There are 11 types of lies, including utilitarian lies, smokescreen lies, compassionate lies, ceremonial lies, compensatory lies, confabulatory lies, inferential lies, hybrid lies, and artistic lies. Gaslighting is a strategy used by psychopaths to make people doubt their own perception
Drama, crazy making, and chaos are defining features of mental health disturbances, particularly in cluster B personality disorders. The reasons behind such behavior vary depending on the disorder, but they often involve a need for attention, a sense of vulnerability,
Professor Sam Vaknin discusses the concept of the unconscious in psychology, including different schools of thought and Freud’s trilateral model of the mind. He explains that the unconscious is a language and a public dimension formed by input and feedback
Giving does not necessarily make people happy, as the style of giving is important. Ostentatious and transactional giving can create resentment in beneficiaries. True giving is hidden, unconditional, and comes from the heart, not the wallet. It is about helping
Professor Sam Vaknin discusses various therapies used to treat personality disorders, including behavior therapy, cognitive therapy, and cognitive behavior therapy. He also describes dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), which emphasizes emotional and affect regulation, and other therapies such as cognitive behavioral
Pathological lying is a compulsive behavior that is not goal-oriented and has no purpose. Pathological liars weave elaborate and extensive lies that are self-destructive and self-defeating. They are emotionally invested in the act of lying and create an environment that
The dual mothership concept is a principle developed by Sam Vaknin to explain the prolonged grief involved in narcissistically abusive relationships. It involves the Narcissist becoming the partner’s idealizing mother, offering unconditional love, and the partner becoming the Narcissist’s idealizing
Separating and individuating from a borderline partner is different from doing so from a narcissistic partner. The borderline partner outsources their mind to their intimate partner and expects them to regulate their emotions, moods, and stabilize them. The borderline partner
Sam Vaknin proposes a fifth attachment style called “flat attachment,” where individuals are incapable of bonding or relating to others at all. They view others as interchangeable and dispensable, transitioning seamlessly from one person to the next without mourning or
In this video, Professor Sam Vaknin discusses the process of individuation after separating from a narcissist. He explains that the narcissist is a duality, making it difficult to separate and silence the narcissist’s voice in your head. The process of