#including therapists

[groupieculture]

u tell someone about your binge eating disorder theyre like 'call me when you have a real ed like anorexia lmao'

[m0nst3rgunxz]

I'm so normal

[kindnessoverperfection]

Please, if you can, take a moment to read and share this because I feel like I'm screaming underwater.

NPD (Narcissistic Personality Disorder) stigma is rampant right now, and seems to be getting progressively worse. Everyone is using it as a buzzword in the worst ways possible, spreading misinformation and hatred against a real disorder.

I could go on a long time about how this happened, why it's factually incorrect (and what the disorder actually IS), why it's harmful, and the changes I'd like to see. But to keep this concise, I'll simply link to a few posts under the cut for further reading.

The point of this post is a plea. Please help stop the spread of stigma. Even in mental health communities, even around others with personality disorders, in neurodivergent "safe" spaces, other communities I thought people would be supportive in (e.g. trans support groups, progressive spaces in general), it keeps coming up. So I'm willing to bet that a lot of people on this site need to see this.

Because it's so hard to exist in this world.

My disorder already makes me feel as if I'm worthless and unlovable, like there's something inherently wrong and damaged about me. And it's so much harder to fight that and heal when my daily life consists of:

Laughing and spending time with my friends, doing my utmost best to connect and stay present and focused on them, trying to let my guards down and be real and believe I'm lovable- when suddenly they throw out the word "narcissist" to describe horrible people or someone they hate, or the conversation turns to how evil "people with narcissistic personality disorder" are. (Seriously, you don't know which of your friends might have NPD and feels like shit when you say those things & now knows that you'd hate them if you knew.)

Trying to look up "mental health positivity for people with npd", "mental health positivity cluster bs", only to find a) none of that, and b) more of the same old vile shit that makes me feel terrible about myself.

Having a hard time (which is constant at this point) and trying to look up resources for myself, only to again, find the same stigma. And no resources.

Not having any clue how to help myself, because even the mental health field is spitting so much vitriol at people with DISORDERS (who they're supposed to be helping!) that there's no solid research or therapy programs for people like me.

Losing close friends when they find out, despite us having had a good relationship before, and them KNOWING me and knowing that I'm not like the trending image of pwNPD. Because now they only see me through the lens of stigma and misinformation.

Hearing the same stigma come up literally wherever I go. Clubs. Meetings. Any online space. At the bus stop. At the mall. At a restaurant. At work. Buzzword of the year that everyone loooves loudly throwing around with their friends or over the phone. Feels awesome for me, makes my day so much better/s

I could go on for a long time, but I'm scared no one will read/rb this if it gets too much longer.

So please. Stop using the word "narcissist" as a synonym for "abusive".

Stop bringing up people you hate who you believe to have NPD because of a stigmatizing article full of misinformation whenever someone with actual NPD opens their mouth. (Imagine if people did that with any other disorder! "Hey, I'm autistic." "Oh... my old roommate screamed at me whenever I made noise around him, and didn't understand my needs, which seems like sensory overload and difficulty with social cues. He was definitely autistic. But as long as you're self-aware and always restraining your innate desire to be an abusive asshole, you're okay I guess, maybe." ...See how offensive and ignorant that is?)

Stop preventing healthcare for people with a disorder just because it's trendy to use us as a scapegoat.

If you got this far, thank you for reading, and please share this if you can. Further reading is under the cut.

NPD Criteria, re-written by someone who actually has NPD

Stigma in the DSM

Common perception of the DSM criteria vs how someone may actually experience them (Keep in mind that this is the way I personally experience these symptoms, and that presentation can vary a lot between individuals)

"Idk, the stigma is right though, because I've known a lot of people with NPD who are jerks, so I'm going to continue to support the blockage of treatment for this condition."

(All of these were written by me, because I didn't want to link to other folks' posts without permission, but if you want to add your own links in reblogs or replies please feel free <3)

[kota-corner]

THIS EXPLAINS SO MUCH??? (Speaking about the Autism and PMDD statistic specifically)

[valtsv]

therapy went well today but i wanted to dig a hole in the ground and throw myself in it when my therapist asked me why i wanted to knit the james fitzjames sweater from the terror (because i told her i'd taken up a new hobby). "he must mean a lot to you if you want to hand craft his clothes, that's so sweet" well yes but please let me pretend to be emotionally detached and dignified about it. just for a moment.

[metrodisco]

"which inside out emotion do you have inside your head?" idk but i have these guys

[soul-nymph]

god i wish that were me

[apollos-boyfriend]

i probably have some sort of dissociative disorder but i have a job so idrc about that rn

[yourheartinyourmouth]

googling “jobs for gay idiot adhd losers who can’t do math and have no skills and have never been able to mentally and emotionally handle the responsibility of being employed” weirdly didn’t bring back any results???????????

[slurpyboii]

A little bit of this chapter was actually p good but the rest was literally nothing. Like. What are we doing. What do you mean one more chapter left.

Spoilers in tags

[caligvlasaqvarivm]

wanna ask how you feel about the eridan bpd headcanon/theory(?? not sure what to call it!) you're so good at your character analysis and i'd love to see your outlook on it

Since I don't have a degree or any formal training in psychology, I feel deeply uncomfortable diagnosing characters. I've made an autism joke before but only because I'm on the spectrum. He's definitely traumatized and anxious, but I mean those as descriptors of his behavior rather than capital-D Diagnoses. I try to focus on those when I can - the cause and effect of cognition, self-image, and behavior - and those factors may very well match up with DSM criteria, but I try not to touch an actual diagnosis with a ten foot pole unless the author has explicitly stated that X character has Y condition.

[goldkirk]

it’s so scary and so freeing to just be a person.

[butchshevik]

I feel like all the weird responses to the variety of polls coming out that in some way shape or form ask "is it ok to engage in sexual activity in a place that is not your/your partners bedroom" really show how cooked we are on like. a basic social level

[martyrbat]

superman: lois lane

[ID: Clark Kent in his Superman costume laying on a bed with Lois Lane. They're both on their sides and are facing each other, Lois keeping her head propped up with her hand as Clark rests his head on his folded arms. His booted feet are right on her fucking pillows. He asks her, “So... What brings you here?” Lois, who apparently doesn't mind the pillow audacity, replies, “... To the middle of frozen nowhere? A story. Your turn — my message told you this would just be a quick trip... What's so important that you had to fly all the way up here?” Clark looks slightly surprised at being called out before smirking mischievously.

He drags out, “well...” before suddenly leaning over her! He grabs her hand as his other arm wraps around her upper back. He smiles charmingly and tells her, “You are. Since recent... Events have reminded me how precious and fleeting a thing life is — I realize that every moment I can steal away and see you — even just for a second, is a chance I shouldn't let myself miss.” Lois calls through his corniness and reassures him, “You're checking up on me. Relax, Romeo, this isn't a dangerous story, you don't have to fret.” She is, of course, lying. END ID]

[hearts401]

I love how i have pointless headcanons about gregorys transness because his whole ggy era got twisted around to me thinking about how hes trans and how that might connect with his time glitchtrapped especially since he was referred to with fem terms (in other languages but shhhhh let me have this) and how his recovery period of taking back his life could include reclaiming his gender and hitting that "tboy enough to fuck with gender without being scared of being misgendered" type thing and thats why i find any headcanons of him wearing skirts/makeup/nailpolish or other traditionally feminine things so so so special

[werebutch]

My dad won’t leave me the hell alone . I know that he’s prone to paranoid delusions but it was a lot easier to deal with when it was something like being convinced he’s a demon sent from hell. How am I supposed to convince a man his bitch ex wife and his bitch daughters aren’t plotting to ‘split his family up’ as he puts it. He is so convinced there’s no arguing. And if I refuse to argue he will yell more and tell me how I have no argument because I know he’s right. I know I shouldn’t react to that but it makes my blood boil 😐