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.
Freud and Jung on Cold Therapy: Re-integrating the Narcissist’s Self
Professor Sam Vaknin discusses the psychodynamic theories of Freud and Jung, focusing on the narcissist’s true self, ego functions, and the development of personality disorders. He delves into the concepts of the ego, the self, and the shadow, and their impact on the individual’s integration and perception of self. Vaknin also explores the role of split off material and its effect on conflict resolution and the treatment of personality disorders.
Dissociation (Amnesia) & Confabulation in Narcissism (Intl. Conf. Clinical Counseling Psychology)
Sam Vaknin, a visiting professor of psychology, discusses dissociation in narcissistic disturbances of the self at a conference in Tokyo. He explains that the narcissist’s sense of self is regulated by feedback from others and that the narcissist’s true self is suppressed and replaced by a false self. The false self serves as a decoy and absorbs pain, while the true self becomes dysfunctional and detached. The narcissist experiences life as a detached observer, feeling alienated and controlled by the false self.
Narcissist, Psychopath, Misogynist, Racist? Josh Neal Talk to Sam Vaknin
Sam Vaknin is a professor who has developed a new treatment modality called cold therapy for narcissistic personality disorder. He believes that language is an obstruction to understanding the physical nature of reality and that narcissism is a post-traumatic condition caused by abuse during the child’s formative years. Vaknin discusses the decline of power structures in North America and Europe and diagnoses the narcissism of American presidents, including Barack Obama and Donald Trump, as well as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
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.