Narcissistic personality disorder
by CarolineSlate has a great piece on narcissistic personality disorder (NPD):
Shame, that painful sense one has acted in an unacceptable way, is another necessary emotion that is also largely missing from the person with NPD. Since shame feels so terrible, it sounds liberating not to feel it. But psychologist Schore points out a feeling of shame signals that we need to reassess our behavior. “Shame is a moral emotion,” he says. “It’s without feeling shame that the most horrendous acts occur.”
The article suggests that so-called “helicopter parents,” the type who invade children’s lives and make decisions for them, serve on boosters and school committees and basically are my worst nightmare personified, are at least triggering NPD in more children. By smothering children from birth, parents can negate children’s ability to do internal emotional regulation, make children the center of their own worlds, and, sometimes, kill the ability for empathy before it even emerges.
My parents put a lot of trust in me from a very early age, which means, surprise, I’m my own person and don’t need validation from other people. At the same time, I’m painfully empathetic and feel too connected to other people most of the time, something doubtlessly preferable to narcissism.
one response
Dom Joseph Warrilow said that there’s really only one sin: selfishness. I tend to agree. Almost everything bad in the world comes from people who put their own wants and needs in front of everyone else’s.