Despite growing numbers of licensed therapists, there are more narcissists among us than ever. This easy home remedy for narcissism could help ease the psychotherapy workload.
I had to re-read this article to reply to your question!
Yes, your exercise would definitely help someone who was suffering from narcissism to get over their self-absorption, and become a more mature and happy person.
At the time I read the article (several months ago now) I was in the middle of reading a book about psychopathy. The clinician who wrote it was very experienced specifically with psychopaths, and like other experts on this condition, she was clear on the fact that you cannot "cure" psychopathy. (It's not actually a mental illness - it's more of an in-born personality type, unfortunately.)
When I read you tl/dr version of treating a narcissist, I instantly recognized that it's the kind of instructions a true psychopath (not a simple narcissist) could use to hone their skills at conning other people. (One of the very common traits of psychopaths is that they can be extremely charming.)
My original comment was not very clear! Apologies.
You probably also didn't consider that I was being rather narcissistic in that, in my mind, I was thinking about a book I was reading rather than focusing on what you were intending to say in your article. :)
In "The Sociopath Next Door," author/psychologist Dr. Martha Stout says about 4% of the population is psychopathic - about 1 in 25 people. On page 17 of her book:
'Many mental health professionals refer to the condition of little or no conscience as "antisocial personality disorder," a noncorrectable disfigurement of character that is now thought to be present in about 4 percent of the population-that is to say, one in twenty-five people. This condition of missing conscience is called by other names, too, most often "sociopathy," or the
somewhat more familiar term, psychopathy.'
A free pdf version of Stout's book (published 2005) can be downloaded here:
Dr. Cleckley's work is fascinating in that he explains that you cannot "cure" psychopathy, and he questions whether or not it should even be defined as a mental illness.
Another book I have found (but not yet read) on psychopathy is psychiatrist Dr. Scott M. Peck's "The People of the Lie: The hope for healing human evil" (1983):
What I find fascinating about descriptions of psychopathic behaviour is that it describes collective Jewish behaviour so succinctly. None of the above authors draw that conclusion, but if you are familiar with the JQ, it's impossible to miss.
"Over and again, heritability studies come up with a statistical finding that has emotionally charged social and political implications - that indeed a person's tendency to possess certain sociopathic characteristics is partially born in the blood, perhaps as much as 50 percent so."
Cleckley's contention that psychopathy is untreatable suggests that it is in someone's nature to be psychopathic, and I think that is another argument in favour of heritability.
Great post. The tl/dr version of treating a narcissist sounds like a method to train someone to become a psychopath.
Thank you. To BECOME a psychopath? Or to overcome psychopathy? The intent of the exercise would be to help people overcome self-absorption.
I had to re-read this article to reply to your question!
Yes, your exercise would definitely help someone who was suffering from narcissism to get over their self-absorption, and become a more mature and happy person.
At the time I read the article (several months ago now) I was in the middle of reading a book about psychopathy. The clinician who wrote it was very experienced specifically with psychopaths, and like other experts on this condition, she was clear on the fact that you cannot "cure" psychopathy. (It's not actually a mental illness - it's more of an in-born personality type, unfortunately.)
When I read you tl/dr version of treating a narcissist, I instantly recognized that it's the kind of instructions a true psychopath (not a simple narcissist) could use to hone their skills at conning other people. (One of the very common traits of psychopaths is that they can be extremely charming.)
My original comment was not very clear! Apologies.
Ah, I see. I didn't consider that.
How common is psychopathy, anyway?
You probably also didn't consider that I was being rather narcissistic in that, in my mind, I was thinking about a book I was reading rather than focusing on what you were intending to say in your article. :)
In "The Sociopath Next Door," author/psychologist Dr. Martha Stout says about 4% of the population is psychopathic - about 1 in 25 people. On page 17 of her book:
'Many mental health professionals refer to the condition of little or no conscience as "antisocial personality disorder," a noncorrectable disfigurement of character that is now thought to be present in about 4 percent of the population-that is to say, one in twenty-five people. This condition of missing conscience is called by other names, too, most often "sociopathy," or the
somewhat more familiar term, psychopathy.'
A free pdf version of Stout's book (published 2005) can be downloaded here:
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://marucha.files.wordpress.com/2014/06/the-sociopath-next-door.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwivuoz72MKFAxUoOTQIHUQIBikQFnoECBYQAQ&usg=AOvVaw14bjDsC6kFW3ikcIMaPLoS
An earlier, classic work on psychopathy is psychiatrist Dr. Hervey Cleckley's "The Mask of Sanity: An Attempt to Clarify Some Issues About the
So-Called Psychopathic Personality," (1941) available as a free pdf here:
https://archive.org/details/0490-pdf-cleckley-the-mask-of-sanity/page/n11/mode/2up
Dr. Cleckley's work is fascinating in that he explains that you cannot "cure" psychopathy, and he questions whether or not it should even be defined as a mental illness.
Another book I have found (but not yet read) on psychopathy is psychiatrist Dr. Scott M. Peck's "The People of the Lie: The hope for healing human evil" (1983):
https://archive.org/details/the-people-of-the-lie.-the-hope-for-healing-human-evil-2015-m-scott-peck
What I find fascinating about descriptions of psychopathic behaviour is that it describes collective Jewish behaviour so succinctly. None of the above authors draw that conclusion, but if you are familiar with the JQ, it's impossible to miss.
Thanks for all that info. Is it hereditary?
Yes.
According to Stout (p 133):
"Over and again, heritability studies come up with a statistical finding that has emotionally charged social and political implications - that indeed a person's tendency to possess certain sociopathic characteristics is partially born in the blood, perhaps as much as 50 percent so."
Cleckley's contention that psychopathy is untreatable suggests that it is in someone's nature to be psychopathic, and I think that is another argument in favour of heritability.