Question:

Can pathological narcissism be induced by substance abuse or biochemical imbalances in the brain?

Answer:

The narcissist’s moods change abruptly in the wake of a narcissistic injury. One can easily manipulate the moods of a narcissist by making a disparaging remark, by disagreeing with him, by criticising him, by doubting his grandiosity or fantastic claims, etc.

Such REACTIVE mood shifts are not provoked by the fluctuations in the narcissist’s body chemistry (for instance, his blood sugar levels), or with the presence or absence of any substance or chemical in his brain. It is possible to reduce the narcissist to a state of rage and depression AT ANY MOMENT, simply by employing the above “technique”. He can be elated, even manic – and in a split second, following a narcissistic injury, depressed, sulking or raging.

The opposite is also true. The narcissist can be catapulted from the bleakest despair to utter mania (or at least to an increased and marked feeling of well-being) by being provided with the flimsiest Narcissistic Supply (attention, adulation, etc.).

These swings are totally correlated to external events (narcissistic injury or Narcissistic Supply) and not to cycles of hormones, enzymes, neurotransmitters, sugar, or other substances in the body. Continue reading “Narcissists, Medication, and Chemical Imbalances” →

Pathological narcissism is associated with reduced cortical thickness and cortical volume in the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, according to a study published online this July in Neuroscience, which may explain impairments in the regulation of emotion.

Pathological narcissism, which differs from the normal form of narcissism (a normally distributed personality feature), can be defined as a personality characteristic involving arrogant behavior, feelings of entitlement, lack of empathy, and willingness to exploit other individuals. It is also often associated with aggression and dominance.

Pathological narcissism has been shown to predict psychological health, with individuals high in narcissism more likely to suffer mental disorders. For example, researchers have found that pathological narcissism is correlated with: anxiety, depression, loneliness, empathy, and neuroticism. Furthermore, individuals with a narcissistic personality exhibit avoidant attachment styles, maintain distance in relationships, claim not to need others, and are more sensitive to social rejection. Continue reading “Pathological narcissism associated with reduced frontal cortex thickness in the brain” →

We all know a narcissist or two — the often-annoying colleagues, friends, and family members who seem to be constantly talking about themselves and touting their own achievements. In some ways, these characters are a paradox. They seem to be in love with themselves — and when they’re asked in questionnaires, they claim to have very high self-esteem — but their behavior poses an obvious question: If you were genuinely happy with yourself, why would you feel the need to constantly boast and seek admiration from others?

A new study in Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience potentially solves the mystery: Narcissists may talk and act confident, but their brains don’t lie. At a neural level, narcissists are needy. Continue reading “At a Neurological Level, Narcissists Are Needy” →

Individuals with narcissistic personality disorder suffer from low self-esteem and feelings of inferiority, while also projecting displays of arrogance and vanity, according to the American Psychiatric Association.

One of the key traits of pathological narcissists is their clear lack of empathy, said Stefan Röpke, a professor in the department of psychiatry at the Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin in Germany. Generally, these patients are able to recognize what others feel and think, but outwardly exhibit little compassion. [The 10 Most Controversial Psychiatric Disorders]

The left anterior insula region of the brain, which is thought to be involved with cognitive functioning and the regulation of emotion, has also been tied to the generation of compassion and empathy.

“This was already a region of interest for empathy, but for the first time, we were able to show that it is structurally correlated in the brain,” Röpke told LiveScience. Continue reading “Narcissists’ Lack of Empathy Detected in Brain Scans” →

Narcissists are prone to risky decision-making, but why? This study tested—via behavioral and event-related potential (ERP) measures—two accounts: deficiencies in error monitoring and deficiencies in action updating. High and low narcissists were engaged in a monetary gambling task by choosing between a high-risk and a low-risk option while the electroencephalogram (EEG) was being recorded. Two ERP components relevant to outcome evaluation—feedback-related negativity (FRN) and P3—were analyzed, with the FRN serving as an index of error monitoring and the P3 as an index of action updating. Generally, high and low narcissists differed in the high-risk condition but not in the low-risk condition. At the behavioral level, high (vs low) narcissists made riskier decisions following high-risk decision outcomes, which was in line with past findings; at the neurophysiological level, while no FRN difference emerged between high and low narcissists, the outcome valence effect (positive vs negative) on the P3 was stronger among low narcissists than high narcissists following high-risk decision outcomes. One possible interpretation of the results is that narcissism is associated with reduced action updating. The findings contribute to the understanding of narcissistic decision-making and self-regulation. Continue reading “Narcissism and risky decisions: a neurophysiological approach” →

We can now see narcissism in the brain. Brain scans of people with Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD) showed they have less brain matter in areas associated with emotional empathy. This is the first time anyone has seen the evidence of narcissism in brain structures.

The inability to feel empathy is one of the hallmarks of NPD. Researchers have found that people with this disorder can take the perspective of another person in a purely intellectual way. However, when it comes to actually feeling what another person is going through, narcissists have difficulty.

A group of German researchers recently studied the source of this lack of emotional empathy in people with NPD. In their research, they collected MRI brain scans of 17 people with NPD along with 17 people from the community for comparison. The researchers first looked at brain volume overall and found that the people with NPD were similar to the healthy individuals. That is, both groups’ brains’ were similar overall. Continue reading “SEEING NARCISSISM IN THE BRAIN” →

The activity of the mPfc has been negatively related to self-serving attributions in experimental procedures. in particular, an eeg study found that non self-serving attributions required increased activity in the mPfc -interpreted as a sign of heightened self-control – when compared to self-serving attributions in healthy participants ( Krusemark et al. 2008). Abnormalities in the mPFC found in narcissists ( Nenadic et al. 2015) may therefore be the source of their self-enhancing tendencies. Striking support to this hypothesis comes from the investigation of the connections between mPfc and basal ganglia. … Continue reading “Brain structure in narcissistic personality disorder: A VBM and DTI pilot study” →

Parental Alienators like to go beyond mental cruelty especially at Christmas time!!!

After reading Viktor Emil Frankl – Mans Search for meaning many years ago, I began to understand how it is possible, to overcome the shock and trauma of not being allowed to speak, see or give Xmas presents to your children for many years at Christmas time.

Frankl identifies three psychological reactions experienced by all inmates to one degree or another:

(1) shock during the initial admission phase to the camp, (2) apathy after becoming accustomed to camp existence, in which the inmate values only that which helps himself and his friends survive, and (3) reactions of depersonalization, moral deformity, bitterness, and disillusionment if he survives and is liberated.^[5]

Viktor Frankl was an Austrian neurologist and psychiatrist as well as a Holocaust survivor, surviving Theresienstadt, Auschwitz, Kaufering and Türkheim.

Offer up your night to the Hackney Winter Night Shelter

Open from November to March each year, Hackney Winter Night Shelter offers a bed for the night and a hot meal for people who would otherwise be sleeping rough. Without its team of volunteers, it simply would be unable to run.

https://www.homeless.org.uk/search-homelessness-services

Volunteer for Shelter

Robes

OUR NIGHT SHELTERS ARE DELIVERED BY VENUES THROUGHOUT SOUTHWARK & LAMBETH.

EACH VENUE RECRUIT THEIR OWN VOLUNTEERS TO RUN THE PROJECT.

If you would like to volunteer in our shelters this season, please contact your local venues directly using the links below

https://robes.org.uk/volunteering-in-our-night-shelters

Book a Christmas shift

High street shops often offer higher wages or ‘double pay’ during the festive period to recruit more members of staff to meet shopping demands.