family Guy. If you haven't seen it then I'd wholly recommend it.
Thanks for the recommendation. 😊
@@healnpd kzhead.info/sun/ZrRtj6lrfpqLqXA/bejne.html just a bit of an example of what you're in for if you look into it
Such a shame this video has little view number. Btw it hits hard
Thanks for your feedback. I hope that more people will find this channel as I create more content. Unfortunately, it is difficult to find the time and the best I can do right now is about one video per month avg.
Excellent videos 🙏❤️
Thank you!
@Heal NPD So enlightening n educational to hear a human approach towards narcissism!!It's sad n heartbreaking 💔 how nearly all video's n books r so harsh on the narcissist's!!At the end of the day we r all human beings n we need to treat pple with respect irrespective of who or what they are🙏❤️
grandiosity and vulnerability are sisters
I appreciate your compassionate way of discussion. I appreciate the origin of narcissism but why does the condition cause such devastation to the partner. All the qualities, the hidden grandiosity, the entitlement, arrogance etc but what about the malice and cruelty meted out and the brokenness it leaves one with? Two years spent with him and just two years away and it's been so very hard to try and get the pieces of me back together, don't know how I survived without therapy or ANYbody to speak to. I live on a farm miles away from town without anyone close who would understand (they don't). I UNDERSTAND the problems the narcissists deals with but cannot comprehend the malice they operate with. Mine is a 71 yo sibling and we grew up in a dysfunctional abusive home. All three my male sibs have the same brokenness and operate with the same malice yet my sister and I not, what makes some people develop this type of behavious and some not? Full understanding and compassion for them, firgiven but cannot get over the pieces I'm left in. Living with it is like living in a nightmare.
Wow, it’s like you are describing me exactly when you talk about vulnerable narcissim. How can I get help with this? Im miserable..
Its half the battle won, when you make a connection and begin to become aware. Well done. I wish you the best.
Holy moly. What if… The stigma and portrayal of Narcissists as Hated Villains is the reason behind… Covert Narcissists hiding, faking personas, and why so few of them go to get treatment. The fear of being ostracized and blamed in our society as the ones who messed up everything!! I have a lot of research I’ve put together over the years of my life. If I could just heal my Complex Ptsd. Now it has become some kind of long term shock. I can tell my body is shutting down and I feel helpless to stop it. I’m disassociated from the world I sadly endure as a potential fate. I couldn’t stop dissociating from everything after the ripple effect bogged me trapped inside my head. Living from the inside of a body does not seem like a good idea. I wouldn’t recommend it.. but it never would be any recommendation truly to exist.
What do you recommend as improved definitions?
Thank you for your video. It gives hope in a difficult relational area. Can you please explain how vulnerable narcissism is different from BPD, from this talk they seem very similar. And can you please explain why narcissists have little to no empathy.
Thanks for watching. Here’s a link to my video/podcast episode on the difference between vulnerable narcissism and BPD: Is It Vulnerable Narcissism or BPD? kzhead.info/sun/jb6JZst5pGeCaZs/bejne.html
Even if it's more nuanced than it's usually portrayed in mainstream and most narcissists aren't malignant, I've had enough with my own mother and I don't want to forgive her even if she was vulnerable inside. Narcissists are masters of using darvo technique and turning people against the victim.
Can narcissism be outgrown or some young people display these traits? I grew up in a shaky household, my mother has addiction issues and personality disorder. She was very abusive to me only growing up but i did have a very active healthy father that helped balance things out, I spent the majority of my time with him. i went to therapy at a young age to learn how to cope with my mom. When i was young like teen years and early twenties i displayed some vulnerable narcissistic traits but as I’ve gotten older not so much. through experiences, self reflection and just maturing i cant really relate to my old self. I still have some levels of anxiety that i manage but aside from that I’ve moved on from previous behaviors and ways. What brought me here was a previous relationship with someone that I later realized, was a mirror image of the old me, as I started to realize this I started to move away from the person because it became very unhealthy because we were not in similar places in our lives, he literally mirrored younger me as time went on and he couldn’t keep up the initial facade he presented to me, but he’s 30!! The part of me that is healed detached from the situation but this other side of me felt upset like I just wanted to help him out of these ways, get him to understand you don’t have to live your life like this. I realistically understand you can’t heal or change people so I moved on but it was just a confusing sad relationship. Seeing a person with so much to offer unable to see it for themselves, needing external validation to feel whole. It lead me to further educating myself on narcissism one so I can better identify things within others, but also myself and better understand my younger self. i just like to educate myself constantly to be the best and Most knowledgeable version of myself. Things I unconsciously did in the past I would never repeat now, i feel whole and stable whether I’m alone or with a partner, does that mean I’m narcissistic but aware? Or do you sometimes just outgrow certain behaviors.
WHERE do I get that shirt?😎
Borderline is spoken about this way.
How I dearly wish I'd found you and your wisdom before the romantic friendship I had with a predominately vulnerable narcissist fell apart. It would have been much easier for me to set boundaries for myself and continue the friendship- rather than feel confused and resentful and victimized...which resulted in us hurting each other in a final falling out.
Sometimes we have to make certain decisions as a means of protecting ourselves, and 'surviving'. Guilt sucks, though. At least you have a new 'super power' in your arsenal for navigating life.
@@bourbon_sketcher I agree, and thank you. ❤️🩹
Can vulnerable NPD have brief psychosis once or more a month ?
Brief psychosis can occur with any personality issue/disorder. To my knowledge, there is nothing specific to narcissism that would make psychotic episodes more or less likely.
👍👍👍
While very informative and interesting, this description seems to blur the lines between those suffering from vulnerable narcissism and CPTSD. To my amateur perspective that I am attempting to inform based on family experiences and various professional therapist's analysis available online, such as your chanel, a major difference seems to be how the coping mechanisms are directed, with those suffering from CPTSD being decidedly aware of their pain, and it is an almost completely internalized process in which they look to themselves, and often substances, to cope privately and quietly, largely without acting out against others, and with little or no expectation that another person should help them, low-to-no entitlement Contrast this with the main coping mechanics of the vulnerable narcissist, who will generally look outward to find coping mechanisms, act against others to cope, and maneuver others into providing relief for them, and actually expect others via high entitlement, to do so. Therefore, I would expect self-harm more often in CPTSD, and more harm to others in NPD. I would appreciate any thoughts you might have that could better help me differentiate between the two.
I think cPTSD is beneath many personality disorders. A number of them have a compensated state and a collapsed state. In NPD, the compensated state is grandiosity and the collapsed state is vulnerability. But the core of the issue is the wounded self, largely caused by chronic relational trauma. I think there is a pull (largely due to heavily stigmatized representations of narcissism online) to draw distinctions between ‘good guy’ issues like cPTSD and ‘bad guy’ issues like NPD. But I have almost always found some version of cPTSD at the heart of any personality disorder I’ve ever worked with clinically. Another way of looking at it would be to say that the cPTSD is the wound that necessitates defensive adaptations. The particular style of adaption that results is due to a mix of genetic temperament, family system, the nature or quality of the chronic trauma experienced, and the age(s) at which it occurred.
"how to kill anxious people" :D
But all the narcissists in the world displays exactly the same behavioral habits, also psychologists aims to protect innocent people from the narcissists but mental asylums protects mentally ill people from self abuse
Well intentioned Doctor. But the focus must be on the recipients of narc abuse. There are no excuses - ever.
I think your comment is well-intentioned, but represents either/or thinking that is ultimately not helpful when it comes to complex topics like the intersection between mental illness and various forms of abuse. We can focus on *both* helping people who have been hurt in abusive relationships *and* on increasing awareness that pathological narcissism and NPD are actual mental illnesses that cause significant suffering and distress for the people diagnosed with these issues. I think it is also worth while to say that narcissism is not synonymous with abuse.
Having been suffering horrible emotional abuse from my narcissistic mother for years , it's quite triggering to hear you speak about narcissists as if they don't know write from wrong, as if they couldn't ever try to analyse and improve their behaviour . These people creat horrible trauma that is passed down from generation to generation . But I don't believe for one moment that they have no choice , they choose not to self reflect
Your relationship with your mother sounds difficult. This channel discusses the mental illness of pathological narcissism and it’s main diagnosable manifestation, NPD, in frank but humanizing terms. At no point have I ever said that people with these issues can’t tell right from wrong, but you are correct that I do not think that people “choose” to develop a mental illness. I do, however, think they have a choice to heal. The entire point of my channel is to help people with these issues make improvements in their mental health, so I honestly don’t understand what you mean when you say I speak as if they “could never analyze or improve their behavior.” It’s the whole reason this channel exists in the first place. View any of my videos and you will see an emphasis on self-improvement, taking responsibility, looking inside, and helping pwNPD and their loved ones to better understand these issues and heal. It’s literally in the title of my channel. I wish you well on your own journey of healing, and understand that this may not be the content you need right now.
Until you live in the chaos of a narcissistic relationship you can never explain the condition.
This idea comes up a lot. I will agree that personal intimate experience of personality disorders provides a unique perspective. I am also fascinated that so many commenters make the baseless assumption that I do not have such experience. I have made a deliberate choice not to use my personal life as a shortcut to establishing credibility. It seems impossible for many to imagine that someone could come out of such experiences with a different perspective and a desire to help people by educating them about the facts of pathological narcissism and NPD.
Great video!
Thanks
Seriously. I have learned so much from your videos. I left Scientology after decades. It was like an abusive relationship with a sociopath. Then I got involved in a relationship with someone with textbook borderline disorganization. I was gaslighted into believing I am an abusive narcissist. Very painful. Lost all sense of self. Your videos helped me realize it had nothing to do with me and that I need to forgive them and work on the reasons she affected me so deeply. I only wish your videos were longer and contained case studies.