Disorders of Eating and Personality (3rd International Conference on Neurology and Brain Disorders)
Eating disorders are complex and often comorbid with personality disorders, particularly borderline personality disorder. The key to improving the mental state of patients with both disorders is to focus on their eating and sleeping disorders first. By controlling their eating disorder, patients can reassert control over their lives, leading to better regulation of their sense of self-worth, enhanced self-confidence, and self-esteem. Treatment options include medication, cognitive or behavioral therapy, psychodynamic therapy, and family therapy. Recovery prognosis is good after two years of treatment and support.
Field Theory of Consciousness (9th Global Experts Meeting Neurology & Neuropsychiatry)
Professor Sam Vaknin discusses the relationship between the mind and body, and how language serves as a bridge between the two. He explains that potentials are fields of lingual energy that become structures when charged with lingual energy. The release of lingual energy is Freud’s cathexis, and defense mechanisms are all sentences in the language. Pathologies occur when only partial repression is achieved, leading to a pathological hypercluster, which can result in compulsive or obsessive behaviors. Finally, Professor Vaknin suggests a field theory of the mind that compares to various previous works.
Why We Dream (International Congress on Neurology and Brain Disorders)
Professor Sam Vaknin discusses the functions and significance of dreams, as well as their cultural and societal roles. He also critiques the movie “Inception” and its portrayal of dreaming. Vaknin emphasizes the subjective nature of dreams, their role in processing information, and their connection to creativity and inspiration. He also challenges the idea of dream sharing and the distinction between endogenous and exogenous ideation.
Internet: The Narcissist’s Hunting Haunt and Playground (Gazeta Polska)
Professor Sam Vaknin discusses the relationship between social media and narcissism, arguing that social media platforms were designed to be addictive and encourage aggression. He explains that the need to be seen is a natural human need, but it can become malignant and pathological when people become addicted to external feedback that lacks information. Vaknin also shares his own approach to using social media in a non-narcissistic way, which involves disseminating only information and eliminating any comments that have a personal angle. Finally, he argues that social media was never meant to be used for personal communication, and that it can be deleterious and dangerous to personal interaction.
The Narcissist’s Inner World and His Intimate Partner: New Directions
Professor Sam Vaknin discusses the difference between healthy and unhealthy narcissism, the prevalence of narcissism, the emotional components of self-awareness, the role of emotions in narcissists, the types of abuse, the characteristics of narcissism, and the effectiveness of cold therapy in treating narcissism and depression. He also explains the concept of trauma bonding and the challenges in breaking free from a relationship with a narcissist.
Narcissism, Brain Injury, Personality, Computers (10th Conf. Psychiatry, Psychology & Brain Studies)
Professor Sam Vaknin discusses the connection between trauma, brain, personality disorders, and cerebral models. He uses the example of Phineas Gage, whose brain injury turned him into a psychopathic narcissist, to illustrate how brain trauma can have massive systemic effects on personality. Vaknin also explores the software metaphor of the mind, suggesting that if the brain is like software, it must contain features such as parity checks, multiple levels of excitation, redundancy, comparison of representational elements to models of the world, recursive functions, and self-organization. However, he acknowledges that understanding the brain and the connection between mind and personality is still a long way off.
Mental Illness: Myth or Real? (7th International Conference on Brain Disorders and Therapeutics)
Professor Sam Vaknin discusses the debate surrounding mental illness, questioning whether it is a myth or a clinical entity. He highlights the medicalization of behaviors previously considered sinful or wrong, and the impact of cultural and societal norms on the classification of mental disorders. Vaknin also addresses the limitations and controversies in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) and the influence of the pharmaceutical industry on psychiatry.
Reimagining Narcissism in a Psychopathic World (Dunc Tank)
Sam Vaknin explains that narcissism is a clinical entity and an organizing principle that can elucidate many processes. Narcissists seek external validation, known as narcissistic supply, to regulate their sense of self-worth. Narcissism and psychopathy are becoming a lifestyle, and as long as they were a pathology, they could have been contained, but the minute they become a fad or a fashion, we are doomed. Vaknin believes that there is no effective therapy for narcissism, and the only advice he has for prospective parents diagnosed with narcissistic personality disorder is to not have children.
Lidija and Sam: The Tide of Narcissism (1st in Series “Fly on the Wall”)
Social media blurs the line between virtual and real reality, leading to addiction and confusion. The positive reward system of likes and shares encourages extreme behavior and radicalization. Social media creates a clash between reality and virtual or augmented reality, and the false self is unique on social media, not the real self. Narcissists use social media as an addiction to maintain their grandiosity and avoid disintegration.
Psychopathic Narcissism is Our Destiny and Destination (Obsidian Radio)
Dr. Sam Vaknin, an expert on narcissism, discusses various aspects of narcissistic behavior and its impact on society. He explains that narcissism has both healthy and pathological manifestations, with pathological narcissism being an addiction to attention and validation from others. Vaknin suggests that narcissism may be a post-traumatic condition linked to childhood abuse and trauma. He also discusses the role of narcissism in technology, politics, and relationships, proposing that it is a pervasive force shaping modern life. Additionally, Vaknin touches on the historical and social dynamics of African Americans, victimhood as an industry, and the future of gender roles, predicting an increase in female dominance due to societal and economic changes.