--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, TurquoiseB <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "ruthsimplicity" > <ruthsimplicity@> wrote: > > > > > > The DSM-IV elements of narcissistic PD are at least five of the > > following: > > 1. has a grandiose sense of self-importance > > 2. is preoccupied with fantasies of unlimited success, power, > > brilliance, beauty, or ideal love > > 3. believes that he or she is "special" and unique > > 4. requires excessive admiration > > 5. has a sense of entitlement > > 6. is interpersonally exploitative > > 7. lacks empathy > > 8. is often envious of others or believes others are envious > > of him or her > > 9. shows arrogant, haughty behaviors or attitudes > > Exactly. Thanks for posting this, Ruth. > > I think that people (if you consider Judy 'people') > are reacting to the term 'Disorder.'
Basically, that's true. It's dicey to try to pin a "disorder" label on people who are highly unusual. It's a descrip- > tion of a known set of behaviors and beliefs, grouped > into a convenient category for describing a certain > type of human being. Note that the "certain type of human being" is that of people who entered therapy because they were having problems coping with ordinary life. Moreover, the DSM-IV criteria for various disorders were determined on the basis of the diagnoses of many therapy patients over time, rather than the reverse. The criteria don't exist in a vacuum; they aren't sets of rules for diagnosing patients that have always existed. With regard to narcissistic personality disorder, for example, this is the appropriate statement: Of those people who have entered therapy and been diagnosed with the disorder at the time of the publication of DSM-IV (or for however many editions of DSM these criteria have been listed), most have shown at least five of the listed characteristics. That does *not* mean that everyone who shows at least five of the characteristics has narcissistic personality disorder, especially if they have never felt the need to seek therapy, and *especially* on the basis of the judgment of nonprofessionals. It *does* mean that if a professional determines that a patient in therapy has at least five of the characteristics, a diagnosis of narcissistic personality disorder should be considered. For people who have never sought therapy, and in the judgment of nonprofessionals, it's no more than idle speculation. And as Ruth points out: > > Now of course, just because you believe you are special, > > doesn't mean you aren't special. > > Exactly again. The people who think like this *might* > be right. It's just that most of the time they aren't. Aren't "right"? Barry knows The Truth about who is special and who isn't?? When he just got done saying: "10. has difficulty knowing the difference between 'this is the truth' and 'this is how I see it.' "To me, that's probably THE most defining aspect of narcissism -- the *assumption* that how one sees things *equals* how things really are." Amazing.
