Narcissistic Personality Disorder (DSM-IV)

[Brandon]

Diagnostic Criteria

A pervasive pattern of grandiosity (in fantasy or behavior), need for admiration, and lack of empathy, beginning by early adulthood and present in a variety of contexts, as indicated by five (or more) of the following:

1. Has a grandiose sense of self-importance (e.g., exaggerates achievements and talents, expects to be recognized as superior without commensurate achievements)

2. Is preoccupied with fantasies of unlimited success, power, brilliance, beauty, or ideal love

3. Believes that he or she is "special" and unique and can only be understood by, or should associate with, other special or high-status people (or institutions)

4. Requires excessive admiration

5. Has a sense of entitlement, i.e., unreasonable expectations of especially favorable treatment or automatic compliance with his or her expectations

6. Is interpersonally exploitative, i.e., takes advantage of others to achieve his or her own ends

7. Lacks empathy: is unwilling to recognize or identify with the feelings and needs of others

8. Is often envious of others or believes that others are envious of him or her

9. Shows arrogant, haughty behaviors or attitudes

So the only question remaining is.. when is Vinth going to seek treatment? Here's a great resource site:

http://samvak.tripod.com/

Particularly interesting is a section on quoting "authorities" as infallible to make onself appear part of the elite. (Boortz, anyone?)

[VinceZeb]

Glad to see you get your psycoanalysis from a Tripod site.

[Brandon]

Originally Posted by VinceZeb

Glad to see you get your psycoanalysis from a Tripod site.

OH SNAP! Did you even bother to read the damn thing?

Hosted on Tripod = incorrect information. As opposed to, say.. a netfirms site.

[Jeanette X]

I think you hit the nail on the head, Brandon.

[ItalianStereotype]

edited

[mburbank]

Vinth gets his psychoanalysis from He-man.

[Immortal Goat]

No he didn't, because He-Man is a liberal!! Didn't you KNOW THAT?!

[mburbank]

If he is, he's a scrawny boy who turns into a a buff, oiled, half naked manly liberal with a sword. AND THERE'S NOTHING AT ALL GAY ABOUT THAT FANTASY!

[Brandon]

Originally Posted by mburbank

If he is, he's a scrawny boy who turns into a a buff, oiled, half naked manly liberal with a sword. AND THERE'S NOTHING AT ALL GAY ABOUT THAT FANTASY!

Nor is having an oiled, muscular ally with a handlebar mustache named "FISTO"..

[Perndog]

Originally Posted by ArtificialBrandon

Diagnostic Criteria

A pervasive pattern of grandiosity (in fantasy or behavior), need for admiration, and lack of empathy, beginning by early adulthood and present in a variety of contexts, as indicated by five (or more) of the following:

1. Has a grandiose sense of self-importance (e.g., exaggerates achievements and talents, expects to be recognized as superior without commensurate achievements)

Nope.

2. Is preoccupied with fantasies of unlimited success, power, brilliance, beauty, or ideal love

No.

3. Believes that he or she is "special" and unique and can only be understood by, or should funkagroovitalizer with, other special or high-status people (or institutions)

That's me. 1.

4. Requires excessive admiration

Nah..regular admiration will be fine.

5. Has a sense of entitlement, i.e., unreasonable expectations of especially favorable treatment or automatic compliance with his or her expectations

No sir.

6. Is interpersonally exploitative, i.e., takes advantage of others to achieve his or her own ends

Pretty much. 2.

7. Lacks empathy: is unwilling to recognize or identify with the feelings and needs of others

Yes indeedy. 3

8. Is often envious of others or believes that others are envious of him or her

The former, frequently. 4

9. Shows arrogant, haughty behaviors or attitudes

Yes, but only when there's not someone around I need to defer to..so usually. 5

I'm five for nine, that's a positive diagnosis as far as these criteria go. Any psychoanalysts on the board want to confirm it?

Oh, and what have they got on Antisocial Personality Disorder? Word is I'm borderline for that one, too.

Vinth doesn't have mental problems (for the record, I don't think I do either). It's much simpler than that: he's just a massive tool.

[Pub Lover]

I'm 8/9, which must be bullshit cos I can't be that messed up.

[AChimp]

It's heartwarming to again see another example of the fact that Vinth isn't well-learned. The DSM-IV is the same regardless of where the text is hosted.

[Brandon]

Quit fuckin' around, Pern and Pub--neither of you have any of those characteristics.

Satanists don't count. Their whole philosophy is based on radical selfishness.

[punkgrrrlie10]

funkagroovitalizer

[derrida]

It is no wonder than narcissists – both men and women – are chauvinistically conservative. They depend to such an extent on the opinions of people around them – that, with time, they are transformed into ultra-sensitive seismographs of public opinion, barometers of prevailing winds and guardians of conformity. Narcissists cannot afford to seriously alienate those who reflect to them their False Self. The very proper and on-going functioning of their Ego depends on the goodwill and the collaboration of their human environment.

The Narcissistic Personality Disorder (as opposed, for instance, to the Borderline or the Histrionic Personality Disorders, which afflict women more than men) seems to conform to masculine social mores and to the prevailing ethos of capitalism. Ambition, achievements, hierarchy, ruthlessness, drive are both social values and narcissistic male traits. Social thinkers like Lasch speculated that modern American culture – a narcissistic, self-centred one – increases the rate of incidence of the Narcissistic Personality Disorder.

To this Kernberg answered, rightly:

"The most I would be willing to say is that society can make serious psychological abnormalities, which already exist in some percentage of the population, seem to be at least superficially appropriate."

[Perndog]

Originally Posted by ArtificialBrandon

Quit fuckin' around, Pern and Pub--neither of you have any of those characteristics.

Satanists don't count. Their whole philosophy is based on radical selfishness.

So for a Satanist narcissism is normal, while for everyone else it's a disorder?

I kind of like this line of thought...

[Pub Lover]

Originally Posted by ArtificialBrandon

Quit fuckin' around, Pern and Pub--neither of you have any of those characteristics.

Satanists don't count. Their whole philosophy is based on radical selfishness.

I'm a satanist?

Originally Posted by punkgrrrlie10

funkagroovitalizer

I'd 'funk' your 'groovitalizer' anytime.

[Brandon]

Originally Posted by Pub Lover

I'm a satanist?

Well, Pern is.

[Jeanette X]

Originally Posted by ArtificialBrandon

Quit fuckin' around, Pern and Pub--neither of you have any of those characteristics.

Well, everyone displays those character traits at one point or another, but I wouldn't go making the diagnosis unless the traits are abnormally strong.

[Brandon]

Personally, I don't think you could be considered a narcissist unless you truly display #1-5. They're the key components of the disorder.

[Perndog]

I agree, actually. It's the exaggeration, inflation, and need for constant validation (stemming from insecurity) that make a narcissist, not the self-centeredness.