Sam

Going Beyond Narcissism (An Essay)

I haven’t actually counted, but I’m sure I’ve watched thousands of videos on narcissism over the past year and a half.

I find it absolutely fascinating.

Not just the subject itself, but the way it’s viewed and portrayed, and the way that content creators parrot one another, offering the exact same ‘solutions’ and conclusions —

but never actually going beyond the generic ‘victim’ / ‘abuser’ lens.

Dr. Ramani, for example.

The most generic one of all.

She still considers herself a victim.

Still blames her ‘abusers’.

Still has yet to take full responsibility for herself.

Which is perfect for those who only want to go that far.

But there is more in the beyond.

And Professor Sam Vaknin.

The one whom I adore.

The first of so much in the study of narcissism.

So perfectly and beautifully articulating the torturous binds of these hellish dynamics.

But still,

not going beyond.

He shares openly about his intimate partnerships and the ‘role’ he plays within them, accepting his fate as it were, because of his psychological (non) state.

Telling himself and his viewers there is no hope for him or others like him.

And there isn’t, of course.

Until they go beyond.

Madelain: “There’s always a way back. I agree with you.”

Francesqua: “It's a fascinating paradox that Sam presents. You need a self to go beyond and narcissists don't have one.”

Me: “Yes. And… the beyond is also free of the self. It’s just not a compensation.”

Read Sam’s gorgeous piece on Narcs and Borderlines

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The Narcissist & The Borderline

“The meeting between the narcissist and his victim is a meeting of two hungers. The victim is hungry for love and intimacy and acceptance, and the narcissist is hungry for existence. The narcissist tries to become through the victim. The narcissist tries to exist through the victim. But the sad irony is that the only way for the narcissist to exist through the victim is to abscond with her existence. And the only way for the narcissist to become through the victim is to deny the victim her own becoming. And on the other end of the equation, the only way for the victim to obtain love from the narcissist is to stop being. To not be. And the only way for her to maintain intimacy with a narcissist is to become as much of an absence as he is. And this is the predicament and the conundrum of the shared fantasy. It is a meeting of two irreconcilable and incompatible hungers.” Professor Sam Vaknin

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