Very nicely done Ginger. I did skip over Barr because I know what that walking pathology is going to say, but I was intrigued by your thoughts on ego and pretty much concur with almost everything and appreciate your eloquence in saying it. It will be a difficult sell to convince people pathological narcissists have no ego and ego is the opposite of narcissism though. I suppose "ego" is like "karma" in the sense of what they mean to experts and what they mean to most people in society are two different things.
I have a vague recollection of saying something like or at least thinking "a healthy ego is the opposite of narcissism," because unlike my friend I had to rescue from a sociopath, I seemed inoculated because I have a healthy ego thanks to loving and nurturing parents. I guess all I'm saying is if you find "narcissists have no ego" is a tough sell to layman, "a healthy ego is the opposite of narcissism" should be easier for most people to abstractly grasp.
While not quite as accurate, I agree that suggesting a healthy ego is the opposite of narcissism is an easier sell than narcissists have no ego. The problem is collectively, we have bastardized words like egotistical to to describe narcissistic behavior even though it's erroneous. It's similar to, as you point out, the difficulty of how meanings of words get distorted over time like the term, karma.
It's a problem with the ego that we all agree on. Borderlines have a malformed ego. As narcissism is a spectrum, it's possible for some presentations of narcissism, not full-blown NPD, to also have a malformed ego. I have known narcissists who have decent judgment at times, which would suggest a malformed, unhealthy ego. Still, because there is no one home, no command and control operating system, only an assemblage of self states in the narcissist, the assertion of no ego still stands as there's no organizing principle of constancy, no stable core.
Most welcome and thank you for the shout out Ginger. I completely agree and suppose that since part of my niche is trying to explain the narcissism spectrum in mostly layman's terms for the general public, I am more focused on that aspect.
Very nicely done Ginger. I did skip over Barr because I know what that walking pathology is going to say, but I was intrigued by your thoughts on ego and pretty much concur with almost everything and appreciate your eloquence in saying it. It will be a difficult sell to convince people pathological narcissists have no ego and ego is the opposite of narcissism though. I suppose "ego" is like "karma" in the sense of what they mean to experts and what they mean to most people in society are two different things.
I have a vague recollection of saying something like or at least thinking "a healthy ego is the opposite of narcissism," because unlike my friend I had to rescue from a sociopath, I seemed inoculated because I have a healthy ego thanks to loving and nurturing parents. I guess all I'm saying is if you find "narcissists have no ego" is a tough sell to layman, "a healthy ego is the opposite of narcissism" should be easier for most people to abstractly grasp.
Thank you for your considerate comment and support, Sam. Readers of this Substack may find Sam's work valuable over at Counter-Narcissist Intelligence Substack. Check it out! https://samray.substack.com/?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=web&utm_campaign=substack_profile
While not quite as accurate, I agree that suggesting a healthy ego is the opposite of narcissism is an easier sell than narcissists have no ego. The problem is collectively, we have bastardized words like egotistical to to describe narcissistic behavior even though it's erroneous. It's similar to, as you point out, the difficulty of how meanings of words get distorted over time like the term, karma.
It's a problem with the ego that we all agree on. Borderlines have a malformed ego. As narcissism is a spectrum, it's possible for some presentations of narcissism, not full-blown NPD, to also have a malformed ego. I have known narcissists who have decent judgment at times, which would suggest a malformed, unhealthy ego. Still, because there is no one home, no command and control operating system, only an assemblage of self states in the narcissist, the assertion of no ego still stands as there's no organizing principle of constancy, no stable core.
Most welcome and thank you for the shout out Ginger. I completely agree and suppose that since part of my niche is trying to explain the narcissism spectrum in mostly layman's terms for the general public, I am more focused on that aspect.
I suppose there is a spectrum for lay readers as well!