Narcissism

The personality trait – or at its extremes, the disorder – of Narcissism, is named after the Greek god Narcissus. He was apparently a very handsome chap, and one day fell in love with his own reflection. Narcissus became so obsessed with his own self-perceived fabulousness that he became very dysfunctional in all other ways and was lost to himself.

Why am I telling you this? Because this is a modern phenomenon too, amplified by the ultimate vanity mirrors of social media and celebrity culture.

Malignant Narcissists (the very unwell, darkly motivated types) can wreak emotional and practical havoc on their family, lovers, colleagues and communities. Hence the topic is likely to pop up in a few places on the Shrink Wrap blog, in Workplace Psychology, Politics and Relationships.

Here are all of the articles with the tag Narcissism…

No, you don’t have to ‘love yourself’ before being in a relationship

13 February 202002 April 2017 by Stephanie C Thompson

I’m not against self-help literature. I’m a shrink, so I’m all for it. There are a few fashionable self-help myths, though, that drive me up the wall because they are not only nonsensical, but it’s actually cruel to lead others to believe in them.

So I’m creating a series of Self-help Hooey posts that expose and put right some of this silliness. I hope to make you feel a whole heap better about yourself along the way, and equip you with much better strategies.

We’re going to start with these two doozies… Read more…

Can dating give you Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)?

13 February 202016 January 2017 by Stephanie C Thompson

My last article about Donald Trump drew an interesting response from a reader. She was experiencing Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) after a nasty romantic run-in with a narcissist, and subsequently witnessing Trump’s behaviour was triggering her symptoms…

I’ve often suspected that romantic catastrophes can produce the gamut of PTSD-like symptoms. I’ve seen it in my clients, and I’ve experienced it myself. Yet we don’t seem to talk about it in those terms. Why not? Read more…

Should presidents and prime ministers have mental health selection criteria?

04 March 202202 December 2016 by Stephanie C Thompson

If the US presidency were a regular job, Psychologists would draw up selection criteria and candidates would be screened for stability and competence.

How might the world look if more leaders were earnest public servants instead of unstable egoists and sociopaths?

Is your boss a corporate psychopath?

04 March 202230 November 2016 by Stephanie C Thompson

Does this remind you of anyone? Superficially charming, even warm. Extreme intimidation of others. Manipulative and controlling. Bad tempered. Self-obsessed. Lacking remorse.

Then you may be working with a corporate psychopath. Contrary to popular understanding, psychopathology is not always about murderousness. It’s defined broadly as …

And there’s a surprising amount of it about. One woman in 200 is classifiable as a psychopath, as is one man in 80. Chances are, you have a psychopath in your building. Read more…