What is a Narcissist? An SBSB Primer

After the response from Sunday's post on how to spot a cult leader, there has been a lot of emails to the SBSB newsroom (As well as Norm Scott's groundbreaking analysis on Sociopaths), and some tweets as well, wondering when Dr Hans von Schlaggel  currently the director of the Institut für schweren psychiatrischen Erkrankungen, or in English, Institute of Severe Psychiatric Disorders, will be sharing is expertise about Narcissism.


The good news is that Dr von Schlaggel has emailed this latest blog post just now and we here at SBSB are going to share it with you.

For those who have not read the writings of Dr von Schlaggel check out his past contributions on SBSB about Malignant Personality Disorder and OCD/Control issues. We turn over these pages to Dr von Schlagge.

Danke Herr Bronx Teacher and danke to your readers.

Vat ist a narcissist. Since the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders was, how you say? rewrote a few years ago der has been some changes on the diagnosis and traits aus Narcissism.

Vat is a narcissist? Let's see vat DSM-V says.

The essential features of a personality disorder are impairments in personality (self and interpersonal) functioning and the presence of pathological personality traits. To diagnose narcissistic personality disorder, the following criteria must be met:

A. Significant impairments in  personality functioning manifest by: 1. Impairments in  self functioning  (a or b): a. Identity : Excessive reference to others for self - definition  and self - esteem regulation; exaggerated self - appraisal  may be inflated or deflated, or vacillate  between extremes;  emotional regulation mirrors fluctuations in self - esteem. b. Self - direction : Goal - setting is based on gaining approval  from others; personal standards are unreasonably high in  order to see oneself as exceptional, or too low based on a  sense of entitlement; often unaware of own motivations.

 Und....

2. Impairments in  interpersonal functioning (a or b): a. Empathy : Impaired ability to recognize or identify with the  feelings and needs of others; excessively attuned to  reactions of others, but only if perceived as relevant to self;  over - or underestimate of own effect on others. b. Intimacy : Relationships largely superficial and exist to  serve self - esteem regulation; mutuality constrained by little  genuine interest in others‟ experiences and predominance  of a need for personal gain B. Pathological  personality traits in the following domain: 1. Antagonism , characterized by: a. Grandiosity : Feelings of entitlement, either overt or covert; 

Self - centeredness; firmly holding to the belief that one is better than others;  condescending toward others. b. Attention seeking : Excessive attempts to attract and be  the focus of the attention of others; admiration seeking. C. The impairments in personality functioning and the individual‟s  personality trait expression are relatively  stable across time and  consistent across situations. D. The impairments in personality functioning and the individual‟s  personality trait expression are not better understood as normative  for the individual‟s developmental stage or socio - cultural  environment . E. The impairments in personality functioning and the individual‟s  personality trait expression are not solely due to the direct  physiological effects of a substance (e.g., a drug of abuse,  medication) or a general medical condition (e.g., severe head trauma).

I also read paper by a collegue at der Institut für schweren psychiatrischen Erkrankungen who Hit Nagel auf den Kopf or as you say in der English "hit nail on head.",

The most telling thing that narcissists do is contradict themselves. They will do this virtually in the same sentence, without even stopping to take a breath. It can be trivial (e.g., about what they want for lunch) or it can be serious (e.g., about whether or not they love you). When you ask them which one they mean, they'll deny ever saying the first one, though it may literally have been only seconds since they said it -- really, how could you think they'd ever have said that? You need to have your head examined! They will contradict FACTS. They will lie to you about things that you did together. They will misquote you to yourself. If you disagree with them, they'll say you're lying, making stuff up, or are crazy. [At this point, if you're like me, you sort of panic and want to talk to anyone who will listen about what is going on: this is a healthy reaction; it's a reality check ("who's the crazy one here?"); that you're confused by the narcissist's contrariness, that you turn to another person to help you keep your bearings, that you know something is seriously wrong and worry that it might be you are all signs that you are not a narcissist]

Und...

Narcissists are totally and inflexibly authoritarian. In other words, they are suck-ups. They want to be authority figures and, short of that, they want to be associated with authority figures. In their hearts, they know they can't think well, have no judgment about what matters, are not connected with the world they inhabit, so they cling fanatically to the opinions of people they regard as authority figures -- such as their parents, teachers, doctors, ministers. Where relevant, this may include scientists or professors or artists, but narcissists stick to people they know personally, since they aren't engaged enough with the world to get their authoritative opinions from TV, movies, books or dead geniuses/saints/heroes. If they get in trouble over some or another opinion they've put forth, they'll blame the source -- "It was okay with Dr. Somebody," "My father taught me that," etc. If you're still thinking of the narcissist as odd-but-normal, this shirking of responsibility will seem dishonest and craven -- well, it is but it's really an admission of weakness: they really mean it: they said what they said because someone they admire or fear said it and they're trying to borrow that person's strength.

So der you have it. If you are ever in Vienna stop by der  Institut für schweren psychiatrischen Erkrankungen and if you mention Frank Sinatra Jr you will get a free diagnosis on der house by me.

Auf Wiedersehen!!!