Background

Somatic Narcissists as Wannabe Gurus/Intellectuals

Uploaded 1/12/2023, approx. 5 minute read

Ah, red wine, a man's best friend.

I just got rid of one, not wine, a fake friend, fake former best friend.

Okay, today's topic has nothing to do with him.

Of course, I'm going to discuss somatic narcissists.

In 1995, I coined the phrases somatic narcissists and cerebral narcissists to describe two types of narcissists.

The somatic narcissist derives narcissistic supply from his looks and the way he uses his body. For example, sexual conquests.

The cerebral narcissist derives narcissistic supply from intellectual pyrotechnics, from his intelligence, from the way he uses ten dollar words, rings a bell.

Okay, Shoshanim, my name is Sam Vaknin. I'm the author of Malignant Self-Love: Narcissism Revisited. I am also, yes, a professor of psychology at several universities, most notably, CIAPS, Centre for International Advanced Professional Studies, the Outreach Program of the SIAS Consortium of Universities.

And today we are going to discuss somatic narcissists who pretend to be cerebral narcissists, the worst conceivable kind, snakes in the grass.

Clinically, a narcissist who pretends to be of the wrong type is a covert narcissist.

So a somatic narcissist who pretends to be cerebral is clinically a covert narcissist, covert because his true nature is hidden. He's lying about who he is.

Sometimes he's lying even to himself about who he is, a form of self-deception.

But in most cases, he knows very well that he's deceiving people.

Somatic narcissists who pretend to be cerebral are a serious threat because they claim intelligence, wisdom, sagacity, knowledge that they don't have. That they don't have. They appear to have it, but they actually don't have it.

In other words, they are con artists.

Okay, let's delve right in.


They are grotesque caricatures of masculinity, buff, deformed, veined, musculature, you know the type. They are like tightly packed meat packages. They have slicked, gel oozing hair, ostentatious tattoos, and pants too tight so as to emphasize the crotch.

This is a typical, not stereotypical, but typical picture of the kind of somatic narcissist that I'm talking about.

The internet gave rise to a new breed of gurus, coaches, self-help advisors, and self-styled experts. These mostly men spend more time in the gym and in nightclubs than they ever spend in libraries and museums. Actually, I doubt that they ever frequent libraries and museums.

Their natural habitats are gyms, where they spend hours a day honing their bodies into perfect weapons. They weaponize their bodies. And they spend hours in the evening, snorting coke or doing worse in nightclubs.

These are covert somatic narcissists who often pose as empathic. They pretend to be co-dependent victims, saviors, healers. All this is intended, bottom line, to lure women to engage in sex and then cruelly dispatch them on their way, sometimes in the middle of the night.

But you could ask, all a somatic narcissist needs is sexual conquest.

Yes, but this particular type of somatic narcissist is envious of the intelligence and intellect of the cerebral narcissist. He wants to have it all. He wants to have a perfect body, sexual conquests, and to be considered a public intellectual.

Sexual conquests are not enough for these delusional and vainglorious megalomaniacs.

These somatic narcissists also posture and pose as sages and visionaries.

These cerebral wannabes pontificate, they spew half-baked and ill-informed conspiracy theories, impromptu analysis, inane observations and stupid opinions in fields as diverse as philosophy and science and without any qualifications to do so, formal or informal.

Con artists, didn't I say?

These people, these somatic covert narcissists wannabes cerebrals, they get most of the information disastrously wrong because they don't have the tools to get it right.

And if they don't have information, they just make it up as they go along, as they self-importantly aspire to pretend that brain and brawn are interchangeable, which they are not.

These somatic covert narcissists have a dream. Their dream is to be cerebral.

What they do, they often team up with intellectually superior cerebral narcissists, and then they appropriate, they plagiarize, they steal the work of these intellectuals, of these intellects, of these intelligent cerebral narcissists. They simply steal it, and they bask in the purloined glory, or they attribute to themselves this work.

That's what they do. They are like cuckoo, cuckoo birds.

They stumble only when they are on their own, when they are not in the presence or together with the cerebral narcissists.

Because when they are on their own, they are incapable of generating a single original idea. It's all about stealing other people's work.

They are never creative. They are never original. They don't truly comprehend even the material that they have stolen. They just parrot. They just mimic. They just imitate. It's all mimicry.

Some of these somatic cerebral narcissists are smooth talkers. Some of them disguise their essential vacuity and endless stream of nonsense effectively, because they know how to put together resounding sound bites, verbiage, pronouncing words like dissociation wrongly and awash in malapropisms, but still palatable to the layman's ear.

Other somatic overt narcissists engage in displays of aggression or nauseating eroticism. They are creepy to the last.

Most of them are psychopaths cloaking themselves in the mantle of saviors and healers. They are a serious danger to society and to everyone who crosses their path.

It's about time. We should expose them, point fingers at them.

You've all seen them on YouTube. You've all seen that they're puffed up chests as they brainwash gullible and malleable people into submission as they form cults around themselves.

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

Somatic Narcissist: Not Sex, But Pursuit and Conquest

Somatic narcissists derive their narcissistic supply from the process of securing sexual conquests rather than the act itself, finding validation in the chase and manipulation of their targets. They often exhibit their physical attributes and conquests, treating their bodies as objects to be sculpted, while displaying sadistic tendencies when coupled with psychopathy. In contrast, cerebral narcissists rely on their intellect for admiration and often neglect their physical selves, preferring solitary sexual gratification over intimate relationships. Both types exist within a narcissist, with one being dominant and the other recessive, leading to unpredictable shifts in behavior akin to a dual personality.


Classifying Narcissists: Sanity and Masks

Narcissism is a complex and multifaceted phenomenon that can be categorized into various typologies, including those proposed by scholars like Theodore Millon and Drew Westen. Millon identifies four types of narcissists: elitist, amorous, unprincipled, and compensatory, while Westen categorizes them into high-functioning, fragile, and grandiose types. The distinction between cerebral and somatic narcissists highlights how individuals derive their narcissistic supply either from intellect or physicality, with each type exhibiting unique behaviors and interpersonal dynamics. Additionally, the concept of inverted narcissism describes individuals who are codependent on narcissists, seeking validation and self-worth through their relationships with them. Overall, understanding these typologies is crucial for recognizing the diverse expressions of narcissism and their implications in interpersonal relationships.


Remain Friends with the Narcissist?

Narcissists are only friendly when they need something from you, such as narcissistic supply, help, support, votes, money, or sex. They also become friendly when they feel threatened and want to smother the threat with pleasantries. Narcissists are also over-friendly when they have just been infused with an overdose of narcissistic supply. Some people prefer to live with narcissists because they have been conditioned to treat narcissistic abuse as background noise and are compensated for the abuse by the thrills provided by living with a narcissist. However, inverted narcissists are typically unhappy and in need of help, which suggests that they are victims who experience the Stockholm Syndrome.


So, Is My Narcissist a Covert Narcissist? Nonsense vs. Scholarship

Covert narcissists are individuals who suffer from an in-depth sense of inferiority, have a marked propensity towards feeling ashamed, and are shy and fragile. They are unable to genuinely depend on others or trust them, suffer from chronic envy of others, and have a lack of regard for generational boundaries. Covert narcissists are not goal-orientated, have shallow vocational commitment, and are forgetful of details, especially names. Inverted narcissists are a subspecies of covert narcissism and are self-centered, sensitive, vulnerable, and defensive, sometimes hostile and paranoid.


Narcissist's Sexual Identities (ENGLISH responses)

Narcissists lack an ego and have no reality test, so they rely on other people to provide them with narcissistic supply. The cerebral narcissist uses their intellect to obtain supply, while the somatic narcissist uses their body and sex. However, all narcissists are both cerebral and somatic, with a dominant and recessive side. The dominant side is usually 70-80% of their life, but there is fluctuation between the two types. Narcissists are frozen at a young age and have no sexual or gender identity, leading to infantilization and reaction formation to their own sexuality.


Somatic Narcissist's Shared Fantasy

The shared fantasy of the somatic narcissist involves a co-idealization process where both the narcissist and their partner idealize each other to reinforce their self-worth. This dynamic can unravel when one partner fails to maintain the idealization, often due to overwhelming reality or the partner's devaluation. The somatic narcissist seeks admiration for their physicality and engages in sexual relationships that often include elements of performance and kink, while also desiring a mother figure who fulfills both nurturing and sexual roles. Ultimately, the somatic narcissist tests their partner's loyalty through infidelity and degradation, leading to a cycle of emotional manipulation and instability.


Narcissist Has No Friends

Narcissists treat their friends like Watson and Hastings, who are obsequious and unthreatening, and provide them with an adulating gallery. Narcissists cannot empathize or love, and therefore have no real friends. They are interested in securing narcissistic supply from narcissistic supply sources. The narcissist overvalues people when they are judged to be potential sources of supply, and devalues them when no longer able to supply him, ultimately leading to the alienation and distancing of people.


Brain, Brawn, Body, Bluff: Narcissists, Somatic, Covert, Cerebral, and Classic

Narcissists can be either somatic or cerebral, depending on whether they use their physical appearance or intellect to obtain supply. While there is no constancy, there is type dominance, with cerebral narcissists emphasizing their intellect and somatic narcissists emphasizing their physical appearance. Narcissists are competitive and ambitious in sex, using their partner's body as an animated dildo or masturbatory object. Covert narcissists, who are mostly women, tend to be largely asexual due to deep-set inferiority complexes and body dysmorphic disorders. They may engage in body-altering behaviors such as surgeries and look-maxing, which is more prevalent among covert somatic narcissists. Altruism can also be a form of ostentatious narcissism.


Misinformation: Covert vs. Classic Narcissist

Covert narcissists differ significantly from classic narcissists, lacking the cunning and manipulative traits associated with the latter. They experience an internal conflict between feelings of worthlessness and a grandiose self-image, leading to anxiety and mood disorders. Covert narcissists often feel shame and guilt over their aggressive urges, resulting in shyness and perfectionism, while their relationships tend to be superficial and marked by a lack of trust. To be classified as an inverted narcissist, one must actively seek relationships with narcissists despite past abuse and feel unfulfilled in relationships with non-narcissists, alongside meeting other criteria for dependent personality disorder.


Inverted Narcissist (Narcissist Codependent)

Inverted narcissists are a type of codependent who exclusively depend on a narcissist. They are self-effacing, sensitive, emotionally fragile, and sometimes socially phobic. They derive all their self-esteem and sense of self-worth from the outside and are pathologically envious. Inverted narcissists are narcissists, and it is possible to compose a set of criteria for them by translating the criteria available in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for the classical narcissist.

Transcripts Copyright © Sam Vaknin 2010-2024, under license to William DeGraaf
Website Copyright © William DeGraaf 2022-2024
Get it on Google Play
Privacy policy