Professor Sam Vaknin discusses Body Integrity Dysphoria (BID) and its connection to fetishism and narcissism. BID is a psychological condition where individuals have an overwhelming desire to be disabled, often through amputation. Vaknin suggests that BID may be a form
Professor Sam Vaknin discusses the concept of communal or prosocial narcissists who use giving to enhance their sense of omnipotence and contempt for others. Narcissists give to exert control and maintain dependence in their beneficiaries, and their giving is conditional
Professor Sam Vaknin discusses various topics in these sections, including malignant egalitarianism, lying, the psychology of trust, and the importance of trust in relationships. He argues that people today think they are experts on everything without bothering to educate themselves
Professor Sam Vaknin discusses the importance of intuition in relationships and decision-making. He explores different types of intuition, including idetic, emergent, and ideal intuition, and how they are used in various philosophical and psychological theories. He emphasizes the significance of
Professor Sam Vaknin discusses the complexity of emotions and their relationship with cognitions, sense data, and bodily responses. He argues that emotions may be rational strategies for survival and that there is a need for a more basic approach to
Professor Sam Vaknin discusses the concept of reality and fantasy, using examples from popular movies such as The Truman Show and The Matrix. He delves into the idea of living in a dissociative state and the construction of narratives in
Professor Sam Vaknin discusses the three types of trauma: self-inflicted, reality-inflicted, and parental-inflicted. He emphasizes the critical role of mothers in personal development and the impact of trauma on growth. Vaknin also explores the concept of nothingness as a healthy
Professor Sam Vaknin discusses various topics related to psychology, including the trauma of selfhood, the role of the mother in shaping the self, the importance of narratives, and the concept of collective unconscious and archetypes. He argues that humanity has
Professor Sam Vaknin discusses the story of Pinocchio as a metaphor for the struggles of abused children. He explains that Pinocchio’s desire to become human and escape his puppet existence represents a death wish, as abused children often feel they
Professor Sam Vaknin discusses the application of network theory to mental health disorders, emphasizing the interconnectedness of symptoms and the need to incorporate both internal and external factors in understanding mental illness. He explores the symbiotic relationship between hierarchies and