Month: June 2003

Marianne asks, “Aren’t all artists narcissists?”

What do **you** think?

OK, here’s the stuff from the DSM IV (2000), as quoted on Vaknin’s site: (following each is a self-diagnosis)

An all-pervasive pattern of grandiosity (in fantasy or in behaviour), a need for admiration and a marked lack of empathy which starts at early adulthood and is present in a variety of contexts.

At least 5 of the following should be present for a person to be diagnosed as suffering from Narcissistic Personality Disorder:

* Possesses a grandiose sense of self-importance (for example: exaggerates his achievements and his talents, expects his superiority to be recognised without having the commensurate skills or achievements); [OK maybe a little, but so reflexively that I was able to write the line David Hess criticized: “I have an exaggerated sense of my own unimportance.”]

* Pre-occupied with fantasies of unlimited success, power, brilliance and beauty or of ideal love;[“Preoccupied with” — no. “Unlimited” –no. I plead somewhat guilty to the last fantasy.]

* Believes that he is unique and special and that only high status and special people (or institutions) could understand him (or that it is only with such people and institutions that it is worth his while to be associated with);

[“unique and special” — sure — like everyone else! “high status” — fuck no. “special people and institutions” — yes. definitely.]

* Demands excessive and exceptional admiration;[Not “demands” but desires. Not “excessive”/ maybe “exceptional”.]

* Feels that he is deserving of exceptionally good treatment, automatic obeisance of his (usually unrealistic) expectations;[I don’t know about “automatic” — that is, I don’t mind being a little pushy about it. Actually, this sounds more like my grandmother, Geri Goldberg, or “glamour gramma” as I called her, who was a Jewish-American QUEEN. ]

* Exploitative in his interpersonal relationships, uses others to achieve his goals; [I really do not think so, but correct me if I am wrong. Gary helps me to achieve my goals but I don’t think I USE him — he volunteers.]

* Lacks empathy: is disinterested in other people’s needs and emotions and does not identify with them;[Hogwash, absolutely not.]

* Envies others or believes that others envy him;[Yes.]

* Displays arrogance and haughtiness. [OK. maybe a little]

Conclusion: narcissistic traits are present, but there is no DISORDER as such. But the jury’s still out on this one.

The most compelling, and most dubious (despite its pages and pages of references) website I have found on narcissism is this one of A.M. Benis’ . Sam Vaknin’s is longer and extremely informative, but it is not as strange. Benis (I really can’t get over that name) puts forth the idea of narcissism, perfectionism, and aggression (originally Horney’s personality triad) as inherited traits that are genetically traceable.

It sounds completely weird, like phrenology or the worst kind of bio-determinism. Vaknin, in a message board post politely debating Benis’ theory, points out that

Exogenic and Endogenic pathogenesis is inseparable. Mental states increase or decrease the susceptibility to externally induced disease. Talk therapy or abuse (external events) alter the biochemical balance of the brain.

The inside constantly interacts with the outside and is so intertwined with it that all distinctions between them are artificial and misleading.

I couldn’t agree more, but that doesn’t make Benis’ theory any less seductive, especially when I looked up his glossary of narcissism (which sounds to me like it would make a kickass chapbook title).

Some of the definitions which I instantly, discomfitedly (is that a word?), recognized as belonging to your (or at any rate my) favorite navelgazer, in otherwords me, myself and I (sideways kudos to de la soul!) are:

     >>adornment….. One of the behavioral characteristics of the unbridled trait of narcissism.  Other characteristics of this trait include expansiveness, exhibitionism, the desire for recognition in a sexual context, and the desire to stand in honor, with one’s arms extended, above admiring others.  There is an instinctual urge for the individual to adorn himself in finery… According to this view, much of art is an extension of personal adornment, hence is an instinctual urge rooted in the narcissistic trait.

       >>chimpanzee….. Omnivorous African anthropoid ape.  Chimpanzees, gorillas and orangutans exhibit narcissistic posturing and the gingival smile of recognition.  The trait of narcissism is not a uniquely human character, rather it is rooted in an ancestral gene that evolved millions of years ago.

  >>gingival smile….. An instinctual smile revealing the gums of the upper jaw.  Seen frequently in N and NP individuals.  Absent in individuals lacking the N trait.

          >>laughter….. A complex behavioral response… The initial and final stages of laughter may mimic the narcissistic smile of recognition.

          >>limelight….. The reward of fulfilled narcissistic ambition is, literally or figuratively, honor and applause in the spotlight of recognition.

         >>narcissistic arms gesture….. A gesture of recognition in which the arms are extended to the front or sides, with the fingers slightly spread apart.  This gesture, like the gingival smile, is instinctual and has its genetic basis in the trait of narcissism.

more on gesture from a different page of the same website:

Gestures:  Deep bow, accompanied by sweeping arm.  “Joan of Arc pose”, in which the individual’s eyes are directed toward the heavens when accepting recognition in the limelight.  “Narcissistic arms gesture”, in which the arms are extended to the front or sides, with the palms up and the fingers somewhat spread apart.  It is a pose often assumed by singers and by religious leaders.

  >>rage….. A mass discharge of a portion of the autonomic (sympathetic – parasympathetic) nervous system.  Subjectively, it is perceived as a type of anger.  The N and A traits allow the release of inhibition of two different types of mass discharges, allowing the occurrence of narcissistic and aggressive rages, respectively.

I find these eerily precise in describing certain aspects of my behavior that others have often commented on, much more so than the standard DSM IV stuff, which I will address after I put another coat of “California Poppy” colored paint on the bookcase I found in the basement.

Food for thought: Does the propensity for adornment (see the early archives of this bloggue) make all the citizens of India narcissistic? Are all singers and performers victims of pathological personality disorders??? (I’m thinking of the gesture stuff here.) Hmmm.

A Narcissistic (?) Exploration of Narcissism

Googling “narcissism” in earnest.

Rather anxious about it.

Someone said what’s wrong with these personal blogs, in general, is their narcissistic quality.

Wanting to explore this opinion, also the injunction against narcissism — an extension of a taboo on introspection?

Drew’s wrong, I don’t have that personality disorder (which Nick confirmed for me, thank you, Nick), and later I will explain why.

I do have marked traits, along with a fairly typical formation pattern for them.

More on some of the stuff I googled later.

Om. Shanti shanti shanti.

taking a break from cooking tandoori chicken (the box of masala bought at a bangladeshi place on the wildly multi-culti church avenue) to look up on google a conversion from celsius to fahrenheit, wandered somehow into joe deumer’s blog where there is a very delicious -looking recipe for vietnamese grilled chicken. i will try it, tho not tonight, of course, substituting legs and thighs for breast because i just don’t dig white meat. funny, though, how we both have chicken and cilantro on the brain! ok, back to the chicken…

I want “lip’s” like the ones in Stephanie’s spam…

Does no one think I’m funny? It’s just my personal delusion?

Thank you Jim Behrle for saying I have a lot of good ideas. I’m certain I have a lot of ideas (although I’m not sure how many of them are even remotely good) but have a distinct lack of motivation and energy to realize them.

That’s where Gary comes in.

What a team.

I like to think of myself as a “one-woman think tank.”