Posted by Quintal on December 27, 2006, at 20:10:56
In reply to Why not say NPD?, posted by jimmygold70 on December 27, 2006, at 17:15:48
According to my last pdoc there is often a biological basis to the personality disorders. Asperger's Syndrome could be described as you say as NPD, jimmygold70 syndrome, or whatever you choose to call it. I bet you also fit the bill for several other personality disorders? That's the reason my pdoc doesn't use those diagnoses. It can be equally easy to think you have any other personality disorder and be mistaken.
Narcissists don't often have trouble putting themselves first and displaying their persona - that's the hallmark of narcissism. If most of your problems are of that nature then the diagnosis of NPD seems dubious. There seems to be a tendency among some people (including psychologists) to say that shyness is narcissism - that shy people hold themselves aloof out of a belief that they are superior to other people, when in fact the opposite is usually true - they feel inferior and fear bullying and judgement, 'negative evaluation'.
>What is frequently described as Asperger's is more frequently some manifestation of a personality disorder - be it schizoid, schizotypal, paranoid, etc...
How do you know the opposite isn't true - what is commonly described as a personality disorder is not Asperger's Syndrome? It's often arbitrary.
>I have NPD and NPD is beyond 'malignant self love' (wrong) - lots of anxiety, confusion, hard to verbalize in social settings, mood changes, hard to display one's persona (e.g. smile) - all that shi*t.
For *myself* the anxiety, confusion, poor verbalisation, blank facial expression etc. are primary symptoms that have troubled me all my life and were a frequent cause for concern among my teachers, parents and relatives. They are not self-diagnosed.
>You will not find those symptoms in the DSM because none of them in particular characterizes NPD: these are peripheral symptoms, but on the other hand, you will see them in many NPDs, especially those with unstable mood (bipolar II and the like).
Someone with those tendencies is more likely to fit the diagnosis of Borderline Personality Disorder - one which fits me quite well with the instability and tendency to rage but not for the poor verbalization and obsessive interest in specific subjects and overall social avoidance.
This is such a grey area where there's much confusion and everything overlaps. For instance where does Asperger's Syndrome end and garden variety geekiness take over? Where do ADHD and dyslexia end and plain stupidity and dim wittedness take over? That seems to be arbitrary - dependent largely on the personal opinion of the diagnoser.
There are a few biological and neurological problems that set autistic spectrum disorders apart. Epilepsy is more common in autistic populations as are immune system deficiencies and metabolic disorders as well as learning disabilities. My guess is that someone who strongly identifies with Asperger's Syndrome and also has some of those problems is a strong contender. Perhaps one of the hallmarks of Asperger's is the tendency to obsess over a specific (and often obscure) subject and become a 'walking encyclopedia'. That's not common with other psychiatric disorders.
Yes, I do have many of those problems. I had childhood epilepsy, I have an abnormally weak immune system and I'm frequently admonished for reciting facts and figures from my current subject of interest. According to my grandmother I was even taken to the doctor by my worried parents and was suspected of being autistic for a while, but that was dismissed as I was quick to read and write and did not fit the profile of classical autism. Asperger's Syndrome was not a diagnosis not used by GPs in the UK at that time and I often wonder what would have been the outcome if it had.
You're right - I should have put a disclaimer in my previous post, but I was eager to show that a talent for the piano was not a disqualifier for Asperger's Syndrome. Being very talented in athletics might be though ;-)
Q
poster:Quintal
thread:716494
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20061224/msgs/716792.html