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Narcissism Fridge Magnets

Uploaded 11/20/2015, approx. 3 minute read

My name is Sam Vaknin, I am the author of Malignant Self-Love, Narcissism Revisited.

I chose a few sentences from my book Malignant Self-Love, Narcissism Revisited, which I thought may resonate with you. You can convert them into fridge magnets, for instance.

Let's go.

Quote number one, to forgive is never to forget, but to remember is not necessarily to re-experience.

Quote number two, pathological narcissism is a lifelong pattern of traits and behaviors which signify infatuation and obsession with one's self to the exclusion of all others and also the egotistic and ruthless pursuit of one's gratification, dominance and ambition.

Number three, Narcissus is not in love with himself, he is in love with his own reflection.

Number four, the narcissist is an actor in a monodrama, yet he is forced to remain behind the scenes. The scenes take center stage instead.

Number five, the narcissist ages without mercy and without grace, his withered body and his overwrought mind betray him all at once.

Six, children to the narcissist are both mirrors and competitors. Children reflect authentically the narcissist's constant need for adulation and attention.

Their grandiose fantasies of omnipotence and omniscience are crass caricatures of his own internal world.

Seven, in the narcissist's surrealistic world, even language is pathologized. It mutates into a weapon of self-defense, a verbal fortification, a medium without a message, replacing words with duplicitous and ambiguous blockables.

Number eight, the narcissist's lies are not goal-oriented. This is what makes his constant dishonesty both disconcerting and incomprehensible.

The narcissist lies at the drop of a hat, needlessly and almost ceaselessly.

Nine, the narcissist holds his psychophantic acolytes in contempt. He finds his fans, admirers and followers repulsive. He holds them to be inferior precisely because they are his fans, followers and admirers.

Number 10, the narcissist is never whole without an adoring, submissive, available, self- denigrating partner.

His very sense of superiority, indeed, his grandiosity, depend on such a partner.

Number 11, the narcissist identifies being loved with being possessed, encroached upon, shackled, transformed, reduced, exploited, weakened, engulfed, digested and excreted.

Number 12, psychopathic and narcissistic abusers hate it when other people are happy.

Besieged by knowing inadequacy, the narcissistic abuser does his best to destroy everybody else's celebratory mood.

Number 13, the raging narcissist usually perceives their reaction to have been triggered by an intentional provocation with a hostile purpose.

Number 14, deep inside the narcissist hates himself. He doubts his own worth. He deplores his desperate addiction to narcissistic supply. He judges his actions and intentions harshly and sadistically.

And number 15, when narcissism fails as a defense mechanism, the narcissist develops paranoid narratives, self-directed confabulations which place him at the center of others' allegedly malign intention and conspiracies.

Magnificent, remember.

If you enjoyed this article, you might like the following:

Masochistic Personality Disorder (Masochism)

Masochists often internalize feelings of worthlessness and unworthiness, leading them to engage in self-destructive behaviors that undermine their own happiness and success. They tend to seek out painful experiences and relationships, rejecting help and support while gravitating towards situations that result in failure and disappointment. Their actions serve as a means of catharsis, relieving pent-up anxiety but simultaneously avoiding intimacy and its benefits. Additionally, masochists may provoke negative responses from others to reinforce their self-perception, finding comfort in humiliation and defeat.


Narcissist: Irresistible Charmer

Narcissists use charm to manipulate and control others, seeking attention and admiration. They use their charisma to exert power over people and view those they charm as objects for their gratification. Pathological charm can involve sadism and is used to maintain object constancy and fend off abandonment. Narcissists react with rage and aggression when their charm fails to elicit narcissistic supply, revealing their true predatory nature.


Communal, Prosocial Narcissist as Compulsive Giver

Compulsive givers are a type of narcissist who feel superior to those they give to, and feel exploited when they have to pay for the needs of others. They are people pleasers and co-dependents who force themselves on others and have unrealistic expectations of gratitude. They have alloplastic defenses with an external locus of control, meaning they rely on others to regulate their self-worth and blame the world for their failures. They keep a mental ledger of what they give and receive and use false asceticism and fake modesty to prove their nearest and dearest are ingrates.


Expose Narcissist’s Secret Speech

Narcissists communicate using a dual-layered approach, where the overt message conceals a hidden, manipulative intent designed to trigger emotional responses in their targets. This hidden message often employs techniques such as counterfactuality, victimhood, projection, and gaslighting, which distort reality and shift blame onto others. Effective communication with narcissists requires ignoring the hidden messages and, if possible, involving intermediaries to prevent emotional manipulation. Ultimately, understanding the nature of narcissistic communication can help individuals protect themselves from the psychological harm inflicted by these interactions.


People-pleasers and Pathological Charmers

People pleasers are often dishonest and manipulative, seeking to foster dependence in their beneficiaries. They use a range of coping strategies, including infantilization and self-sacrifice. People pleasers are a subset of pathological charmers, who are mostly narcissists. Pathological charmers use their charm to manipulate others and exert control, and feel threatened when their charm fails to elicit narcissistic supply.


Enabler Is Your Enemy, Snake in Your Grass

Enablers are often misidentified as friends, but they actually contribute to self-destructive behaviors and amplify suffering. They participate in self-defeat by providing tools for self-annihilation and encouraging harmful actions. Despite their charming and solicitous demeanor, enablers are dangerous individuals who derive pleasure from inflicting pain. True friends would not support harmful behaviors, while enablers actively facilitate them, making them a significant threat to well-being.


Narcissist’s F-word Test (Obscene Self-enhancement, Signaling, 1st-person Pronouns Density)

Narcissists and psychopaths frequently use obscenities and expletives as a form of signaling to gain social approval and reinforce their self-image. This behavior serves to create a facade of bravery and defiance while also fostering a sense of commonality with their audience. The excessive use of foul language, along with a high density of first-person pronouns, reflects their need for narcissistic supply and positive reinforcement from others. Ultimately, this immature and infantile behavior is indicative of underlying narcissism or psychopathy.


Weak People Pleasers? Walk Away!

Weak character is often associated with unreliability and instability, leading individuals to engage in reckless and antisocial behavior due to their inability to assert boundaries. People pleasers, in particular, may enable the self-destructive tendencies of others, often mistaking their submissiveness for kindness or empathy. This weakness can stem from conditioning by needy parents or mental health issues, resulting in a cycle of self-loathing and harmful behaviors. Ultimately, it is advised to distance oneself from such individuals to protect one's own mental health and well-being, as their actions can lead to further victimization of those around them.


Narcissist: Confabulations, Lies

Confabulation is a common human trait, but the distinction between reality and fantasy is never lost. However, the narcissist's very self is a piece of fiction, concocted to fend off hurt and pain and to nurture the narcissist's grandiosity. The narcissist fails in his reality test and is unable to distinguish the actual from the imagined, the real from the fantasized. The narcissist's countenance, no disagreement, no alternative points of view, no criticism. To him, his confabulation is reality.


Self-destructiveness Not Masochism

Self-destructiveness and masochism are fundamentally different phenomena, with self-destructiveness being egodystonic and characterized by a rejection of life, while masochism is egosyntonic and involves a pursuit of gratification through pain. Masochism is episodic and self-limiting, allowing individuals to engage in painful experiences without it defining their entire existence, whereas self-destructiveness is systemic and pervasive, often becoming a way of life that drags others down with the individual. The self-destructive person often uses others to facilitate their own annihilation, creating a collective experience of pain, while masochism is primarily an inward-focused act that does not necessarily harm others. Ultimately, masochism and sadism are expressions of life and enjoyment, whereas self-destructiveness is a destructive force aimed at diminishing one's own existence and that of those around them.

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