Great Reset: True Healing Only After Hitting Rock Bottom (with Vera Faria Leal)
Professor Sam Vaknin discusses the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, highlighting its historical, religious, and economic dimensions. He emphasizes the intractability of the conflict and the lack of compromise due to the intertwining of religious, nationalistic, and economic factors. Vaknin also delves into the psychological underpinnings of the conflict, discussing narcissism, victimhood, and the need for a collective crucifixion or apocalypse to bring about transformation. He stresses the importance of philosophers, psychoanalysts, and psychologists in the negotiation process and advocates for a shift towards communitarianism as a potential solution.
Narcissist Stalks Your Dreams, Nightmares
Professor Sam Vaknin discusses the concept of lucid dreaming and its application to the narcissist’s shared fantasy. He explains how the narcissist manipulates and entrains the victim into the shared fantasy, triggering repressed memories and emotional release. The lecture delves into the psychological impact of the shared fantasy, the role of dreams in processing trauma, and the brain’s response to threats and stress during sleep. Vaknin emphasizes the importance of paying attention to nightmares and dreams as they may provide insight and self-awareness to help individuals navigate the shared fantasy.
Magnetic Narcissists: Pathological Charisma
Professor Sam Vaknin discusses the concept of the charismatic magnetic narcissist, a type of narcissism that combines post-traumatic, reactive, and societal elements. He explains how the charismatic magnetic narcissist uses trauma, attention-seeking behavior, and conformity to societal norms to bond with and influence others. He also delves into the connection between narcissism and charisma, and how charisma can be compensatory for the narcissist’s sense of absence. Additionally, he explores the group dynamics and practical outcomes of charisma, ultimately linking charisma to narcissism.
How to Cope with 3 Types of Narcissism (with Dr. Ahmed Fouad, Starts 05:30)
Professor Sam Vaknin discussed narcissism, its origins, and its impact on individuals and society. He emphasized that narcissism is a post-traumatic condition and a survival strategy, and that society rewards narcissistic behaviors. He also explained the special relationship between narcissists and borderlines, and the concept of interjection. In terms of treatment, he mentioned that no treatment modality has been effective with narcissism and proposed a therapy called “therapy” that involves retraumatization. He also provided strategies for dealing with narcissists and protecting children from their behavior. Finally, he expressed the need for peace and collaboration in the Middle East.
Criminalize Narcissistic Abuse? (with Dr. Yana Greenberg, Be Honest Podcast)
Professor Sam Vaknin discusses the concept of narcissism, distinguishing between clinical narcissism and societal narcissism. He explains that narcissism can be defined in multiple ways, including as a mental illness, a social problem, or an organizing principle of society. Vaknin emphasizes the importance of criminalizing narcissistic abuse and provides practical advice on how to recognize and protect oneself from narcissistic behavior. He also discusses the covert narcissist and the potential for narcissistic behavior to worsen or change as individuals age.
Self-styled Narcissism “Experts”, Psychology Credentials
In the lecture, Professor Sam Vaknin discusses the concept of self-styled experts in psychology and the criteria for defining true expertise in the field. He emphasizes the importance of dedication, publication in peer-reviewed journals, and participation in international conferences as key indicators of expertise. Vaknin also addresses the relevance of academic degrees in psychology, highlighting that while they are important for certain activities such as diagnosing and treating individuals, they are not necessary for creating new theories or treatment modalities. Additionally, he advocates for the inclusion of laymen’s experiences and perspectives in psychology, arguing that their insights can provide valuable information for scholars. Overall, Vaknin aims to disambiguate the confusion surrounding credentials and expertise in the field of psychology.
Cold Therapy: Misinformation, Smears Dispelled
Professor Sam Vaknin discusses his new treatment modality called “cold therapy,” which is a talk therapy designed for individuals diagnosed with narcissistic personality disorder and major depression. He dispels misconceptions about cold therapy, emphasizing that it does not involve physical abuse or violence and is strictly verbal. He explains that cold therapy aims to re-traumatize the patient in a controlled and tiered manner, leading to the collapse of the narcissist’s defenses and creating a window of opportunity for change. Vaknin outlines 25 proprietary techniques used in cold therapy, including erasure, hypervigilant referencing, grandiosity reframing, and happiness mapping, to reframe situations and events as traumas and foster more adaptive functioning. He also discusses the challenges and risks associated with cold therapy, such as managing transference and countertransference, addressing suicidal tendencies, and fostering persecutory delusions.
How Narcissist “Loves” YOU (Zagreb Lecture EXCERPT) (BOOTLEG)
In this lecture, Professor Sam Vaknin discusses the concept of the unconscious and its role in narcissism. He explains that defense mechanisms are automatic but not unconscious, and that the concept of the unconscious is debatable in psychology. He also touches on the history of the unconscious and its role in different psychological theories. The lecture ends with a thank you to the audience and the organizer for their participation.
Get Your Defenses Right! (Projection, Rationalization, Splitting)
Professor Vaknin discusses the misuse of psychological terms such as projection, rationalization, and splitting by self-styled experts online. He explains that projection involves attributing one’s negative traits to others, while rationalization is a defense mechanism used to justify socially unacceptable behaviors. Additionally, he delves into the concept of splitting, emphasizing its role in mental health and its connection to narcissism and borderline personality disorder. Vaknin highlights the confusion and misinformation surrounding these concepts and stresses the importance of accurate understanding and education in the field of psychology.
Narcissism Virus: Genes, Deception, Brain, Mind (Compilation)
Narcissists and psychopaths are facing increasing difficulties in finding victims due to heightened awareness and stigmatization of their behaviors. As victim awareness grows and behaviors associated with narcissistic abuse become criminalized, the pool of potential targets shrinks. This leads to a situation where predators may team up to hunt collectively, as predicted by game theory models like the Hawk-Dove model and the Lotka-Volterra predator-prey model. These models suggest that as the number of predators increases and the number of prey decreases, the predator population will eventually decline. This raises questions about the role of predators like narcissists and psychopaths in society and whether their decline could lead to trophic cascades, which are powerful indirect interactions that can control entire ecosystems. The future impact of increased awareness, stigmatization, and criminalization on the survival and behaviors of narcissists and psychopaths remains an open question.