THE STATE OF THE ART
THE SOUL OF A NARCISSIST
THE STATE OF THE ART
Object Relations
Manipulative attitudes,
which in conjunction with feelings of omnipotence and omniscience,
create a mystique of immunity.
Partial reality test.
Social friction leads to social sanctions (up to imprisonment).
Refraining from intimacy.
Absence of emotional investment.
Reclusive life, avoiding neighbours, family both nuclear and extended,
spouse and friends.
Masks are activated against intimacy and emotional involvement and if they fail,
externalized transformations of aggressions are activated by the SEGO.
Example: active misogyny with sadistic and antisocial elements.
Narcissistic dependence serves as substitute for emotional involvement
(the "wunder" in the "Wunderkind" Mask).
Immature emotional dependence and habit
(the "kind" in the "Wunderkind" Mask).
Object interchangeability
(dependence upon AN object - not upon THE object).
A faceless need:
Limitation of contacts with objects to material and "objective" transactions.
The Narcissist prefers fear, adulation, admiration and
Narcissistic accumulation to love.
Objects have no existence but as PNSS and SNSS.
Knowledge and intelligence serve as control mechanisms and
extractors of adulation and amazement (=Narcissistic Supply).
Object used to recreate early conflicts:
The Narcissist is bad and asks to be punished anew
and to have confirmation that people are angry at him.
The object is kept emotionally distant through deterrence and
is constantly tested by the Narcissist who reveals his negative sides to the object.
The aim of negative, off putting behaviours is to ascertain whether
the Narcissist's uniqueness will override and offset them.
The object experiences emotional absence, repulsion, deterrence, and insecurity.
It is thus encouraged not to develop emotional involvement with the Narcissist
(which requires a positive emotional feedback).
The relationship with the Narcissist is experienced as a burden.
It punctuated by a series of "explosions" followed by relief.
The Narcissist is imposing, intrusive, compulsive, and tyrannical.
Reality is interpreted cognitively so that negative aspects –
real and imagined - of the object will be highlighted.
This preserves distance, fosters uncertainty, prevents emotional involvement and
activates Narcissistic mechanisms (such as grandiosity) which, in turn,
increase the repulsion and the aversion.
Sample sentences:
"The object is not (some trait) as the Narcissist is",
"She is boring",
"She is dangerous because she is…",
"A stable relationship cannot be formed because…"
Another interpretation:
The Narcissist chose the object because of an error/circumstances/pathology/loss
of control/immaturity/partial or false information, etc.
Functioning and Performance
A grandiosity shift:
a preference to be emotionally invested in grandiose professions in which
the Narcissist does not have to face a practical,
professionally rigorous and constant path.
The Narcissist avoids success in order to avoid
emotional involvement and investment.
He shuns a success which obliges him to invest and
to identify himself with some goal,
he emphasizes areas of activity in which he is unlikely to succeed
(here EPIC are more important than PNSS – because
PNSS is more abundant in success-prone areas).
The Narcissistic ignores the future and does not plan.
Thus he is never emotionally committed.
The Narcissist invests the necessary minimum in his job (emotionally).
He is not thorough and under-performs, his work is shoddy and defective or partial.
He evades responsibility and tends to pass it on to others
while exercising little control.
His decision making processes are ossified and rigid
(a man of "principles" – usually his whimsical moods).
The Narcissist reacts very slowly to a changing environment (change is painful).
He is a pessimist, knows that he will lose his job/business – so,
he is constantly engaged in seeking alternatives.
This yields a feeling of temporariness, which prevents engagement,
involvement, commitment, dedication, identification and emotional
hurt in case of change or failure.
The alternative to a spouse:
Solitary life (with vigorous emphasis on PNSS) or another partner.
This frequent change of vocations prevents the Narcissist from having
a clear career path and annuls the need to persevere (in which area?).
All the initiatives adopted by a Narcissist are egocentric, sporadic and discrete
(focus on an aspect of the Narcissist, are randomly distributed in space and in time,
and do not form a thematic or other continuum - they are not goal oriented).
Sometimes, as a substitute, the Narcissist engages in performance shifting:
the construction of imaginary, invented goals with
no correlation with the real world - and their attainment.
To avoid facing performance tests and to maintain grandiosity and uniqueness
the Narcissist refrains from acquiring skills and training
(driving, technical skills, any systematic - academic or non-academic - knowledge).
The Child is also satisfied this way - because these are adult activities and attributes.
The gap between the image projected by the Narcissist
(charisma, unusual knowledge, grandiosity, fantasies)
and his actual achievements - create in him a permanent feeling that
he is a crook, a hustler, living an unreal life in a movie-like setting.
This gives rise to ominous sensations of threat and, concurrently,
to feelings of immunity.
The Narcissist is forced to become a manipulator.
Locations and Environment
A prevailing feeling of not belonging and of detachment.
Bodily discomfiture
(the body felt as depersonalized, alien and a nuisance, its needs are totally ignored,
its signals re-routed and re-interpreted, its maintenance neglected).
Distance from the political communities which the Narcissist inhabits
(neighbourhood, city, state),
his religion, his ethnic background, his friends
(the "scientific observer").
This is Narcissistic Detachment - the feeling the Narcissist has that
he is a director or an actor in a movie about his life.
The Narcissist avoids "emotional handles":
photographs, music identified with a certain period in his life,
places, people, mementoes and emotional situations.
The Narcissist lives on borrowed time in a borrowed life.
Every place and time period are but transitory (sufficient but not necessary)
and lead to the next, unfamiliar environment.
The Narcissist feels that the end is near.
He lives in rented apartments, is an illegal immigrant in many countries,
works without the necessary permits and licenses, is fully mobile on a short notice,
does not buy real estate or immovables.
The Narcissist cultivates feelings of incompatibility with his surroundings.
He considers himself superior to others and keeps criticizing people,
institutions and situations.
The above behaviour patterns constitute a denial of reality.
The Narcissist defines a rigid, impenetrable, personal territory
and is physically revolted when it is breached.
The Narcissist does get sometimes emotionally attached to his money and to his belongings - but not to
real estate, which is too immobile for him.
Money and possessions represent power, they are love substitutes, they are movable on a short notice.
They constitute an inseparable part of a P.N.S and form a determinant of FEGO. The Narcissist
assimilates them and identifies with them. This is why he is so traumatized by their loss or depreciation.
They provide him with the certainty and security that he feels nowhere else. They are familiar,
predictable, and controllable. There is no danger involved in emotionally investing in them and he does so.
Suzanne Forward distinguishes a Narcissist from a sadist, a sociopath and a misogynist with respect to
their attitude towards women. She says that the Narcissist "goes through" many women in order to
replenish his SNSS (to convert her words to my terminology). In my view, the function of Narcissistic
accumulation is equivalent to the replacement of objects. This means that Narcissists live with their
spouses only as long as these spouses fully cater to their Narcissistic needs through accumulation and
adoration. His misogyny and his sadism are a result of his fear of being abandoned (the recreation of
earlier traumas) and not a result of Narcissism. A Narcissist with an ideal, sadistic, rigid, primitive, and
punishing superego inevitably becomes antisocial and lacking in morale and in conscience.
Here lies the difference. The Narcissist treats women the way he does in order to weaken them and to
make them dependent on him so as to prevent them from abandoning him. He uses a variety of
techniques to pulverize all their foci of strength: a healthy sexuality, family, career, self-esteem and
self-image, mental health, reality test, and social circles. Once devoid of all these he remains their only
available source of authority, interest, meaning, feeling and hope. A woman thus deprived will be highly
unlikely to leave him. This state of emotional addiction is created by unpredictable behaviours, which
cause reactions of fear and phobic hesitation. The Misogynist, on the other hand, hates women,
humiliates them, scorns them and despises them.
One last point: sex leads to intimacy. However minimal this intimacy is, the Narcissist is bound to
experience every interruption of the relationship as abandonment. His reactions include loneliness and a
feeling of annulment. This has to do with the absence of a defining look. The longing is so great that the
Narcissist is driven to finding a substitute. This substitute is another SNSS.
Each Narcissist has a profile of his preferred SNSS. It is a result of the predilections of the Narcissist and
the matrix of his pathological needs. But a few things are common to all potential women SNSS:
They must not be garrulous, they must be slow, inferior in some important respect, submissive, with an
aesthetic appearance, intelligent but passive, admiring (accumulator), emotionally available, dependent and
either simple or femme fatale. They are not his type if they are critical, express disagreement, demonstrate
superiority, sophistication, independent, or provide her unsolicited advice or opinions. The Narcissist will
form no relationship with such a woman.
Having spotted the "right profile" the Narcissist proceeds to see if he is sexually attracted to the woman. If
he is, he proceeds to condition her using a variety of measures: good sex, money spending, assumption of
all responsibilities, fostering sexual, emotional, existential and operational uncertainties (followed by bouts
of relief as conflicts are resolved), grandiose gestures, expressions of interest, of need and of dependence
(mistakenly interpreted by the woman to mean deep emotions), grandiose plans, idealization,
demonstrations of unlimited trust (but no sharing of decision making powers), encouraging feelings of
uniqueness and of pseudo-intimacy, and childlike behaviour.
Dependence is formed and a new SNSS is born.
The last phase is the SNSS transaction. The Narcissist gets adulation, Narcissistic accumulation and
submissiveness.
He promises to continue to condition his partner using the same measures. Concurrently, he activates the
Wunderkind Mask in anticipation of abandonment. In this sort of relationship the Narcissist does not
secure a stability, emotional or sexual exclusivity, or emotional and spiritual sharing. He does not
participate in the emergence of intimacy, in a real exchange of information, experience, or opinions. He is
not granted sexual compatibility, the sharing of decision-making, long term planning, and common
property. He also does not make children with his spouse - rather he makes them for her or in her.
All this leads to the inevitable: a dilapidation of the energy of the SNSS (who keeps giving of herself
emotionally without receiving much in return), pain and hurt, a cessation of sexual and emotional
exclusivity and abandonment.
The Narcissist always prefers a woman as SNSS to any other possibility (example: to business).
It entails less long-term investment and it is easier to obtain. With a woman it is possible to exercise
multidimensional conditioning translated into longer winded inertia.
Moreover, the SNSS possesses the motivation to be conditioned. The woman is interested to supply the
Narcissist and, thus, to keep the flame burning. The world of business, for instance, is indifferent to the
Narcissist and to his marginal activities. Additionally, the function of stabilization is more amenable to
manipulation with a woman. Both functions (stabilization-accumulation and adulation) can thus be found
in one and the same NSS. This allows the Narcissist to focus his conditioning measures and efforts upon
obtaining stabilization within one SNSS. Naturally, this creates greater dependence and greater risk of
abandonment but the savings in energy are worth it as far as the Narcissist is concerned.
CHAPTER NINE:
GRANDIOSE LOSS OF CONTROL
What happens if the Narcissist fails to find NSS?
This precipitates a Narcissistic crisis. The Narcissist becomes more desperate and more compulsive in
looking for his drug. The more he fails the more he is hurt and he expresses his emotional turmoil by
acting it out.
Moreover, the absence of SNSS or their deficiency coupled with a Narcissistic crisis increase the
fluctuations in Narcissistic supply and widen the grandiosity gap (between the grandiose fantasies of the
Narcissist and his less than glamorous reality). This volatility depreciates his self-esteem, self-image, and
self-confidence. The Narcissist is devalued and reduced to depressions and doubts.
In other words: the gap between the grandiose fantasies and reality is so wide that the FEGO Narcissistic
defence mechanisms can no longer be maintained even with the use of strong repression and denial
mechanisms.
This sets two defence reactions going. Their aim is to stabilize the Narcissistic supply and to reduce the
volatility:
a. The Reactive Repertoire is reawakened (encouraging the Narcissist to escape from the scene of the
failure and thus to create an alibi for future failure).
b. An increase in the consumption of PNSS (if SNSS are deficient) or of SNSS (if PNSS are deficient).
This last measure does stabilize the situation in the short run but it has a destabilizing effect in the longer
run.
All this is done mainly to protect FEGO. The Narcissist "knows" that if the FEGO is effected too badly
the ability of the Hyper construct to resist the punitive influence of the SEGO dwindles and the TEGO
and the Narcissist's relations with outside objects are in danger.
In the absence of SNSS, an increase in the consumption of PNSS leads to an increasing volatility of the
Narcissistic supply up to the point of a collapse of the Hyper construct including the eminently important
FEGO.
This opens the way to a tyranny of the SEGO, which could herald an era of suicidal tendencies.
From a psychodynamic point of view when the Narcissistic supply is not stabilized its volatility increases.
This is an oscillation between over-valuation (the result of grandiose fantasies) and under-valuation and
even de-valuation (the result of the confrontation between the grandiose fantasies and unkind reality, the
Grandiosity Gap). Gradually, the effects of the PNSS are lessened. This type of NSS is not stable -
precisely why a function of accumulation is required (it smoothes the supply derived from PNSS by
equally distributing it over time). The devaluating pole of the fluctuation erodes the self-image, self-esteem
and self-confidence of the Narcissist. This weakens the FEGO considerably and the SEGO takes over
with its double action:
a. It attacks the TEGO, evoking dysphoria and depressive anhedonia in the process. It devalues the
Narcissist's self-worth and self-image, it provokes self-hatred and self-loathing, which lead to
self-destruction and to suicidal ideation.
Suicide cannot be ruled out in such a case.
b. It attacks the objects in the Narcissist's life. It repels them by externalizing depression and
self-destructive urges, by "spoiling" good feelings and achievements, by compulsive acts, by extrovert
transformations of aggression (envy, boredom, rage, cynicism), by displaying emotional platitude, by
avoiding sex.
The next phase is comprised of rebellious acts against authority figures and institutions, delinquency and
sabotage.
But this battle and the arsenal of weaponry used in it are a reflection of deeper trends in the soul of the
Narcissist.
The Narcissist transforms his life into his single biggest creative act. In other words, the Narcissist is an
actor (FEGO) whose creation is the Narcissist's life. He adapts the narrative to the various audiences.
There is, actually, no discernible, identifiable, single Narcissist. He has no volume, or even existence
beyond the fact that he is acting single role.
This constant acting creates - both in the Narcissist and in his audiences - feelings of deceit, falsity,
vacillating moods, a multi-layered existence, hiding, crookedness and evil mysteriousness. SNSS are
frustrated by this and behave as though they are faced with a threat, however vague.
Life as a work of art (instead of art as part of a biography) is part of the "virtual normalcy" mechanism
(simulated normal functioning). The Narcissist lives whereas others create, cohabits with an object instead
of living with a woman, establishes and runs "Potemkin" businesses and bogus fantasies instead of the real
thing. He obtains PNSS (publicity) in lieu of professional reputation and standing.
This, truly, is not self-destruction. The fact that the Narcissist does not materialize his potentials is a result
of his need to use objects to do so. But the Narcissist avoids objects in order to avoid self-destruction
(which might be inflicted in the wake of an emotional or Narcissistic hurt following his abandonment by
them). This is not self- destruction - this is self-preservation. One can convincingly argue that the
Narcissist's self-destructive streak is better manifested in the methods that he employs to obtain NSS.
The Narcissist assumes that he is so unique that his uniqueness should suffice to establish his position
even without the added arguments of his creations (art, children, home, business, a relationship). He is
worthy of Narcissistic supply (adulation, attention) and of special treatment by virtue of his very existence
and of the complexity and uniqueness of his biography. This way, of course, no Narcissistic hurt is
possible. The Narcissist never invests in anything and never perseveres - so he never gets emotionally
attached to anything.
Still, we must differentiate between the actor's (FEGO's) ROLE and his FUNCTION (the function of the
whole personality, or of TEGO).
The FEGO's role involves a low emotional investment, emphases on yields in terms of Narcissistic supply
and on the consumption of that supply. It is characterized by ego dystony.
The TEGO's function calls for a high level of emotional involvement, yields in terms of Narcissistic
supply are a marginal consideration and there is high ego-syntony.
The repertoire of possible roles adopted by FEGO is enormous. The more characteristic are:
Crook, dangerous, unpredictable, verbally violent, deterring
Businessman, rich, well connected, powerful
Genius, innovator, encyclopaedic
Revolutionary, reformer, non-conformist, rebellious
Asexual, monkish, pervert
Author, intellectual, bohemian, artist
Family man, father, sage, an island of wisdom, experience, stability and a source of authority
Charming, childish, honest, open, innocent, vulnerable, requires assistance and support
We can see that Narcissists deceive their environment in more than one way. Even when they express
emotions it is because they have discovered the efficacy of this instrument in obtaining Narcissistic
supply. The emotions used and expressed are part of a role played - as are creativity and social
interactions. All is mobilized and subjected to the overriding goal of obtaining PNSS and SNSS. The
Narcissist says all the right things but in such a manner that they sound hollow. Thus, when the Narcissist
says: "I love you" he really means: "I depend on you for the stabilization of my Narcissistic supply and for
the accumulation of supply for the road ahead."
People feel that something is wrong but they can't tell what. So they keep their distance from the
Narcissist or abandon him altogether thus reinforcing and, unwittingly, participating in the Narcissistic
cycle. The FEGO's role is to successfully limit the interaction to the plane of Narcissistic supply and to
secure the denouement: the abandonment of the Narcissist. It also helps contain the emotional, or
Narcissistic damage. The Narcissist can always pretend that it is all a game.
The abandonment leads the Narcissist down a straight path to Loss Dysphoria and from there to the
Reactive Repertoire. The latter contains two categories of behaviour patterns:
The first category is characterized by a denial of reality, reclusive behaviour, dis-intimization, by aberrant
sexual practices, and by the avoidance of intimacy.
The behaviours in this category are adopted following the formation of a Grandiosity Gap and continuous
friction with reality. This friction shatters the illusion of virtual normalcy. The loss of some of the
grandiose fantasies and the real losses attributable to the Narcissist's detachment from real life lead to a
Loss Dysphoria and to the Reactive Repertoire.
The behaviours in this group are typical of states of uncertainty and of transition between PNSs.
The second category of behaviours is comprised of escape, change (of place, job, or vocation),
displacement of the grandiose fantasies and the development of an alternative P.N.S. The latter is
intended to bridge the problematic grandiosity gap and to match reality and fantasy.
This does not prevent the emergence of a Deficiency Dysphoria and an impulse to secure PNSS in the
alternative P.N.S. If the development of an alternative P.N.S is not possible, the Narcissistic exhibits
symptoms of a Deficiency Dysphoria - but only after a while. The reason for the delay: the Narcissist has
an "alibi" for the absence of Narcissistic supply - he lost one P.N.S and has not, yet, developed another.
Back to what we started this chapter with: failing to obtain SNSS leads to an inability to complete the
Narcissistic Cycle and to a Loop of Grandiosity Compensation. The functions of the SNSS are performed
through intricate feedback loops that monitor and regulate the stabilization mechanisms. The absence or
malfunctioning of these feedback mechanisms leads the Narcissist down the dangerous path of excessive
grandiosity compensation to subsequent and resultant losses and to a Loss Dysphoria. In a way the
Grandiosity Gap and the Grandiosity Compensation regulate each other. A rising grandiosity gap activates
the grandiosity compensation loop and the SNSS feedback loop, which measures the amount of
grandiosity compensation and halts it when the grandiosity gap has been reduced to tolerable levels. The
SNSS, therefore, monitor the state of the grandiosity gap. They halt the operation of the grandiosity
compensation loop once the appropriate grandiosity gap is achieved. They also activate the Reactive
Repertoire when necessary (after a loss), once the grandiosity gap is high, or while the grandiosity
compensation is low.
Thus, in he absence of SNSS, the grandiosity compensation will be incessantly activated even in the
absence of a grandiosity gap. This leads to a loss of control of grandiosity and to subsequent real life
losses.
The Narcissist faces losses in any case:
a. When there are no SNSS there is no stabilizing feedback loop, there is excessive grandiosity
compensation, a loss of control of grandiosity and real life losses.
b. When SNSS are available the Wunderkind Mask is activated replete with all the EPIC and this is
tantamount to the initiation of losses.
The Grandiosity Compensation comes after the Reactive Repertoire has been used. The absence of SNSS
causes the excess use of the Reactive Repertoire (denial of reality, dis-intimization, escapism, changes of
place or job, fantasies and the development of alternative P.N.S) as well as the excessive use of the
compensatory mechanisms.
But the excess use of the Grandiosity Compensation interferes with the efficacy of obtaining PNSS in two
ways:
a. The "stimulation threshold" of the PNSS rises. What was once recognized by the Narcissist as PNSS is
no longer so. This is akin to the desensitization and escalation known to us in drug abuse. The Narcissist
requires ever stronger, ever more stimuli to reach the same "PNSS effect".
b. The obtaining of PNSS is frustrated by the reaction of the environment. Excessive sexuality drives
potential sexual partners away and overspending dwindles the financial resources of the Narcissist and
cuts him off credit institutions. The Reactive Repertoire also frustrates the obtaining of certain PNSS (sex,
publicity). These PNSS are rendered dysfunctional and their availability decreases.
A vicious circle ensues: the absence of stabilization and feedback functions provided by the SNSS leads to
an excessive use of the Reactive Repertoire and to an incessant and exaggerated Grandiosity
Compensation.
These raise the stimulation threshold of the PNSS and adversely affect the efficiency of their acquisition
to the point of fully frustrating it. A loss of control of grandiosity follows, which leads to losses and to a
Loss Dysphoria.
This, in turn, increases the Grandiosity Compensation within the Narcissistic Cycle.
The loss, therefore, is not, in this case, only of objects - but of NSS.
The Loss of Control of Grandiosity encourages a malignancy of the means for acquiring PNSS:
The projection of power is transformed to rage and humiliation directed at individuals or ethnic or other
groups (misogyny, racism).
The projection of wealth is transformed to uncontrolled overspending (coupled with bad feelings).
Publicity is mostly obtained through lies, indecent exposure, and fantasies.
The malignancy of the means to obtain PNSS transforms NSS into dysfunctional NSS. Instead of helping
to reduce the Grandiosity Gap they enlarge it either directly, or by their very unavailability.
The heightened stimulation threshold causes a hierarchical creep up the ladder of NSS. Some NSS lose
the possibility to compensate for lost grandiosity and, thus, to bridge the Grandiosity Gap. These are
a-functional NSS.
They lose this feature because of the increased stimulation threshold, which renders low their Narcissistic
content. Their Narcissistic yield becomes insufficient.
There are different reactions to NSS, which cease to be functional (dys- and a - functional):
A loss of interest is felt as absolute in the case of a-functional NSS. This is part of the Reactive
Repertoire: the repression of the consequences of important losses.
Rage is expressed in the case of dysfunctional NSS as a result of the Grandiosity Gap, which continues to
widen despite all efforts. This is a feeling of helplessness and the failure of the protective mechanism of
cognitive dissonance. A difficulty at securing sexual partners, for instance, worsens the Grandiosity Gap.
The solution: a dissonant abstinence ("I never really like sex") and trying to relate to the very act of
forgoing sex as NSS (=projection of exceptional personal strength). This is a part of the Reactive
Repertoire aimed at curing a Narcissistic injury. The dual dysphorias develop as well (Loss and
Deficiency). Alternatively, the failure of the dissonance elicits rage, a failure to convert the dissonance to
NSS, Narcissistic hurt and the two dysphoria.
In the case of Loss of Control of Grandiosity the loss is double: both of objects and of NSS which are
exposed either as afunctional or dysfunctional. The reactions are a loss of interest and rage attacks.
We must, therefore, differentiate between rage, which is a reaction to the loss of NSS through their
transformation into dysfunctional NSS and to the widening of the Grandiosity Gap – and rage which is the
malignant form of projection of power as PNSS (the humiliation of groups of people or of individuals).
When SNSS lose their functionality, the Loss of Control of Grandiosity and the malignancy process lead
to perturbations in the SNSS transaction and in the process of locating the SNSS and its conditioning. For
instance, the possibility of being attracted sexually may be affected (due to a dysfunctionalization of
PNSS), or the conditioning measures and their usage (due to the a-functionalization of the SNSS itself), or
the very SNSS transaction.
Actually there is an increase in the stimulation threshold which causes the "SNSS Hierarchical Creep".
This is manifested through the increase in the velocity of the SNSS. The SNSS become functional and the
Narcissist loses any interest in them. He directs aggression and transformed aggression at them, trying to
facilitate an abandonment and rapid loss in order to switch to the next SNSS. This is a malignancy of the
SNSS transaction.
All this yields Functionality Shift. There is the shift from dys- and a - functional NSS to NSS, which are
still functional (still provide Narcissistic supply to close the Gap) - the Vertical Shift. And there is the
increase in the dosage and the magnitude of NSS in the hope of restoring their functionality - this is the
Horizontal Shift.
The Vertical Shift is part of a Loss of Control of Grandiosity and the Horizontal Shift is part of the
malignancy process.
The dysphoria are "selection switches" between NSS sets in the NSS space. The selection process is
carried out through the above mentioned functionality shifts. The NSS Cycle is the changing of the guard
between NSS sets within the NSS space. Specifically reacting to the dysphoria some of them become
functional (the Active Sets) and the other sets lose their functionality (the Shadow Sets).
The Narcissistic cycle is a specific reaction to specific dysphoria, which create a specific Grandiosity Gap,
which calls for a specific Grandiosity Compensation. This is the Bias of the Narcissistic Cycle.
The selection of the Active Sets responds to this bias - and so does the deactivation of the Shadow sets.
The bias also sets the parameters of the two shifts.
Is the bias a result of the availability of NSS - or is it caused by the Narcissistic supply (=the Narcissistic
reward or yield) preferred within a given cultural/social/economic context?
The answer is, it depends.
What determines the dysfunctionalization of NSS is their availability and what determines their
a-functionalization is their yield of Narcissistic supply in the P.N.S (=a specific culture and society).
Put differently: the Narcissistic Cycle is not completed (=does not cancel the dysphoria) if the NSS which
can solve the dysphoria are not available (dysfunctional NSS), or if their yield of Narcissistic supply is low
in the specific P.N.S (functional NSS). In these cases, the dysphoria stay put and a Loss of Control and
malignancy processes set in.
Mental Map # 10
Biased Set (failure to obtain NSS or collapse of P.N.S)
Deficient NSS stabilization and feedback
Grandiosity Gap
The Loops: the Reactive Repertoire Loop, the Grandiosity Compensation Loop
Loss of Control due to incompletion of the Narcissistic Cycle
and Malignancy of NSS
Increase in the Velocity of the Narcissistic Cycle
Loss of Control leads to: Loss of objects, Loss Dysphoria,
Deficiency of objects, Deficiency Dysphoria
And it also leads to:
An increase in the stimulation threshold of PNSS and
To efforts to obtain PNSS frustrated by the environment
Dysfunctionalization and a-functionalization of NSS
Loss of NSS (set S0)
Shifts (Vertical and Horizontal) from S0 to S1
(S1 is S0 less S1 shades + S0 shades)
{The Reactive Repertoire}
Dissonance: converting the shifts to Narcissistic supply
Dissonance: extracting Narcissistic supply from a shift
Failure of dissonance
Loss dysphoria S0 (=NSS selection switch)
Reactions: loss of interest or rage
Deficiency dysphoria in S0 (=NSS selection switch)
{Commencement of the Narcissistic Cycle}
Grandiosity Gap
{Bias of Narcissistic cycle}
Grandiosity Compensation
Testing the availability of NSS - dysfunctionalization of S1
Testing of yield of NSS in P.N.S - a-functionalization of S1
The NSS Cycle: Loss of NSS not relevant to the deficiency in S1
Shifts (Vertical and Horizontal) - result of NSS availability and yield tests
Resolution of the dysphoria (Loss and Deficiency) by restoring S0
Equilibrium and homeostasis of Narcissistic supply around
new Narcissistic Equilibrium Point
An increase in the stimulation threshold of PNSS…
and so on and so forth.
The transfer from S0 to S1 is done through sublimatory channels coupled with a cognitive dissonance.
This calls for an expansion of the concept of sublimation and a clearer definition of the concepts Libido
and NSS. Sublimation can be redefined as any mechanism, which precipitates the NSS Cycle. The
dissonance is there to prevent cognitive conflicts and to encourage ego-syntony.
The personality aspires to a homeostatic (independent of the environment) Narcissistic equilibrium. The
point at which equilibrium is established is the Narcissistic Equilibrium Point (NEP). Full ego-syntony is
maintained at the NEP and the Narcissist experiences hedonia and euphoria.
The introduction of a NSS, which is not part of the equilibrium set, destabilizes it and provokes an anxiety
reaction (really the fear of losing the equilibrium). The Narcissist reacts to this anxiety with discomfiture,
rage and EPIC. A PNSS can perturb only a set of PNSS and the same is true for a SNSS.
Usually there is a considerable overlap between S0 and S1 and the transition is smooth and unfelt. Only
one or two NSS are not transferred from the outgoing to the incoming set. These become Shaded NSS.
The incoming set contains a reference to them, a sort of a pointer, which contains the most rudimentary
information, or an imitation or a reminder, or an actual remnant of them. These are the SHADES. The
role of the shades is to maintain a bridge allowing these NSS to return and to be included in a new
incoming set. It is kind of a blueprint or template of all available NSS.
Example: S0 is an outgoing set which includes the following NSS - sex, projections of wealth,
mysteriousness and publicity. It has a shade of the NSS Projection of Power.
S1 is an incoming set which includes projection of wealth, projection of power (was converted from
shade to actual member of the set), mysteriousness and publicity. Sex has become - in S1 - a shade.
Any attempt to relate to a shade as though it is active shifts the NSS set off the NEP and provokes
anxiety and reactions to anxiety (rage, aggression, discomfiture, repulsion, transformations of aggression)
as well as an active repression of the shaded NSS. This kind of repression affects the smooth transition to
a new NSS set in due course.
The equilibrium is thereby badly affected.
The NSS Space is the list of all NSS, Primary and Secondary, active and shaded.
Each set has two subsets: the PNSS subset and the SNSS subset.
Laws of equivalence, conservation and interchangeability are observed within each subset. These laws
help preserve the NEP and the equilibrium itself. There is a complex inter-relationship between the
existence of the homeostasis and the existence of the equilibrium. One cannot survive without the other.
Infrequently a Biased Set is formed. This is an asymmetric set. There is a difference between the output
of the two subsets. The PNSS subset does provide Narcissistic supply, while the SNSS does not, or vice
versa. The biased set reacts by blocking the reaction patterns (the loops, loss of control, malignancy,
increase in the velocity of the Narcissistic Cycle, real life losses and deficiencies, shifts and the resolution
of the two dysphoria in the process of creating an homeostatic equilibrium around the NEP). Mental
energy is thus saved in stress and the old NEP is kept (when there is no Residual Libido). This is a
process of self-deception through reclassification. SNSS are classified as PNSS, the grandiosity gap is
reduced and there is only a partial Reactive Repertoire (a few of the first category behaviours: denial of
reality and reclusive life) - a reaction to the perceived loss of PNSS (the self-deception works only
partially).
PNSS are never reclassified as SNSS. Thus, the solution of reclassification is not applicable to a PNSS
Biased Set. It is handy only in the case of an SNSS Biased Set.
All the same, despite the crystallization of a NEP, a new type of dysphoria can erupt and intervene in the
orderly transfer of power. This is the P.N.S Dysphoria, a prolonged reaction to the loss of a P.N.S. This
dysphoria is not influenced by the activation of the Reactive Repertoire, by the formation of an alternative
P.N.S, by the obtaining of NSS and by the consummation of a NSS cycle. It is a mourning reaction and
as such it lasts a long time until it vanishes as suddenly as it appeared. The dysphoria is focused on the
geography of the P.N.S, on memories of events, which took place in it and of people in it. It tries to
mentally recreate the NSS in the P.N.S and is tinged with longing to the virtual normalcy that the
Narcissist ostensibly enjoyed in the P.N.S.
The Narcissist punishes himself by attributing the loss of the P.N.S to his own fault and to massive
personal failures. He entertains himself by imagining the reconstruction of the P.N.S - only to withdraw in
fear once the emotional price becomes evident. The dysphoria is highly unstable and is replaced, time and
again, with dissonant loathing of the P.N.S.
It is easy to confuse a P.N.S Dysphoria with nostalgia or unadulterated longing. Yet, its sources are
pathological. The Narcissist does not miss anything external. He misses just the Narcissistic supply he
derived.
The P.N.S dysphoria has an anticipatory function. It is a reminder that the current P.N.S is not immune
from a similar fate. It encourages the evocation of the Wunderkind Mask and the activation of all EPIC.
This is a warning signal: all PNSs are transient. Therefore, it is not worthwhile to get emotionally attached
to any particular P.N.S (EPIC, Wunderkind Mask) and the Narcissist should be always on the alert to
move on to the next Narcissistic destination.
This is common to all dysphoria. They all encourage mobility: between themselves (the selection
switches), between P.N.S, or through the Reactive Repertoire. The dysphoria are the mothers of the
psychodynamics of the Narcissist. He is fed a diet of deficiencies, losses, fears and repression and digests
the dysphoria, which feed off them.
Only rarely is a state of Narcissistic Coherence achieved wherein there is full compatibility between all the
components and structures of the personality.
In such a case (usually in an optimal P.N.S) there is complete interchangeability between PNSS and
SNSS. Actually the very distinction between the two becomes blurred. If a certain PNSS is terminated,
there is an increase in the use of SNSS to compensate for it. The converse is also true. The propensity
will always be towards the PNSS. SNSS will be used less when PNSS are available - yet the reverse is
never true, if the Narcissist can help it. In the case of a low compatibility between the structures of the
personality, especially when there is a shortage of PNSS (a sizeable Grandiosity Gap, warfare between
the mental structures, or when the Reactive Repertoire or the dysphoria are in operation), there is a
tendency to reduce the SNSS as well and thus re-balance the picture.
A fixed ratio is maintained between PNSS and SNSS. Whenever the compatibility between personality
structures is low (conflictive personality) the Narcissist tries to maintain this fixed ratio. In cases of high
compatibility he maintains an asymmetric compensatory interchangeability: a decrease in PNSS leads to
increased use of SNSS. Still, the mere availability of SNSS does not alter the usage pattern. PNSS will
always be preferred.
THE PRINCIPLES OF NARCISSISTIC COMPENSATION
The Principle of Symmetric Interchangeability
Less SNSS - More PNSS
Less PNSS - More SNSS
Principle of Asymmetric Interchangeability
More PNSS - Less SNSS
More SNSS - same PNSS
Whatever the internal machinations, the Narcissist experiences anxiety. In his case this is real and justified
fear with an endogenous, instead of an exogenous, source. Horrible, frightening things do threaten the
Narcissist from the inside.
We neglected to mention the reactions of the human NSS.
To obtain Narcissistic supply the Narcissist must degrade the NSS and belittle it. Only so can he ascertain
his own superiority. Inferior-superior, clever-stupid, experienced-inexperienced, handsome-ugly,
educated-less educated, knowledgeable-ignorant, vulgar-refined, these are a few of the pairs of words
effectively used by the Narcissist to extract his pound of Narcissistic supply.
But the NSS react by small uprisings against their prescribed role. Their abandonment is a more serious
form of rebellion. It follows that the Narcissist has to encourage this mutinous attitude as a way to secure
his abandonment and to establish an environment conducive to the operation of the EIPM.
But if the NSS is indeed worthless (as the Narcissist constantly emphasizes) then the Narcissistic supply
that it provides is, surely, as worthless. The Narcissist uses a dichotomous approach to solve this paradox.
True, the NSS belong to a group, which well deserves humiliation, degradation and belittling. However,
the specific specimen selected by the infallible Narcissist is a fine sample far different from the general
background. The Narcissist complements himself on his choice, enhances his sense of uniqueness - and,
at the same time, solves the paradox.
Example: the Narcissist is a misogynist and he strives to frustrate women and, thus, to externalize
transformed aggression. But the woman SNSS loses her "femininity". The Narcissist uses her very
presence by his side to frustrate other women - but while doing so he also deprives her of her femininity.
He turns her into a child, an angel, a sex slave, or even an animal. In the first two cases (child, angel), the
Narcissist finds it hard to engage in sexual intercourse with her. In the third case (sex slave) the Narcissist
finds it hard to be in touch with any other element of her personality or of her femininity except her
(objectified) sexuality. He uses these methods to deny and neutralize such big chunks of her femininity
that she gradually becomes a functioning object with no gender or sex. Her single remaining important role
is to adore the Narcissist.
There is a gap between reality and the way that the Narcissist perceives the woman SNSS (=an idealized
figure).
This gap is not the result of blind love. Its aim is to frustrate other women ("How come he is with her and
not with me? I am more intelligent/beautiful/etc.") and to conserve her quality as SNSS ("She may be ugly
- but she has amazing capacities: 1,2,3…").
The Narcissist could never live with his feminine equal. His ability to frustrate other women by being with
her will be effected and she will make him anxious lest her conditioning is ineffective ("She could be with
anyone she wishes - why should she stay with me?").
Another function of the woman by the Narcissist's side is the projection of responsibility. The Narcissist is
too important to pay attention to day to day chores. He is also infallible. Any time he commits an error,
has bad luck, exerts the wrong judgement, or, simply, has to face a task - the Narcissist "passes the
buck". Those people close to him are to blame. They did not pay attention, they did not alert him on time,
they did not prevent what happened, or did not notice the importance of what he was doing, did not make
his life easier (after all, this is their main task in life). He attempts to transform the aggression that he feels
towards them because he knows that he cannot defend the rights that he claims are his to demand all
these things. Yet, since the alternative is to direct this aggression at himself and this endangers his fragile
psychic balance, he experiences conflict.
The Narcissist is in distress and afraid to admit this (or any other emotion, for that matter). This is why he
keeps creating or exaggerating external emergency situations. He communicates states of inner turmoil by
making his spouse experience the same (replicating his mental state). This he can do only by letting her
experience an emergency, stressful external occurrence.