Cluster B Personality Disorders
Cluster B personality disorders are characterized by dramatic, impulsive, self-destructive, emotional behavior and sometimes incomprehensible interactions with others.
Cluster B personality disorder types include:
- Antisocial: “pervasive pattern of disregard for and violation of the rights of others, lack of empathy and remorse, callousness, bloated self-image, manipulative and impulsive behavior.”
- Borderline: “pervasive pattern of abrupt emotional outbursts, fear of abandonment, unhealthy attachment, altered empathy, instability in relationships, self-image, identity, behavior and affect, often leading to self-harm and impulsivity.”
- Histrionic: “pervasive pattern of attention-seeking behavior, including excessive emotions, an impressionistic style of speech, inappropriate seduction, exhibitionism, and egocentrism.”
- Narcissistic (NPD): pervasive pattern of superior grandiosity, haughtiness, need for admiration, deceiving others, and a lack of empathy.
Narcissists deserve special mention because their prevalence in society seems to be increasing and because your author has specific intimate relationship experience with more than one. In fact, an intense intimate relationship with an individual that exhibited a range of Cluster B traits including narcissism that inspired much of the writing in this book. it cannot be recommended strongly enough that you conduct thorough research on narcissism, especially if you may lean towards an anxious attachment style.
Narcissists love instant messaging and social media because they can hide behind their phone and spew venom whenever they like. Social media and narcissism feed each other, as if they were made for each other. Be especially cautious of anyone that constantly takes selfies or has a social media presence that is primarily pictures of themself, such as a woman with a feed that consists almost solely of her face and her body.
Narcissists can be interesting, charming, and seductive. They understand empathy, and can pretend to have genuine feelings, but they don’t. They are emotionally immature and stunted, not understanding and fearing their own emotions. They use this knowledge to manipulate others. Narcissists do not want to heal. They are secretly proud of their narcissistic skills and work to develop their tactics of control over others. They do not care about the feelings of others. Narcissists can be critical but cannot stand criticism, even when it is valid and constructive. Nobody other than the narcissist themself will ever be good enough for a narcissist, because they are perfect and everyone else is flawed. When you suspect that someone is a narcissist, do not tell them so or that you are researching narcissism. Instead, identify and confront their invalid manipulative and coercive tactics, or better yet just walk away. Relative to any narcissist, there is always a better person just around the next corner.
//TODO: Malignant Narcissism
//TODO: Covert Narcissism
//TODO: Covert Female Narcissism