Spiritual Forum

"Many people naively believe that they can cure the narcissist by flooding him with love, acceptance, compassion and empathy. This is not so. The only time a transformative healing process occurs is when the narcissist experiences a severe narcissistic injury, a LIFE crisis.
The best – really, the only way – a narcissist can help himself is by applying to a mental health professional. Even then, sadly, the prognosis and the healing prospects are dim. It seems that only time can bring on a limited remission (or, at times, aggravation of the condition). A therapy can tackle the more pernicious aspects of this disorder. It can help the patient to adapt to his condition, to accept it and to learn to conduct a more functional life with it. Learning to live with one’s disorder – is a great achievement and the narcissist should be happy that even this minor modicum of success is, in principle, possible.

But just to get the narcissist to meet a therapist is difficult. The therapeutic situation implies a superior-inferior relationship. The therapist is supposed to help him – and, to the narcissist, this means that he is not as omnipotent as he imagines himself to be. The therapist is supposed to know more (in his field) than the narcissist – which seems to attack the second pillar of narcissism, that of omniscience.

 

Going to a therapy (of whatever nature) implies both imperfection (something is wrong) and need (read: weakness, inferiority). The therapeutic setting (the client visits the therapist, has to be punctual and to pay for the service) – implies subservience. The process itself is also threatening: it involves transformation, losing one's identity (read: uniqueness), one's long cultivated defences against the world. The narcissist must shed his False Self and face the world naked, defenceless, and (to him) pitiful. He is inadequately equipped to deal with his old hurts, traumas and unresolved conflicts.

 

His True Self is infantile, mentally immature, frozen, incapable of fighting the almighty Superego (the inner voices). He knows this – and he recoils. Therapy forces him to finally put full, unmitigated, trust in another human being.

Moreover, the transaction implicitly offered to him is the most unappealing imaginable. He is to give up decades of emotional investment in an elaborate, adaptive and, mostly, functioning, mental hyper structure. In return, he will become "normal" – an anathema to a narcissist. Being normal, to him, means, being average, not unique, non-existent.

 

Why should he commit himself to such a move when even happiness is not guaranteed (he sees many unhappy "normal" people around him)?

But is there anything the narcissist can do "in the meantime" "until a final decision is made"? (A typical narcissist question).

The first step involves self-awareness. The narcissist often notices that something is wrong with him and with his life – but he never admits it. He prefers to invent elaborate constructions why that which is wrong with him – is really right. This is called: "Cognitive Dissonance". The narcissist consistently convinces himself that everyone else is wrong, deficient, lacking, and incapable. He may be exceptional and made to suffer for it – but this does not mean that he is in the wrong. On the contrary, history will surely prove him right as it has done so many other idiosyncratic figures.

This is the first and, by far, the most critical step: will the narcissist admit, be forced, or convinced to concede that he is absolutely and unconditionally wrong, that something is very amiss in his life, that he is in need of urgent, professional, help and that, in the absence of such help, things will only get worse? Having crossed this Rubicon, the narcissist will be more open and amenable to constructive suggestions and assistance.

The second important leap forward is when the narcissist begins to confront a REAL version of himself. A good friend, a spouse, a therapist, a parent, or a combination of these people can decide not to collaborate anymore, to stop fearing the narcissist and acquiescing in his folly.

 

Then they come out with the truth. They demolish the grandiose image that "runs" the narcissist. They no longer succumb to his whims or accord him a special treatment. They reprimand him when needed. They disagree with him and show him why and where he is mistaken.

 

In short: they deprive him of many of his Narcissistic Supply Sources. They refuse to take part in the elaborate game that is the narcissist's soul.

 

They rebel.

The third Do It Yourself element would involve the decision to go to therapy and to commit to it. This is a tough decision. The narcissist must not decide to embark on therapy only because he is (currently) feeling bad (mostly, following a life crisis), or because he is subjected to pressure, or because he wants to get rid of a few disturbing issues while preserving the awesome totality.

 

His attitude to the therapist must not be judgmental, cynical, critical, disparaging, competitive, or superior. He must not view the therapy as a contest or a tournament. There are many winners in therapy – but only one loser if it fails.

 

He must decide not to try to co-opt the therapist, or buy him out, or threaten him, or humiliate him. In short: he must adopt a humble frame of mind, open to the new experience of encountering one's self. Finally, he must decide to be constructively and productively active in his own therapy, to assist the therapist without condescending, to provide information without distorting, to try to change without consciously resisting."

More on: