Narcissistic Personality Disorder - Who is a Malignant Narcissist?

QUESTION Number 1 - Who is a Narcissist?

Dear Dr. Vaknin,

I read the excerpts you placed on your web site with great interest.

I wanted to ask:

Isn't your definition of malignant narcissism too wide? Having read it, I think that it fits my neighbours, friends, and family to a "t". Everyone seems to be a narcissist to me now!

HELP!

ANSWER

Yours is an understandable reaction. All of us have narcissistic TRAITS. Some of us even develop a narcissistic PERSONALITY. Moreover, narcissism is a SPECTRUM of behaviours - from the healthy to the utterly pathological (known as the Narcissistic Personality Disorder, or NPD).

But the "malignant" narcissist consistently manifests at least 5 of these 9 criteria.

The DSM IV uses this language:

"An all-pervasive pattern of grandiosity (in fantasy or behaviour), need for admiration or adulation and lack of empathy, usually beginning by early adulthood and present in various contexts."

So, what matters is that these characteristics, often found in healthy people, appear:

1. Jointly and not separately or intermittently
2. They are all-pervasive (invade, penetrate, and mould every aspect, nook, and cranny of the personality)
3. That grandiose fantasies are abundantly discernible
4. That grandiose (often ridiculous) behaviours are present
5. That there is an over-riding need for admiration and adulation ("narcissistic supply")
6. That the person lacks empathy (regards other people as two dimensional cartoon figures and abstractions, unable to "stand in their shoes")
7. That all these phenomena began, at the latest, in early adolescence
8. That the narcissistic behaviours pervade all the social and emotional interactions of the narcissist.

Here are the 9 criteria. Having 5 of these 9 "qualifies" you as a narcissist...

1. Feels grandiose and self-importance (e.g., exaggerates achievements and talents to the point of lying, demands to be recognized as superior without commensurate achievements)
2. Is obsessed with fantasies of unlimited success, fame, fearsome power or omnipotence, unequalled brilliance (the cerebral narcissist), bodily beauty or sexual performance (the somatic narcissist), or ideal, everlasting, all-conquering love or passion
3. Firmly convinced that he or she is unique and, being special, can only be understood by, should only be treated by, or associate with, other special or unique, or high-status people (or institutions)
4. Requires excessive admiration, adulation, attention and affirmation - or, failing that, wishes to be feared and to be notorious (narcissistic supply).
5. Feels entitled. Expects unreasonable or special and favourable priority treatment. Demands automatic and full compliance with his or her expectations
6. Is "interpersonally exploitative", i.e., uses others to achieve his or her own ends
7. Devoid of empathy. Is unable or unwilling to identify with or acknowledge the feelings and needs of others
8. Constantly envious of others or believes that they feel the same about him or her
9. Arrogant, haughty behaviours or attitudes coupled with rage when frustrated, contradicted, or confronted.

The language in the criteria above is based on or summarized from:

American Psychiatric Association. (1994). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, fourth edition (DSM IV). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association.

Sam Vaknin. (1999, 2001). Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited, second, revised printing Prague and Skopje: Narcissus Publication. ("Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited" http://www.geocities.com/vaksam/faq1.html)

About The Author

Sam Vaknin is the author of "Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited" and the editor of mental health categories in The Open Directory, Suite101, and searcheurope.com.

His web site: http://samvak.tripod.com

Frequently asked questions regarding narcissism: http://samvak.tripod.com/faq1.html

Narcissistic Personality Disorder on Suite101: http://www.suite101.com/welcome.cfm/npd

Removing Walls Inside Your House

Here's a word of advice for any contractor, Carpenter, handyman or homeowner that is planning to remove an interior wall from your home or someone else's. Beware of removing interior walls, to eliminate your fears of the house collapsing. Some of the interior walls inside of the house are important structural components of the building.

Some of these walls hold up floors, roofs and other loadbearing sections that could create safety problems within the structure of the house itself. This is an area where an expert with framing skills should be consulted. What is the definition of someone with excellent framing skills? Some one with at least 10 years as a master framing carpenter.

My home building experience consists of three decades for over 30 years of assembling some of the most difficult sections of a home. During these years I have seen damage done to houses from removing structural interior walls. Most of this damage could be repaired with a little structural engineering. Some of the damage could not be repaired and caused other damage to different sections of the house. The damage caused in some cases to the floor and the roof framing had to be completely rebuilt.

I'm not telling you about every single thing I have ran into but you would be surprised if I started to make a list of all the homeowners and professionals in the building industry or home selling and buying business that contacted me to remove a structural component of a building. There have even been a few of these people that told me everything was going to be okay just go ahead and remove the structural building component.

Needless to say I would leave these people very irritated but I'm sure they found someone to do the job. The bad news is I was normally the person they would hire to go back and repair the damaged building after these people were gone and out of business. There have been cases where people have removed an interior walls against my better judgment and over the years of driving by in these homes I personally got to witness the structural damage that was occurring on the outside of the house.

I have no idea what the inside of the house looked like but could only imagine. My advice again when removing interior walls is to hire an experienced contractor or at least get some advice from an experienced framing carpenter. This does not include your basic know it all that has basic construction experience like your father in law, parents, friends, golfing associates or people you work with that tell you not to worry about it, just do it, everything will work out just fine.

Greg Vanden Berge is working on the internet to promote the education for creating simple to follow guides and home building books to help professional building contractors as well as the weekend warriors. He is currently working on more Building and Remodeling Library and adding useful content to help solve problems created by the lack of construction knowledge in the building industry.

Visit us and get more information on building and remodeling your homes and What Does A Shear Wall Do

Mold Growing In Grout

Does My Home Insurance Cover Me For Flood Damages?

Flooding can happen at any moment and for any reason. Mother Nature can run her course and create flood conditions or a water main may break. At any rate, no matter how it happens, if you experience flooding within your home it is stressful, worrisome, and hard to deal with. At the same time, you have the question is flood damage covered by my home insurance?

The one thing you want to understand is that in most cases, flooding is not covered on general home insurance. You may see clauses that state water damage, but essentially, flooding by acts of God or manmade items are not covered. It is truly very important to understand your policy and discuss options with your insurance agent to be sure that you have the coverage you need.

Far too often, many people go through thinking they have what they need, regardless of the circumstances. However, as with many instances within the last few years, people find out, the hard way, that they in fact did not have coverage for flood damage. Most insurance companies offer flood coverage, in fact all of them offer it, however, it is an additional policy, an additional source of coverage that will increase your premium.

It is important to talk with your insurance agent and discuss flood coverage. You might think that you live in a relatively safe area, free of major flooding, however, you cannot control Mother Nature or events that happen outside of your home. Having your home fully protected is the only sure way to feel comfortable and have peace of mind if the event does occur.

Flooding causes all kinds of damage. You have to deal with contamination, mould, sanitation, water damage to property and content rotting, and so much more. While flooding itself can be hectic, if the work is not performed properly, it can cause a great deal of trouble for you in the future as well.

In other words, to really know if your home insurance covers this type of damage, you want to contact your insurance agent. Talk with him or her and ask them if flooding is included in your coverage. Unless you specifically asked for it and it is a part of your premium that you pay each month, it is highly likely that you are not covered.

If you are not covered, talk with your agent about coverage. Ask what is included, what is not, and how much it will add to your premium. Flood damage coverage is one of the many things you will need to fully protect your home and your belongings. It gives you added peace of mind, knowing that if a flood does occur, you are protected and have the means to cover the cost of repairs, drying, and replacement if need be.

Does your home insurance cover flood damage? Call your agent today and find out, if not, make sure you add it, just to be on the safe side.

Derek Rogers is a freelance writer who represents a number of UK businesses. For Loss Assessors and Domestic Flood Insurance claim services, he recommends Morgan Clark.

Exterior House Painting - Home Repair Advice

If the exterior of your home is beginning to look a little faded and weathered, it may be time for a paint job. It is never good to put a badly needed paint job on hold because you are risking a great deal of damage to the outside of your home.

If you are unfamiliar with exterior house painting and aren't comfortable with the steps involved in the process, it is probably a good idea to bring in a contracted painter for the job. There is a great deal of prep work and other procedures involved in an exterior house painting and a professional contracted painter will make sure that those procedures are completed to keep your home painting looking the best that it can and to ensure that your home's exterior is being protected.

One example of the prep work needed during an exterior house painting is pressure washing your home before applying the new home painting. Pressure washing will help clear your home's exterior of any debris and anything else that can negatively affect the exterior house painting. Any mildew and loose paint will also need to be taken care of before the painting is completed. These are just a few examples of the procedures involved in the project.

A home is a major investment and you probably don't want to do anything that would damage that investment. If you have been putting off a badly needed paint job however, you may be unknowingly risking damage to your home's exterior that could be easily avoided. So, when you notice that your exterior house painting is looking faded and weathered, it is probably a good idea to call your contracted painter to schedule that home painting.

More information on exterior house painting safety and College Works Painting in your area is just a click away.

Frozen Water Lines

Spray Foam Insulation Lets You Go Green

The unique challenge of our times is conservation. Everything, from public busses to private homes, is feeling the pressure to go green. In some cases, it's easily accomplished. In others, it's not as easy. And in all aspects of life, the focus has shifted to renewable, eco-friendly resources.

They say every little bit helps. Why not do your part to make your home or business more environmentally helpful? By using eco-safe, agriculturally based spray foam insulation, you can.

There are a variety of insulation options but some are much greener than others. If you're concerned with your home using renewable, energy efficient materials, then using a foam insulation spray could be your solution.

In addition to other benefits you get from using a foam insulator in your home or business, the product is also environmentally friendly. It's made up mainly of renewable resources and the means of application is Earth friendly. It is free of ozone depleting components, and the application solution is water based.

Unlike similar petroleum based products, the greener spray foam has the highest oxygen index, and zero fuel contribution. There are few products that can boast such qualities. The properties of the insulation also help to make your home energy efficient.

You can apply this insulation anywhere you need it, around joints, joists, frames and other building support structures and still get a tight seal. You won't get any air pockets or little crevices where air can leak in or out. This sort of air tight sealing ability helps to keep your heating and cooling units working efficiently. Also, it allows you to get a smaller unit because it doesn't have to work so hard. It's been shown to reduce heating and cooling costs by 40%. That's effectiveness you can see.

Not only is spray foam insulation green, it's versatile. It functions well as a barrier to airborne sound and comes with one of the highest fire resistances available in similar products. Pest and rodents won't do any damage because the insulator has no nutritional value to them. It's water resistant, and flexible enough to allow some movement of the building structure. Finally, it produces no toxic vapors after it's applied. You can even rent or buy the equipment and install it yourself.

With concerns about the environment on everyone's minds, it helps that you can find products to help in your conservation efforts. You can get greener cars, recycle your trash and electronics, and buy energy efficient appliances. Why not make your home or business part of the solution? Renewable resources benefit all of us.

The best thing about spray foam insulation is that you can put it anywhere. It doesn't matter if you're starting fresh on your building, or replacing worn out or useless materials. The spray foam can be applied to existing structures with the same effectiveness it has on new structures.
If going green is a priority for your house or office, applying spray foam insulation is another way to help your environment.

With concerns for the environment growing daily, it's good to know there are more ways that we can be eco-responsible. For your home or business, you can apply spray foam insulation, renewable and energy efficient product. Visit Apex Foam today to see their foam selection. http://www.apexfoam.com

Fascia Damage From Metal Flashin

Does Your Thermostat Read Temperature Properly

Through out my career as an air conditioning, heating and refrigeration technician, I have seen thousands of jobs with the same problems over and over and over. I have seen just about every mistake you can imagine. I've been in the field going on 23 years now.

I came across one job a few years ago where the contractor (so called professional) installed a replacement digital thermostat in the same spot where the old unit was located. In between two door jams in a hall way. This guy used the old wires that were attached to the old thermostat, which is not a problem in it self, but the location of the wires is where he ran into trouble. The problem here was the person who installed this thermostat, installed it sideways because it was too long for this location. Instead of telling the customer he needed to go get a thermostat that fit the application or moving the wires to accommodate the thermostat he had on his truck, he installed what he had with him at the time and he told the customer "that was how these new digital thermostats needed to be installed" so they could operate properly. Of course the customer was a senior citizen in her late 80's and he had no morals or values. The funny thing is that this digital thermostat would have actually worked properly installed this way, because the sensor was a solid state device on a circuit board. Except for reading what the display said and reading what the buttons said, this thermostat actually operated correctly. You should have seen the way he installed the duct work but that is another story.

The reason the lady called was because it seemed to her that the furnace would always shut down too early or it would sometimes run for a long period of time making the room warmer than she wanted. I had to laugh when I arrived on the job and saw what this guy had done. The biggest issue mechanically with this thermostat was not the way it was mounted, but that it was mounted and covering a very large hole, where the thermostat wires came though the wall. The sensor was very near the hole on the wall and it was reading the cold inside wall cavity temperature. I removed the thermostat and installed a new one for her, free of charge and then filled the hole with sheetrock mud to stop the stat from reading the wall cavity temperature.

The customer wanted to pay me for my trouble and my materials but I told her that the next time she came across someone that needs a new furnace or air conditioner that could could simply give my name and phone number out and that would be enough. She agreed and thanked me for my trouble.

I still get referrals from her today. It has always bugged me to see someone take advantage of elderly people, especially when they have no business doing the work in the first place.

The digital thermostats today can do a lot and they are generally pretty reliable, most of the time its either that its installed wrong or programmed wrong, wired wrong or there are not enough wires to it. Maybe the thermostat needs the common wire from the thermostat hooked up to operate properly. The majority of these problems are the result of poor technical knowledge on behalf of the installer, or perhaps they simply don't care enough to read the installation instructions. Sometimes people get into the trade and learn how to install duct work and put sheet metal screws in with a drill gun and bam they think they have enough experience to go out and become a contractor.

Unfortunately home owners have no way of knowing whether or not the service company they chose has enough experience or knowledge to do the job right. The NATE Rating is about as close as you can come to being sure you hire the right people. However" I was trained a long time ago in a technical school that focused on the theory and operating principals of electrical, refrigeration, air conditioning and heating. Long before the NATE Training certificate came about. My schooling was 990hrs and the course took place over 9 months. I don't have the NATE certificate badge myself. I guess I should go get it to look more legitimate and I probably will get it as that seems to be the standard today. I have not looked into the certificate yet but eventually will.

You can contact me by email located within my site or you can post questions in our forum and I will respond fairly quickly. Maybe you had a new system installed and are having problems that the installer can't seem to fix. I would be glad to give it a shot. I specialize in residential gas/propane forced air heating systems, heat pumps, air conditioning and zoning.

John Grisler
Specialist in Environmentally Friendly High Efficiency Residential Air Conditioning and Heating Systems
Graduate Universal Technical Institute February 1986
23 Years Experience Residential/ Light Commercial Heating Air Conditioning and Refrigeration
US Patent 7234318 Multiple Stage, Single Pass Refrigeration System. June 2006
Designer of the Self Contained Air Conditioned Chair -see grizzco@feeservers.com

my web site is http://greenfeetco2.com/

Ceramic Tile Shower Corner Damag

Home Security Monitoring

Infrared security cameras are the perfect choice for areas with low light, or even where there is no light at all!

These types of cameras have infrared LED's (light emitting diodes) encircling the lens, that produce a type of light invisible to the human eye, but that creates conditions suitable for your cameras to record, even in the dark!

Where there is some light, but not enough for a conventional camera, these little cameras will compensate, and the image you get will be the same quality you'd get from a conventional camera in daylight, but even in complete darkness, you'll get a serviceable image.

The main difference is that during the day, these cameras will capture color images, but at night, or when lighting is poor, the cameras switch to IR, and you'll get black and white images, although considering that the camera still needs no light to produce that, it's really quite amazing!

Consider the applications. A dark corner of your warehouse, or maybe in an area of your home or garden where you need surveillance footage, but can't install lighting.

Many security estates are turning to infrared or day/night cameras for their perimeter security, since they are generally cheaper than installing a camera and lighting.

When choosing a camera, the viewing and capturing distance capabilities will play a part in your choice. If it's only a few feet you need to cover, a smaller, cheaper unit can be installed. These cameras, sometimes called bullet cameras are small, lightweight and easy to install.

Longer viewing and capturing range may require a more expensive, higher tech option, such as a dome camera. These cameras can come with swivel, pan and tilt capabilities, which can be remote controlled, so you have a camera that can see in the dark, and move to "look" at whatever you want to see. Sounds a bit like a spy movie, but it's true!

Whatever your requirements, there is a infrared camera that can meet your security camera needs, even in the dark, and while prices may vary considerably, depending on what you need, its always best to make a choice based on the image quality, range and ease of installation you need first, as well as the quality, warranty and after sales service availability, rather than price alone.

Any good supplier or security contractor should be able to recommend an infrared camera system that meets your needs, and your budget, so don't be afraid to ask the experts!

Click these links to learn more about Infrared Security Cameras and Night Vision CCTV Systems.