Thank you so much for taking time to grow my depth of understanding. I have been a writer for decades but only transitioned to writing about narcissistic abuse about 2.5 years ago when I was discarded by my husband of 15 years who was diagnosed with NPD. I have a Master’s degree with a dual major in guidance and counseling and English. It is not in the psych dept. but under the umbrella of education (think high school guidance counselor). Clearly, my wisdom comes from personal experience, keen observations, abundant research, and daily Sam Vaknin lectures. This is what I have gleaned.
There are quite a few people with NPD who manifest flat affect and have no ability to feel fear, remorse, love, etc… I have heard many accounts from people in my narcissistic abuse recovery groups and from my own clients I help as a recovery facilitator. And these narratives confirm that there are numerous types of narcissists and that covert seem to be the most soul crushing of them all. It also makes me suspect that Cluster B (NPD, ASPD, and psychopaths) overlap in many ways and often have co-morbid features of their disorder. I think the psychiatrist nailed it with the NPD diagnosis but missed other possible issues since she spent ,limited time with him and more time with me. I have often referred to him as a “narcopat”h because I believe he is both.
Thankfully, so much has come to light since the mid 90s to give us a deeper understanding of this pathology and the aftermath for the partner of the person in the relationship. There is still so much misinformation and disinformation about all of it. And I believe the world today is cultivating narcissism as an accepted ideology and has become a cultural norm. Now more than ever, we need to understand what it is and the destruction that follows in its path. I hope we can both find ways to pull back the curtain on this “pop phenomena” that is actually so much more of a substantial sickness of the mind, body, and soul that must be understood and addressed if we hope to heal the current state of affairs.
