Where Have All the Wo/Men Gone?
Professor Sam Vaknin argues that women have become increasingly narcissistic and psychopathic due to their newfound powers and liberation, leading to a collective pathology. This has resulted in a mass psychopathology that is causing terrifying numbers of suicide rates, depression, and anxiety. Vaknin suggests that we need to acknowledge the truth about casual sex and stop being politically correct to confront the issues bravely and courageously. He believes that we need to rewrite the sexual scripts and restore distinct, clear, and boundaried gender roles to save ourselves from the collapsing gender roles that brought the narcissism pandemic and now the borderline secondary psychopathy pandemic.
Narcissist in Your Mind (with Dr Maryam Tanwir, University of Cambridge)
Professor Sam Vaknin, a diagnosed narcissist, explains that narcissism is a complex mental health disorder that affects every area of functioning. Narcissism is an organizing principle, a worldview, and a theory of mind. Narcissists lack empathy and see people as commodities or units of production. Narcissism is bad for the individual and everyone around them, and when assets such as sexuality, intelligence, and empathy are leveraged at the service of narcissism, it becomes a dangerous weapon.
Tips: Survive Your Borderline Enchantress
Professor Sam Vaknin discusses coping with borderline personality disorder, including abandonment anxiety and object constancy. He suggests establishing rituals and procedures of presence, permanence, stability, and predictability, involving the borderline in activities that can be misinterpreted as forms of abandonment, and introducing object constancy into the relationship through mementos, programmed reminders, and shared sentences. He also discusses decompensation, acting out, and mood lability in individuals with borderline personality disorder. Finally, he offers advice on how to deal with a partner who has borderline personality disorder, including restoring reality testing, preventing suicide, and countering transient paranoid ideation.
Never Both: Either Healing OR Behavior Modification in Cluster B Personality Disorders (Conference)
Professor Sam Vaknin discusses the conundrum of personality disorders, particularly Cluster B disorders, and their relationship to behavior and internal psychodynamics. He explores the disconnect between internal healing and persistent dysfunctional behaviors, attributing it to factors such as dissociative self-states, anxiety, and identity disturbance. Vaknin emphasizes the challenges in treating these disorders and the need for innovative approaches. He recommends literature on the topic and concludes by highlighting the difficulty in achieving behavior modification in these patients.
Narcissist’s Impossible Jigsaw Puzzle
Narcissists are fascinating due to their contradictory traits and behaviors. They can be highly intelligent and creative, yet emotionally immature and self-destructive. They can appear self-sufficient but are extremely dependent on others for validation. These disconnects challenge our understanding of psychology, as narcissists seem to defy the typical integration of cognitive, emotional, and behavioral aspects of a person. Narcissism remains a perplexing and unchanging phenomenon, providing valuable insights into the human mind.
When You Are Their Sex Prop: Exhibitionism, Autoeroticism, Masochism
Professor Sam Vaknin discusses auto-eroticism, exhibitionism, and submissiveness in sex, particularly in relation to narcissism and psychopathy. Auto-eroticism is when someone regards themselves as their own sex object, and it is often found in narcissists and psychopaths. Exhibitionism is becoming sexually aroused by being observed, which is also a form of narcissism. Self-trashing is a behavior found in narcissists and psychopaths, where they engage in degrading sexual acts as a form of self-punishment. There is a difference between self-trashing and being submissive in BDSM, as self-trashing individuals maintain control and defiance, while submissives relinquish control to their dominant partner.
Resist Narcissism, Grassroots Up! (Interview with Dr. Lisa Alastuey)
Professor Sam Vaknin discusses the rise of narcissism and psychopathy in modern society, which he attributes to social, cultural, and historical trends, as well as the prevalence of technology. He emphasizes the importance of recognizing the difference between healthy narcissism and narcissistic personality disorder, and the need to focus on being genuine, authentic, and assertive while recognizing limitations and shortcomings. Vaknin advocates for anti-narcissism at the individual level and rebuilding institutions to channel collective empowerment. He also warns of the dangers of social media and pornography, which he believes are killing us and leading to a disconnect among young people.
Masochism: Borderlines, Psychopaths Self-trash
Professor Sam Vaknin discusses sexual masochism among people with borderline personality disorder and psychopathy. He explains that sexual masochism is a form of self-trashing and describes four types of sexual contexts that lead to trashing and sexual arousal. Borderlines and psychopaths engage in cheating, substance abuse, and choosing inappropriate mates as ways of self-trashing that cause sexual arousal. Self-trashing is compulsive and masochistic, while promiscuity is impulsive and empowering.
Borderline vs. Narcissist Idealization Fantasies
Professor Sam Vaknin discusses the differences between the borderline’s shared fantasy and the narcissist’s shared fantasy. He explains that both borderline and narcissist have similarities, but their internal psychodynamics are very different. The borderline has empathy and overwhelming emotions, while the narcissist lacks emotional empathy and experiences only negative emotions. The shared fantasies of the borderline and the narcissist are also different, with the borderline having a variety of shared fantasies and the narcissist having a simpler, maternal-based shared fantasy. Both types of individuals end up in a victim role, leading to a cycle of idealization and demonization in their relationships.
Loving the Borderline in Her Fantasy
Professor Sam Vaknin discusses the love life, sexual fantasies, and relationships of borderline women, as well as the connection between borderline personality disorder and promiscuity. He delves into the origins and manifestations of the disorder, including its link to childhood trauma and heredity. Vaknin also explores the impact of these dynamics on relationships and the potential for resonance or exacerbation of pathologies in such pairings.