Sam Vaknin Ph.D.

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"What is Pathological Narcissism?"

"A pattern of traits and behaviours which signify infatuation and obsession with one's self to the exclusion of all others and the egotistic and ruthless pursuit of one's gratification, dominance and ambition.

Narcissism is named after the ancient Greek myth of Narcissus who was a handsome Greek youth who rejected the desperate advances of the nymph Echo. In punishment of his cruelty, he was doomed to fall in love with his own reflection in a pool of water. Unable to consummate his love, he pined away and changed into the flower that bears his name to this very day."

Abusers exploit, lie, insult, demean, ignore (the "silent treatment"), manipulate, and control.

There are many ways to abuse. To love too much is to abuse. It is tantamount to treating someone as an extension, an object, or an instrument of gratification. To be over-protective, not to respect privacy, to be brutally honest, with a sadistic sense of humour, or consistently tactless – is to abuse.

To expect too much, to denigrate, to ignore – are all modes of abuse. There is physical abuse, verbal abuse, psychological abuse, sexual abuse. The list is long. Most abusers abuse surreptitiously. They are "stealth abusers". You have to actually live with one in order to witness the abuse.

You May Wish to Start Here - click on these links to learn more:

Pathological narcissism is at the root of social ills as diverse as terrorism, corporate malfeasance, and crime.

ONLINE RESOURCES

Click HERE to download a ZIP file with:

Mirror, Mirror - Interview with the Toronto Sun and other interviews, chat transcripts, dialogs, bibliographies, and scholarly articles.

Corporate Narcissism

http://www.nytimes.com/2002/07/29/technology/29NECO.html (New-York Times)

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/09/AR2005110902106.html (Washington Post)

Abusive Relationships

The Monster in the Mirror (Sunday Times)

Faultless Nation by Cal Thomas

Celebrities Just Want to be Left Alone (USA Today)

Crime and Terrorism

http://www.narcissistic-abuse.com/12.html (The Idler)

http://www.narcissistic-abuse.com/narcissismglance.html

A Primer on Narcissism (scholarly text):

http://www.mentalhelp.net/poc/view_doc.php/type/doc/id/419

Or, read these Introductory Chats about Narcissism:
 

http://www.healthyplace.com/personality-disorders/transcripts/narcissism-in-the-workplace/menu-id-62/

http://my.webmd.com/content/article/71/81306.htm

HealthyPlace TV Interview - Click HERE and watch HERE (Click "On Demand" at the bottom of the player and select "Narcissist/Abuser")

http://www.healthyplace.com/Radio/archives/audio_narcissism_02-10-12.htm

Narcissism - Listen to the Infinite Mind Radio Show

ABC Radio Psychopaths in Suits - Listen or Read Transcript

Egomania Channel 4 (United Kingdom) - on the Wikipedia - Watch It

Listen to Conversations with a Narcissist - Click HERE for MP3

Interview with Monda Williams - Click HERE to listen

Phil Hendrie Show - Part I, Part II

"I, Psychopath" Documentary (Arte, CBC) - on IMDB (Vaknin and "I, Psychopath")

(Or, click on this link - http://www.bn.com - and search for "Sam Vaknin" or "Malignant Self Love").
 

Ideas for Articles

1. Why do narcissists hate Christmas?

Click here to find out!

2. Narcissistic leaders, from Hitler to Obama (or Saddam Hussein, depending on your political predilections)

Click here to learn more about narcissistic leaders.

3. Celebrity and induced (situational) narcissism

You can find out more about this topic here and here.

4. Corporate malfeasance and megalomania

Corporate narcissism is described here.

5. Divorcing a narcissist or a psychopath

Tips and advice available here.

6. Religion as narcissistic mass psychosis

Discover how narcissists abuse religion - click here.

7. Child prodigies sometimes develop into raging, malignant narcissists

The developmental path of a Wunderkind - click here.

8. Egomania in restrictive and disciplinarian institutional settings (prisons, hospitals, army)

For a detailed overview - click here.

9. Autism spectrum disorders (such as Asperger's Disorder) as Ego disturbances

Autism Spectrum Disorders are sometimes misdiagnosed as pathological narcissism - learn how this happens here.

10. Narcissism and genocide

A connection first suggest by Freud - read about the Narcissism of Small Differences here.

11. Narcissists and Psychopaths on the Internet

The Internet is the ideal playpen for narcissists and psychopaths - click here to learn more (and here if you read Spanish).

Getting Started With Sam Vaknin

I am the author of Malignant Self Love: Narcissism Revisited. (number 1 bestseller in its category in Barnes and Noble). 

The Web site "Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited" was, for many years, an Open Directory Cool Site and is a Psych-UK recommended Site.

I am not a mental health professional though I am certified in psychological counseling techniques by Brainbench.

I served as the editor of Mental Health Disorders categories in the Open Directory Project and on Mentalhelp.net. I maintain my own Websites about the Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD) and about relationships with abusive narcissists and psychopaths here and in HealthyPlace.

You can read my work on many other Web sites: Mental Health Matters, Mental Health Sanctuary, Mental Health Today, Kathi's Mental Health Review and others. I write a column for Bellaonline on Narcissism and Abusive Relationships and am a frequent contributor to Websites such as Self-growth.com.

I served as the author of the Personality Disorders topic, Narcissistic Personality Disorder topic, the Verbal and Emotional Abuse topic, and the Spousal Abuse and Domestic Violence topic, all four on Suite101. I am the moderator of the Narcissistic Abuse Study List , the Toxic Relationships Study List, the Narcissistic Personality Disorder Support Group, the Psychopath and Narcissist Support Forum, and other mailing lists with a total of c. 26,000 members. I also publish a bi-weekly Abusive Relationships Newsletter.

You can view my biography here.

I suggest you read this first, "What is Pathological Narcissism?" 

Contacting Sam Vaknin