Friday, November 03, 2006

Narcissism is not curable

“Treatment of the narcissist does not usually have positive results except for reducing the side effects of depression and anxiety which are treated with medication. The narcissist does not usually stay in treatment long enough for therapy to be beneficial.”

“Narcissism pervades the entire personality. It is all-pervasive. Being a narcissist is akin to being an alcoholic but much more so. Alcoholism is an impulsive behaviour. Narcissists exhibit dozens of similarly reckless behaviours, some of them uncontrollable (like their rage, the outcome of their wounded grandiosity). Narcissism is not a vocation. Narcissism resembles depression or other disorders and cannot be changed at will. Adult pathological narcissism is no more "curable" than the entirety of one's personality is disposable. The patient is a narcissist.
Narcissism is more akin to the colour of one's skin rather than to one's choice of subjects at the university.” – Sam Vaknin