Why Won’t S/he Grow Up: Precocious Adulthood Syndrome (PrAS)
In this lecture, Professor Sam Vaknin proposes a new clinical entity called Precautious Adulthood Syndrome, or adultification, which is brought on by three vectors: chronic illness, sexual abuse in early childhood to early puberty, and parentifying or instrumentalizing the child. Adultification can lead to compensatory infantilism, known as the Peter Pan syndrome, coupled with imposter syndrome. Adultified children grow up feeling responsible for everyone around them, become control freaks, and are self-reliant. They trust no one and always get involved in conflicts as arbiters or peacemakers. Adultified children resemble borderlines in that they engage in compensatory behaviors that are not calibrated and not proportionate.
Your Narcissist: Madman or Genius? (Based on News Intervention Interview)
Narcissists often claim to be geniuses, but Narcissistic Personality Disorder is a serious mental health problem. It is difficult to tell the difference between a genius and a madman, but the scientific method can help by applying a test of falsifiability. Narcissists often make predictions that fail time and again, while geniuses’ predictions hold water for long stretches of time. Narcissism is a problem of nurture, a problem of the environment, and abuse and trauma suffered in early childhood.
These 10 Self-help Myths Will Destroy Your Life
The text is a critique of the self-help industry, debunking common myths perpetuated by self-help gurus. The myths include the belief that people can learn from their mistakes, that change is possible at any age, that trauma is an objective experience, and that parents should be friends with their children. The author argues that these myths are dangerous and perpetuated by self-interested individuals. The text emphasizes the need for critical thinking and self-awareness when consuming self-help advice.
Is Your Child a Psychopath, Borderline, Narcissist? (Turnu Severin Intl. Conference on Psychology)
Professor Sam Vaknin discusses the signs of emerging personality disorders in children and adolescents, emphasizing the importance of early intervention. He also notes the prevalence of self-harm and substance abuse in those with emerging personality disorders and the effectiveness of psychotherapy in treating borderline personality disorder. In the lecture, Vaknin provides ten warning signs to look out for in children and adolescents, including attachment disorder behaviors, emotional dysregulation, and disturbed object relations with peers. He also discusses the importance of distinguishing healthy adolescent behaviors from signs of personality disorders.
Men’s Last Stand (Women: Listen up! and Taylor Swift)
The gender war has been ongoing for centuries, with women fighting for emancipation and men now pushing back against perceived threats to their dominance. Men are organizing in groups like MGTOW and incels, promoting toxic masculinity and misogyny. Women face a choice between adopting masculine traits and engaging in casual sex or regressing to traditional female roles. As a result, intimacy, relationships, and family life are suffering, with both men and women feeling increasingly isolated and disconnected.
Narcissist Needy as Codependent, Crazymaking as Borderline (with Daria Zukowska)
Narcissists and codependents are both externally regulated and bond positively due to their mutual need for external validation. Narcissists and borderlines are both drama generators and consumers, with the borderline controlling the dynamic of the relationship. Narcissists enter a shared fantasy space with their intimate partner, where they have no autonomy, independence, agency, or self-efficacy, and the bond is difficult to break due to the satisfaction of psychological needs and regression to early childhood. Moving on from such a relationship is a process, and the trauma and residual effects may take time to fade away.
Breaking News on CPTSD, BPD, NPD and Self (with Daria Zukowska)
Professor Sam Vaknin discusses the differences and connections between various personality disorders, including covert and overt narcissism, primary and secondary psychopathy, borderline personality disorder (BPD), and complex post-traumatic stress disorder (CPTSD). He argues that all of these disorders are post-traumatic conditions caused by abuse in early childhood. Vaknin proposes a theory of self-states, where people have reactive potentials that are activated by situations, and emotional dysregulation is subject to cognitive distortions, deficits, and biases. He also suggests that the foundational concepts of personality psychology are wrong.
Here’s Why We’re All Doomed (Excerpt)
In a world that is mentally ill, the construct of individual mental illness is dead. Mental illness of the individual is positively reinforced in a deranged world. The environment no longer provides cues on how to be healthy, and there is no unscripted exposure therapy. Narcissism and psychopathy are thriving, and dark triad personalities are at the top. The sick rise to the top when the world is sick, and there is nothing we can do about this.
Transgender, Transsexual: Biology or Society?
Sex is biologically determined by gametes, but there is a god-awful confusion between sex and gender. Gender is a social cultural construct, and gender roles are shaped by societal needs. Gender is performative, and gendered personality is an integral part of identity. Women raise both boys and girls, and studies have shown that women raise girls differently to the way they raise boys, which creates an asymmetry in the way boys and girls are raised.
Are Fathers Needed? Mothers Are, For Sure!
Professor Sam Vaknin discusses the controversial topic of whether fathers are necessary for raising healthy, functional, and pro-social children. He argues that fathers are largely not needed, and the importance of the mother in the upbringing, shaping, and formation of children is more significant. He also discusses the impact of parental divorce on children’s mental health, family relationships, and education, and highlights that culture, context, and socioeconomic status matter. Additionally, he cites various studies that challenge the idea that father absence has a significant impact on children’s well-being, and argues that the major factors that affect children’s well-being have nothing to do with the father or with his absence.