Professor Sam Vaknin discusses cheating and triangulation in relationships, particularly in obsessive and narcissistic relationships. In obsessive relationships, cheating and triangulation serve as tools to manage the relationship, establish hierarchy, and communicate with one another. In narcissistic relationships, cheating can
Professor Sam Vaknin discusses the challenges of dealing with a borderline personality and offers advice on how to cope with their avoidance. He explains the internal processes and dynamics that drive the borderline’s behavior, including issues with attachment, identity disturbance,
In this transcript, Professor Sam Vaknin discusses the narcissist’s point of view and how they perceive their significant other. The narcissist takes a snapshot of their partner and idealizes them, but as reality sets in, they begin to change the
Professor Sam Vaknin discusses his approach to treating narcissistic personality disorder through a method he developed called “cold therapy.” He argues that traditional therapies fail with narcissists because they treat them as adults, whereas narcissists are emotionally akin to 18-month-old
The internal objects, introjects, and voices that populate your inner world are not a part of your core identity, but rather a kind of attribution error. These voices are triggered by circumstances and events in your life, but they are
Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is commonly associated with abandonment anxiety, but there is another type of anxiety that is less reported in literature, which is engulfment or enmeshment anxiety. This anxiety is triggered when a Borderline gets too intimate with
In this video, Professor Sam Vaknin discusses the differences in social sexuality and how it relates to mental illness. People with unrestricted social sexuality, who can have sex with strangers without any problem, are typically subclinical psychopaths. However, there are
Professor Sam Vaknin discusses coping with toxic families during holidays and family reunions. Toxic families are characterized by abusive, controlling, or humiliating behavior from one or more members. To cope with such families, one should accept the reality of the
Cerebral narcissists are individuals who redirect their entire libido and eros into intellectual pursuits, using their mind, intellect, and intelligence to secure favorable outcomes from the environment. This is due to sublimation, which involves converting drives, urges, and instincts into
Professor Sam Vaknin discusses reverse psychology, a technique that involves asserting the opposite of the desired outcome to encourage the subject to do what is actually desired. He explains that reverse psychology relies on a psychological phenomenon called reactance, which