Narcissists and Ego Dystony - Excerpts Part 6 - Degrees of Narcissism

Written by Sam Vaknin

15. Humbling Oneself

I recommend to you to HUMBLE yourselves. This way, you will not only be offering NS (which WILL be rejected if the source is "wrong") - but also vindication and validation of the PERSONAL MYTHOLOGY of the narcissist as a giant, misunderstood and wronged by the Lilliputians. The combination is irresistible and the narcissist will easily fall into this double trap.

16. The Time before Narcissism

That a condition has a beginning does not necessarily mean that it has an end. That its roots can be traced does not imply that it can be uprooted. Not only do I remember a time without narcissism (up to the age of 4, I believe) - but I remember INVENTING the d**n thing. I remember creating narratives of omnipotence, of brilliance and ideal heroism in which I was either the main character or able to manipulate the main character.

How was the time before narcissism? Terrorizing, unpredictable, arbitrary, violent, capricious, unjust. I hated it. I still do.

I would be surprised to learn that a complex, interacting set of behavior and reaction patterns (known as personality) can be the result of a single biochemical or genetic cause, though.

next: Excerpts from the Archives of the Narcissism List Part 7