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disorderguy
Joined: May 5, '09
Status: Admin |
2009-05-05 07:23:33 |
| If you or a loved one is dealing with narcissistic personality disorder, please do not hesitate to post on this forum about your experiences or your questions or advice to others. We'd like to get some good conversations going. | |
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Unanswered Thread: What do you think? :D posted by Schoolgoth124 7 minutes ago |
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baileyhayley
Joined: May 5, '09
Status: New User |
2009-05-05 15:52:55 |
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narcman
Joined: May 5, '09
Status: New User |
2009-05-05 17:17:07 |
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I've known I've had some kind of personality disorder for many years. I get VERY angry in certain situations, never physically but certainly verbally way more than I know I should. I've just thought it was an anger issue but having been researching recently on the internet, I am now positive that I have major narcissistic tendancies. Now the good news, I think, is that firstly I know there is something "not quite right", and secondly I can now actually put my finger on it. When I read about what a typical narcissistic person feels, it was like a psychic reading on myself. Having just completed the personality questionnaire, it would appear I have just about every type of personality disorder that is out there. Is there hope for me ?!?! I like to think I'm a pretty relaxed guy in control of my life, intelligent (I know that's a narcissistic trait, but I am well educated and in a good job!), but need to work out how to control this rage that I find myself entering. I really feel like I've turned a corner recently having now at least got a "name" for what's wrong with me. Happy to speak to others, particularly those that are living/dealing with somebody who has these traits so I may be able to shed some light on the "what/why", if such a thing exists. |
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narcman
Joined: May 5, '09
Status: New User |
2009-05-05 19:20:06 |
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Ok, so replying to my own posts - that must be a bad sign right? :) So - am I narcissistic or bipolar. Thought I had this narrowed down to narcissism but have just read this; "As opposed to narcissists, bipolars regret their misdeeds following the manic phase and try to atone for their actions. They realize and accept that "something is wrong with them" and seek help." If the above is true, then by admitting/accepting I am a narcissist, means I can't be one? |
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tsaporit
Joined: May 6, '09
Status: New User |
2009-05-06 12:03:59 |
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Hello Narcman, I'm a psychology major who researches personality disorders, Bipolar disorder, and psychotic disorders. First off and foremost, in order for you to be clinically diagnosed, you must ask yourself, "Are these feelings I experience interfering with my life in the realms of interpersonal relationships, my ability to accomplish things,job, school, etc.?" If yes, then you need to understand the difference between narcissism and bipolar disorder as they are two very, very distinct disorders. With narcissim, it is a CONSISTENT personality trait so to speak, where you organize your entire life around convincing others that you are superior than they might orginally think you to be. You might go to great measures to do this regardless if you must lie, cheat, etc. What makes this disorder so interesting, is most of the time, people who truly have this disorder don't recognize in themselves that they truly feel inadequate to others. They build up many defenses (which include lies and grandiose thinking errors) to keep themselves from experiencing the negative emotions associated with a loss of self-worth or self-esteem. But underneath all of the energy expenditure to convince others that they are superior (and thus themselves) they UNCONSCIOUSLY feel like they are below par in all the areas that matter most in life. You can sort of view narcissim as the "fake personality" a person adopts to keep them from feeling inadequate. The unconscious feelings of inadequacy are greater than those who do not suffer from this personality disorder, which is why sufferers go to great lengths to maintain this personality. Most often, you will come from a childhood environment where the people whose respect & love mattered most (ex: parents) was witheld and you felt and/or were greatly criticized as a child unless you succeeded in the areas which seemed important. And almost as often you could come from a family of the opposite extreme where you might have been the favorite - showered with complete praise and never needed to question your superiority until you got to school as a young child and didn't receive greater adoration than the other children from your teachers (for example)and this built in anxiety which motivated you as a child to search for a solution which ended up evolving into this disorder. Bipolar disorder is much different in that you have phases of mania followed by longer phases of very deep depression. While in a manic phase, at the very LEAST, you will have boundless energy which will PREVENT you from sleeping at least one night, time will fly by (you won't even think about sleeping), and you will often feel a need to show your creative side such as - starting a new business venture, project, etc. In other words, you will have such a great amount of energy your productivity in whatever activities in which you normally engage will skyrocket. You will oftentimes feel a flood of new ideas going through your mind so quickly, you can't keep up with your thoughts. Your speech is exremely rapid and hard to follow and because you have such boundless energy coupled with new, creative ideas in activities which you prioritize, you will feel an extreme rise in self-esteem and ability. Most of the people who I've done research with will appear to be on cocaine/crack while they are manic since they lose their appetite, talk fast, don't sleep, are grandiose, etc. In addition, you will oftentimes feel as though you get sexually aroused easier than usual, you go out and drink much, much more, and SPEND money which is far beyond your means. (I'm talking $1000 shopping sprees with credit cards if you're on minimum wage) However as you can imagine, going days without sleeping and eating will reak havoc on your body and there are limits to how long you can sustain this elevated state. Mania is followed by a much longer depressive state. The symptoms are the same as Major Depressive Disorder symptoms except for their duration (its duration might be less because you were in your manic state proir) and intensity - usually the depression is far more intese. Many people who have bipolar disorder only feel they have depression because they only get help and feel like something is wrong when they are in this state. The depression keeps them in bed despite the fact they might have a family, job, school, etc. which demands their attention. So in summary, if you are narcisstic, you may feel grandiose but you aren't going to have the flood of ideas, rapid speech, loss of appetite, lack of need for sleep and and overall appearance of being on a stimulant drug. You are also probably not aware that you seek others attention and approval because you feel very inadequate. You truly feel you deserve all the praise in the world, and if people don't give it to you, there is something wrong with THEM. While there are a vast amount of perspectives that like to explain how one develops this disorder, it is most likely that a person has had extreme environmental factors early on in life that encouraged them to create this "fantasized" self to protect them from their negative feelings of self. Bipolar disorder is different in that it is greatly influenced by environmental factors, BUT it is very, very biological in origin. Your brain gets overactivated in certain areas which enables you to not eat or sleep for days while feeling the urge to start new projects. It is almost, if not impossible to "will" yourself to go a week without sleep and eating very little but having boundless energy which is why there are biochemical processes which enable this to occur. It is much easier to "will" yourself to work toward maintaining and building an idealized image of yourself (as in narcissism) especially if this has been encouraged since your childhood - you've had years of practice and interaction to figure out what works! Although there are biochemical changes which accompany this disorder, its base really isn't in biology. It's more of a habitual WEB of responses/reactions to certain stimuli that you have developed over the years and continue to develop over your lifetime. This is why people who have personality disorders are so difficult to treat - you can't just give them a pill like in bipolar to regulate the chemistry in their brain to prevent mania and depressive phases. It is PSYCHOLOGICAL in that each behavior and emotion is based on an emotion and behavior prior to that so youre uncovering layers. If the neurotic need to impress started very early and you started to compensate for it very early on, it is going to be more challenging to work through because each erroneous belief of yourself/behavior has fed into another and another which eventually became so pervasive that it could be clinically diagnosed. Sorry for they lengthy response - I hoped this helped you! Good luck! |
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disorderguy
Joined: May 5, '09
Status: Admin |
2009-05-07 06:52:28 |
| tsaporit, thanks for sharing those insights into bipolar and narcissism. Very interesting stuff! It would be great if you stopped by from time to time to respond to people with questions. =) | |
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narcman
Joined: May 5, '09
Status: New User |
2009-05-07 11:25:56 |
| I agree - invaluable stuff. Ok so, am I narcissistic or Bipolar. Go check out my results of the online survey in the other thread. Maybe I'm just beyond help ?!?! | |
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ez22
Joined: May 7, '09
Status: New User |
2009-05-07 16:33:11 |
| Narcman, The fact that you can recognize these things in yourself is vitally hopeful and important. It shows a willingness for the "right" kind of introspection and a desire for self-knowledge. Ask yourself if you would cultivate a relationship with someone who exhibited the same behaviors as you see yourself exhibiting and strive to become more like someone you respect and admire, even if you would not be able to admit you admire them. Unless there is deep and severe pathology, we all have a spark of conscience and an innate ability to reinvent ourselves into decency and self-respect. The task, though not easy, is simple. One can practice staying in the present and keeping a vigilant eye on one's thoughts, while systematically weeding out those that spin a web around ourselves. You can heal, but only if it is truly what you desire. | |
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david
Joined: May 14, '09
Status: New User |
2009-05-14 19:30:54 |
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i am not narcissistic. but ive had experience with someone ive known since my childhood,i would say hes a malignant narcissist here are 10 signs he and other ppl with narcissistic personality and malignant narcissism can display according to my experience of being around him before i knew he was suffering from malignant narcissism.it has come to the point that other ppl and i who have been around him can say he is even a psychopath i mite not be a psychiatrist but when someone narcissistic affects you negatively ,doing research on that person makes you learn a lot of new and interesting materials . signs: 1.seems entitled to stuff( person in my experience always seemed to want something from other ppl even other ppls new clothes. 2. seems to seek power , think they are the boss,would even humilate other ppl around ppl in order to impress them and gain their respect 3.always seems to be thinking of own benefit( would ask ppl to borrow money from them and never repay them back 4. would harass someone for money or material goods that they want(once called me 15 times in a day from at least 5 different phones so that i can pass him 40 $. 5 walks arrogantly like they have just won the lottery,might seem funny but they tend to strut around when walking. 6. looks down on other ppl mocks, ridicules 7.very egotistical and want everything now and all to them might pretend to be helpful in society but that is only a facade to seem normal to others. 8.85 %- 100% envious of everythin they do not have the person i knew once told me if i thought i was strogn because i had a little facial hair and he had no facial hair once also said that he can easily take what he wants from who he wants if he felt he wanted something. 10. teh malignant narcissict in the end is aggresive, dislikes other ppl and cares only for themselves. |
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deZ
Joined: May 17, '09
Status: New User |
2009-05-17 18:46:44 |
| A forum full of narcissists... Something tells me there will be ZERO progress made here. | |
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alex
Joined: May 17, '09
Status: New User |
2009-05-17 23:28:09 |
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alex
Joined: May 17, '09
Status: New User |
2009-05-17 23:28:57 |
| So, is it weird that i'm a girl and i'm a narcissist? | |
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skyn_f1
Joined: May 18, '09
Status: New User |
2009-05-18 10:04:53 |
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skyn_f1
Joined: May 18, '09
Status: New User |
2009-05-18 10:07:02 |
| whoa. im reading all this nodding along to almost everyother thing. its like ykno sad. and so true. what im wondering is what do we do about it ykno ? | |
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Zergo
Joined: May 28, '09
Status: New User |
2009-05-28 12:49:37 |
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Unanswered Thread: VRIELLIS PLEASE READ posted by Synapse 13 days ago |
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