Delusions, desperation and tortured souls

Glenn

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In my opinion there are many posts on this web site in which there are some very clear patterns of disfunctional behaviour which anyone can recognise and which some people already have recognised. Some of these patterns are symptoms of a particular pathalogical disorder. See below.
Of course I'm not qualified to make any diagnosis or stupid enough to assert that anyone in particular has the condition. However people may care to know what these symptoms are and make up their own minds.

This post is made in all sincerity, without malice, and with genuine concern for anyone afflicted and for anyone else who happens to be associated with them.
Just trying to help, that's all.

Narcissistic personality disorder is a serious emotional disturbance characterized by a grandiose, or extremely exaggerated, sense of self-importance. Individuals with this disorder lack empathy for other people but need constant admiration from them.

Narcissistic personality disorder is one of several types of personality disorders, all of which reflect an inability in the affected person to accept the demands and limitations of the world. These disorders may regularly interfere with a person's behavior and interactions with family, friends or co-workers. (Among the other personality disorders are paranoid personality disorder, antisocial personality disorder, borderline personality disorder and obsessive-compulsive personality disorder.)

Although people with narcissistic personality disorder have an exaggerated image of their own importance, they have vulnerable self-esteems and often don't like themselves. Therefore, they seek attention that confirms their grandiosity. When feedback doesn't validate their exaggerated image, they tend to lash out or withdraw.

Narcissistic personality disorder, which is less common than other personality disorders, is estimated to affect less than 1 percent of the general population. Some studies indicate that it's more common among men. The primary treatment is psychotherapy.

Pathological narcissism
Narcissistic personality disorder: -

Grandiose sense of one's own abilities or achievements
Fantasies about having exceptional power, attractiveness or success
Sense of belonging to an exclusive group of people who truly understand each other
Need for constant praise
Expectations of special treatment
Exploitation of other people
Lack of empathy for other people
Envy of other people or a belief that you are the subject of other people's envy
Haughty or arrogant behaviors
May come across as conceited or snobbish.
They often monopolize conversation.
They may belittle or look down on people they perceive as inferior.
When they don't receive the special treatment to which they feel entitled, they may become very impatient or angry.
Their personal relationships and interactions are driven by the need for admiration and praise.
Consequently, people with NPD value others primarily according to how well those individuals affirm their unrealistic self-image.

This limited value of others usually means that people with NPD aren't interested in or aren't capable of perceiving the feelings or needs of others.
They may take advantage of other people to make themselves look as good as they imagine.
On the other hand, seeking admiration also makes people with NPD vulnerable to criticism.

If someone criticizes an individual's contribution to a project at work, for example, he or she will perceive this comment as an assault on an image that needs to be protected at all costs and may respond with feelings of shame, humiliation or sadness or may express rage, disdain or defensive behaviors.

Persistent inability to establish a realistic, stable self-image, therefore creating an overdependence on others to regulate their self-esteem. This unrealistic self-image affects how people with this disorder behave and interact with others.

Individuals with narcissistic personality disorder may come across as conceited or snobbish. They often monopolize conversation. They may belittle or look down on people they perceive as inferior. When they don't receive the special treatment to which they feel entitled, they may become very impatient or angry.

People with narcissistic personality disorder tend to seek out individuals whom they perceive as equal to their own self-image or to whom they attribute the same special talents and qualities they see in themselves. They may insist on having "the best" of everything — car, athletic club or social circles.

Their personal relationships and interactions are driven by the need for admiration and praise. Consequently, people with narcissistic personality disorder value others primarily according to how well those individuals affirm their unrealistic self-image. This limited value of others usually means that people with the disorder aren't interested in or aren't capable of perceiving the feelings or needs of others. They may take advantage of other people to make themselves look as good as they imagine.

On the other hand, seeking admiration also makes people with narcissistic personality disorder vulnerable to criticism. If someone criticizes an individual's contribution to a project at work, for example, he or she will perceive this comment as an assault on an image that needs to be protected at all costs and may respond with feelings of shame, humiliation or sadness or may express rage, disdain or defensive behaviors.

This is a lot more on this here http://groups.msn.com/NARCISSISTICPERSONALITYDISORDER/whatisanarcissist.msnw and elsewhere. Google it and see for yourself.

You might imagine that the lengths to which such people could go to gain acceptance and appear superior could include first being convinced and deluded about something in particular and then trying to convince others of it, and especially where money is concerned on a web site like this.
People often only hear what they want to hear and shut out the rest. Are you doing that ?
Be careful out there.
imho
Glenn
 
Excellent post, Glenn, and trading is especially likely to attract this type given the similarities between trading and gambling. Odean found that overconfidence was one of the primary characteristics of the losing trader (so much else flows from this: overtrading, underplanning, poor or non-existent risk management, etc).

Unfortunately, feedback is unlikely to do much good because of the defense mechanisms in place. For example, one might chalk up criticism to envy, when the criticism instead stems from the fact that the individual is a jackass.

Db
 
Let me go out on a limb, eh? Bloody obvious, it is.
 
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it's a limb too far, fx, i'm just about to snap it off :cheesy:

FXSCALPER2 said:
Let me go out on a limb, eh? Bloody obvious, it is.
 
barjon does have a point.

whereas previous threads/posts have been jocular, funny, leg-pulling, good-humoured, this thread may push T2W into a more litiguous (sp) arena, if the NPD assertion is specifically aimed at a specific person !

(I think the difference is attacking a persons views (ok) as opposed to attacking the person him/herself. (not ok))
 
trendie said:
barjon does have a point.

whereas previous threads/posts have been jocular, funny, leg-pulling, good-humoured, this thread may push T2W into a more litiguous (sp) arena, if the NPD assertion is specifically aimed at a specific person !

(I think the difference is attacking a persons views (ok) as opposed to attacking the person him/herself. (not ok))


Damn, you guys are too civilised for me! When someone says, 'I am always right', I go, 'hmmm, may be something is up here....'
 
FXSCALPER2 said:
Damn, you guys are too civilised for me! When someone says, 'I am always right', I go, 'hmmm, may be something is up here....'

civilised? of course. we are british after all!
We respond to (alleged) nutters by rolling our eyes, and tutting under our breath.
And a large dollop of satire. works every time.
 
trendie said:
civilised? of course. we are british after all!
We respond to (alleged) nutters by rolling our eyes, and tutting under our breath.
And a large dollop of satire. works every time.

This may be largely due to Brits having a greater than usual tolerance for eccentricity (as opposed to, say, Americans). But Brits, on the whole, are also much-better-mannered than Americans (look, for example, at ET).

On the whole :)

Db
 
trendie said:
civilised? of course. we are british after all!
We respond to (alleged) nutters by rolling our eyes, and tutting under our breath.
And a large dollop of satire. works every time.

civilised? depends compared to who ;)
 
An excellent piece of research Glenn. Though I am struggling to think of any prolific poster at T2W that may suffer from this affliction :)
 
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Glenn,

Are you talking about me? You are. You are. And DB, is he with you? DB = US = CIA = grassy knoll. I got you covered, mate. What about Trendie? I know your sort, friend. “Litigious” sounds like liturgy, doesn’t it? Coincidence? Pope has four letters, so does Evil; Ecumenical has nine, so does Conspiracy. I rest my case. I got a double first in Applied Mathematics from Balliol College, Cambridge.

Lord Belborough.
 
dbphoenix said:
This may be largely due to Brits having a greater than usual tolerance for eccentricity (as opposed to, say, Americans). But Brits, on the whole, are also much-better-mannered than Americans (look, for example, at ET).

On the whole :)

Db
DB

I'm not so sure this is true - do we know anything about eccentricity ? Look at our most sensible institutions, parliament. The House of Lords is a band of men walking around in black stockings and wigs - the most sensible of attire. One ot them is called Black Rod - the most sensible of names. The prime minister at each weekly question time spends most of the time uttering the phrase "I refer the right honarable gentlemen to the reply I gave earlier" in answer to most questions - a most sensible way of responding. The 2 sides of the House of Commons are separated by one sword's width each - a most sensible seating arrangement. They vote either with their "eyes" to the right or their "nose" to the left - what other way of doing it ? Eccentricity - not in our vocabulary.


I'm sure also that the Americans are much better mannered ! I remember Disney World and the huge grin of the waiter as he said "Hi I'm Greg and I'm here to look after you today ". Where can you find a more genuine mannered welcome than that !

Seriously though - thank you for the compliment

A Brit

Chalrton
 

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DB,

"God spelled backwards is Dog". Dog = Cerberus = Underworld = Hell = DEvil.

Are you familiar with the phrase, "When you're in a hole, stop digging".

Grant.
 
What I find is that, if one is not careful, an unsuspecting audience will, gradually, deteriorate to the same mental level as the one who is the cause of it all. In the beginning, the innocent partaker considers that reason can be introduced into the thinking of a person who who does not have the slightest intention of being convinced because he is, either (a), round the bend, or (b) playing with his audience in an effort to find out how demented he can make it. It is very surprising how successful the latter case can be.

So, it appears to me, that mental problems are contagious and a whole thread can become mayhem in a very short time with, normally, sane characters seriously debating daft ideas which, in other surroundings, would not be worthy of consideration.

I have been amused by a recent instance where two, well known, eccentrics- to put it politely-have both been on the same thread, to the obvious embarrassment of the one who considers himself the brighter and the confusion of those who are trying to learn something.

Split
 
dbphoenix said:
John Steed? Emma Peel? The Winged Avenger? (having to do with eccentricity rather than the subject of the thread; oh dear . . . )

Do you mean The New Avengers? hmm I wouldnt bracket John Steed as eccentric, but pop Mr Spike Milligan into the frame and i'd say it fits closer to a brits eccentricity, o.k. he may well of been on the higher scale of eccentricity but I feel it's what's in most brits waiting to pop out or rather being held back.
 

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