Tip: click a paragraph to jump to the exact moment in the video. How Narcissistic Abuse Destroys Your Body (Clip: Skopje Seminar, May 2025)

1. 00:21 Albert Einstein said that there are two infinite things, the universe and human stupidity. And he is not quite sure about the universe. I am not impressed with human stupidity. However, I am impressed with human mazokism. Here you are. It is sunny outside. It’s wonderful. You could be strolling and having fun and instead you’re here. Why do you do this to yourself? It’s a seminar about healing. Heal yourself. Heal yourself. Don’t kill yourself. Okay. No limit to human mazism and a Albert Einstein said that there are two infinite things, the universe and human stupidity. And he is not quite sure about the universe. I am not impressed with human stupidity. However, I am impressed with human mazokism. Here you are. It is sunny outside. It’s wonderful. You could be strolling and having fun and instead you’re here. Why do you do this to yourself? It’s a seminar about healing. Heal yourself. Heal yourself. Don’t kill yourself. Okay. No limit to human mazism and a
2. 01:00 proper human mazoism. Victims of abuse in uh in general and victims of narcissistic abuse in particular suffer from myriad bodily symptoms, corporeal symptoms. First and foremost of which is sleep disorders and a variety of somatic symptoms which we’ll discuss. But sleep is a very strong indicator that something is wrong. Okay, sleep disorder is a very strong indicator that something is wrong. It could be in insomnia. It could be the opposite. Sleeping, sleeping too much. It could be inability to fall asleep. It could be proper human mazoism. Victims of abuse in uh in general and victims of narcissistic abuse in particular suffer from myriad bodily symptoms, corporeal symptoms. First and foremost of which is sleep disorders and a variety of somatic symptoms which we’ll discuss. But sleep is a very strong indicator that something is wrong. Okay, sleep disorder is a very strong indicator that something is wrong. It could be in insomnia. It could be the opposite. Sleeping, sleeping too much. It could be inability to fall asleep. It could be
3. 01:44 inability to fall asleep after you wake up. There’s a variety of sleeping. But sleep is a major indicator of um of something something that’s gone right something that’s that’s not okay. There is somatization or what used to be known as somatization disorder. Somatic symptom disorder is the clinical term nowadays. Somatform and somatization disorders they describe situations in which the body keeps the score to borrow from vandulk. Uh when the body converts psychological processes and or psychological inability to fall asleep after you wake up. There’s a variety of sleeping. But sleep is a major indicator of um of something something that’s gone right something that’s that’s not okay. There is somatization or what used to be known as somatization disorder. Somatic symptom disorder is the clinical term nowadays. Somatform and somatization disorders they describe situations in which the body keeps the score to borrow from vandulk. Uh when the body converts psychological processes and or psychological
4. 02:24 constructs and or psychological internal objects including memories, anything imbued with the metaphorical psychic energy, anything affected converts these the body converts these into bodily symptoms. Now it used to be called during the days of Ziggman Freud it used to be called conversion disorder or conversion symptoms. It’s when the body converted uh unpleasant unacceptable self-rejected information including memories converted these into some bodily manifestation. Actually, hysteria, the aforementioned hysteria constructs and or psychological internal objects including memories, anything imbued with the metaphorical psychic energy, anything affected converts these the body converts these into bodily symptoms. Now it used to be called during the days of Ziggman Freud it used to be called conversion disorder or conversion symptoms. It’s when the body converted uh unpleasant unacceptable self-rejected information including memories converted these into some bodily manifestation. Actually, hysteria, the aforementioned hysteria
5. 03:05 was considered to be the ultimate, the Jaguar or the Mercedes of conversion symptoms. Like if you had hysteria, you were the uber converter. You were converting almost everything into bodily manifestations or bodily expressions. Yeah, it could it could be anything by the way. It could be skin, something with the skin, dermatological problems like a rash or hives or whatever. It could be um paralysis. Paralysis was pretty is pretty common. It could be um disregulation of some body bodily processes such as for example was considered to be the ultimate, the Jaguar or the Mercedes of conversion symptoms. Like if you had hysteria, you were the uber converter. You were converting almost everything into bodily manifestations or bodily expressions. Yeah, it could it could be anything by the way. It could be skin, something with the skin, dermatological problems like a rash or hives or whatever. It could be um paralysis. Paralysis was pretty is pretty common. It could be um disregulation of some body bodily processes such as for example
6. 03:46 gastrointestinal gastrointestinal symptoms are very common. They’re all known as somatization or somatization disorder. They all include somatic symptoms and the totality is known as somatic symptom disorder. We no longer use the term somatform disorder. It’s out of favor. In psychology, we like to rename things because it gives the illusion of progress. Okay. Now, many of these disorders are motoric. They impede and impair and limit or constrict movement. The movement could be of the hands, of gastrointestinal gastrointestinal symptoms are very common. They’re all known as somatization or somatization disorder. They all include somatic symptoms and the totality is known as somatic symptom disorder. We no longer use the term somatform disorder. It’s out of favor. In psychology, we like to rename things because it gives the illusion of progress. Okay. Now, many of these disorders are motoric. They impede and impair and limit or constrict movement. The movement could be of the hands, of
7. 04:24 the legs, of the totality of the body even up to the point of complete paralysis which has been documented hundreds if not thousands of times starting in the in 1900 1899 actually. So motor motor conversion symptoms uh very common sensory conversion symptoms the loss of a sense of smell or smelling specific smells like smoke or feces or worse. So sensory um seeing things, hearing things, not hallucinations, hallucinations, something completely different, but a distortion of inputs, distortion of what we call sensor the legs, of the totality of the body even up to the point of complete paralysis which has been documented hundreds if not thousands of times starting in the in 1900 1899 actually. So motor motor conversion symptoms uh very common sensory conversion symptoms the loss of a sense of smell or smelling specific smells like smoke or feces or worse. So sensory um seeing things, hearing things, not hallucinations, hallucinations, something completely different, but a distortion of inputs, distortion of what we call sensor
8. 05:05 sensory inputs, all kinds of misperception of sensory inputs. These are sensory conversion symptoms. Also, conversion symptoms can reflect the underlying process. So for example, blindness uh induced blindness can follow. If you saw something, you witnessed something that is uh disastrous that is very the harrowing that is terrifying that then maybe you would go blind temporarily as a transient form of protection. So this is a sensory conversion symptom. um we have many many dissociative neurological symptoms to the point that sensory inputs, all kinds of misperception of sensory inputs. These are sensory conversion symptoms. Also, conversion symptoms can reflect the underlying process. So for example, blindness uh induced blindness can follow. If you saw something, you witnessed something that is uh disastrous that is very the harrowing that is terrifying that then maybe you would go blind temporarily as a transient form of protection. So this is a sensory conversion symptom. um we have many many dissociative neurological symptoms to the point that
9. 05:46 we have a disorder called dissociative neurological symptom disorder DNSD and we have also uh actual neurological symptoms not dissociative but actual so the nerve system anything from the central nervous system to the peripheral nervous system autonomous sympathetic any type of nervous system misbehaves in a variety of ways too many to count. Too many to count. And there is this overarching there are two overarching diagnosis for this. Functional neurological symptom disorder and dissociative neurological we have a disorder called dissociative neurological symptom disorder DNSD and we have also uh actual neurological symptoms not dissociative but actual so the nerve system anything from the central nervous system to the peripheral nervous system autonomous sympathetic any type of nervous system misbehaves in a variety of ways too many to count. Too many to count. And there is this overarching there are two overarching diagnosis for this. Functional neurological symptom disorder and dissociative neurological
10. 06:21 symptom disorder. You can find them in the DSM where they should where they do not belong because they’re essentially medical. But okay, ultimately the umbrella term the umbrella term for all this is body distress disorder. That’s how we in current literature, in current scholarly discourse. That’s how we refer to all these everything I’ve just mentioned. It’s a bodily distress. It’s a call for help. It’s a form of signaling. What you cannot verbalize, what you cannot contemplate, what you cannot symptom disorder. You can find them in the DSM where they should where they do not belong because they’re essentially medical. But okay, ultimately the umbrella term the umbrella term for all this is body distress disorder. That’s how we in current literature, in current scholarly discourse. That’s how we refer to all these everything I’ve just mentioned. It’s a bodily distress. It’s a call for help. It’s a form of signaling. What you cannot verbalize, what you cannot contemplate, what you cannot
11. 06:54 think of, what you cannot imagine, what you cannot recall because it’s too threatening, it’s too destabilizing, it’s too terrifying. Your body does the work for you. Your body speaks for you. It’s your spokesperson. And your body then decides how to convert, how to convert the data, how to convert the information. Sometimes the conversion is symbolic. As I mentioned, you saw something and you go blind. That’s a conversion symptom. It’s it’s like it’s as if you’re saying what I saw think of, what you cannot imagine, what you cannot recall because it’s too threatening, it’s too destabilizing, it’s too terrifying. Your body does the work for you. Your body speaks for you. It’s your spokesperson. And your body then decides how to convert, how to convert the data, how to convert the information. Sometimes the conversion is symbolic. As I mentioned, you saw something and you go blind. That’s a conversion symptom. It’s it’s like it’s as if you’re saying what I saw
12. 07:25 was so awful, so horrible that I don’t want ever to take the chance of seeing something again. So I go blind. Um other possibilities is that you did something and then your hand gets paralyzed. That is that has been documented by Ziggman Freud in several cases and much later by others. Your hand gets paralyzed. And by the way in the Bible there is a curse. May your hand go dry. You know like the dry hand. It’s actually a conversion symptom. If you’re a sinner your hand will go dry. Although most sinners I was so awful, so horrible that I don’t want ever to take the chance of seeing something again. So I go blind. Um other possibilities is that you did something and then your hand gets paralyzed. That is that has been documented by Ziggman Freud in several cases and much later by others. Your hand gets paralyzed. And by the way in the Bible there is a curse. May your hand go dry. You know like the dry hand. It’s actually a conversion symptom. If you’re a sinner your hand will go dry. Although most sinners I
13. 07:58 think use other parts of the anatomy but okay. So so and that part of the anatomy never goes dry. So we recognize from very early on uh conversion symptoms in Edipus Rex there is aius the the blind prophet who actually sees better than any seeing person and he is blind because essentially of a conversion symptoms. go read go read the the play. But I’m I’ve gone a bit in depth into all this to demonstrate to you that if you have experienced abuse and something is happening in your body, it is as likely to be the outcome of the think use other parts of the anatomy but okay. So so and that part of the anatomy never goes dry. So we recognize from very early on uh conversion symptoms in Edipus Rex there is aius the the blind prophet who actually sees better than any seeing person and he is blind because essentially of a conversion symptoms. go read go read the the play. But I’m I’ve gone a bit in depth into all this to demonstrate to you that if you have experienced abuse and something is happening in your body, it is as likely to be the outcome of the
14. 08:47 abuse as it is likely to be a true medical condition. True blue medical condition. So when something goes wrong in the wake of abuse, you should investigate in order to eliminate a psychoggenic uh ethiology. In other words, you should investigate whether what’s happening in your body is actually an expression of your psychology rather than a true medical condition. You should of course investigate a true medical condition. You should investigate the medical aspect, but never neglect the psychological aspect. And this is abuse as it is likely to be a true medical condition. True blue medical condition. So when something goes wrong in the wake of abuse, you should investigate in order to eliminate a psychoggenic uh ethiology. In other words, you should investigate whether what’s happening in your body is actually an expression of your psychology rather than a true medical condition. You should of course investigate a true medical condition. You should investigate the medical aspect, but never neglect the psychological aspect. And this is
15. 09:19 something that many medical doctors fail to do because medical doctors are reductionists. They don’t see you as a human being. They see you as a liver or a lung or a heart. There’s no holistic approach to medication. It vanished basically all over especially in the west. I was lucky enough to study my professors of medicine were were Russian. So there were Russian Jews who came to Israel in the 70s. So I was lucky to study under holistic professors. Professors who told me the first thing you should do, you should something that many medical doctors fail to do because medical doctors are reductionists. They don’t see you as a human being. They see you as a liver or a lung or a heart. There’s no holistic approach to medication. It vanished basically all over especially in the west. I was lucky enough to study my professors of medicine were were Russian. So there were Russian Jews who came to Israel in the 70s. So I was lucky to study under holistic professors. Professors who told me the first thing you should do, you should
16. 09:52 ask the person if they had sex yesterday, if they’re happy, if what they’ve eaten, where they’ve gone, how long ago, did they have a vacation, and so on so forth. And only then they said you should begin to investigate the body because by asking these questions, you eliminate 90% of the of the diagnosis. You eliminate 90% of the cases. So there’s no holistic approach in in medicine today nowadays. And yet the victims of abuse and especially narcissistic abuse which is life-threatening in almost every respect ask the person if they had sex yesterday, if they’re happy, if what they’ve eaten, where they’ve gone, how long ago, did they have a vacation, and so on so forth. And only then they said you should begin to investigate the body because by asking these questions, you eliminate 90% of the of the diagnosis. You eliminate 90% of the cases. So there’s no holistic approach in in medicine today nowadays. And yet the victims of abuse and especially narcissistic abuse which is life-threatening in almost every respect
17. 10:25 or at least identity threatening they they have a monopoly. They have a plethora of manifestations bodily manifestations and you would do well to investigate them. I mentioned or at least identity threatening they they have a monopoly. They have a plethora of manifestations bodily manifestations and you would do well to investigate them. I mentioned