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| If President Trump talked to #therapydoc |
Hi out there! It has been a super busy "holiday" season, meaning people touch base in therapy as holidays approach, so I'm scrambling to stick to regular hours (working too much at a stressful job can be bad for your health). So I haven't posted in awhile, But this one, hopefully, will make up for that. It is a conversation between me and our President, therapydoc and Donald Trump, about NPD, narcissistic personality disorder.
On Twitter sometimes people have these long, connected, stream of consciousness posts, not exactly lectures, but opinions. If there's one thing you probably guessed about therapydoc, (s)he loves to express her/his practice wisdom, which is an educated opinion. Loving attention, thrilling to the sound of my own voice, you would think that it would be a perfect venue for me.
But honestly, this one features the President of the United States, or #POTUS, and I don't want to suffer retaliation of any kind, were he to be insulted, having read something tagged #POTUS. I wouldn't want him to interpret it as anything other than a caring, truly worried conversation, if a conversation can be worried. We all have our neuroses, and one of mine is being found out, discovered, trolled, annihilated. There's a fear of annihilation, and I have it.
So I pulled back from Twitter, knowing that hashtags draw attention, and that the President loves Twitter, in favor of running this conversation by my friends, those of you who still read Everyone Needs Therapy.
So here goes! You can read it from top to bottom, which you can't do on Twitter! Yay Blogger!
December 5, 2017
Dear #POTUS: I know that many journalists don’t like you and don’t agree with your politics. They are saying that you have #narcissisticpersonalitydisorder, or #NPD. That has to hurt. I cringe when they make fun of you, but sincerely want to discuss it, because it doesn’t have to be that way. You can prove them wrong about the #NPD.
Dear #therapydoc: You have a lot of nerve even thinking that there is something to discuss. I do not have #NPD, have never had #NPD. That is #FakeNews. Nothing to discuss.
Dear #POTUS: Are you sure there’s nothing to discuss? Everyone is a little narcissistic but they can't all tweet and get the attention they deserve. We get it from family. It isn't easy growing up. We're just responding to how people treated us (although that could be unconscious, it is in the worst cases). We don’t even know, half the time, why we say what we say, do what we do. We’re on auto.
Dear #therapydoc: I know you are, but what am I! I’m not trying to be funny. You might be on auto but I think about everything I say and it is all correct.
Dear #POTUS: No disrespect, because you are the COMMANDER IN CHIEF! How awesome is that? But it is kind of conceited to say that everything you say is correct. Everyone is wrong once in awhile.
Dear #therapydoc: I might be wrong sometimes and when I am I tell everyone, and everyone is listening because, in case you forgot, I AM the President of the United States.
Dear #POTUS: That’s great to know, that you apologize, because we all have to apologize sometimes. Like the name calling thing. IS it okay? Let’s talk more, seriously.
Dear #therapydoc: #RocketMan does not deserve respect. He is aiming his rockets at us. But we have bigger and better rockets. He should know that. We're bigger than he is.
Dear POTUS: Of course we do, of course we do. This is America, the greatest country on earth, and you are the PRESIDENT! That must be an amazing feeling. I mean, if anyone ever teased you as a kid, or even as an adult, it’s like, Who’s crying now right?
Dear #therapydoc, Do you even know who you are talking to?
Dear #POTUS: I am sorry. You occupy what is the most respected, revered, awe-inspiring, yet terrifying position in the world as #POTUS. I’ll take a step back. Let’s go back to this idea that they, the #fakenews people are calling you names, the idea that you have #NPD, or #narcissism.
#THERAPYDOC!!!! Really? Only liberals and CNN would say that about me. You better watch your step.
Dear #POTUS: Did I ever call you that, even once?
#therapydoc: Now that I think about it, no, you did not. But I think YOU are a narcissist, probably, seeing them in your sleep.
Dear #POTUS: Actually, you’re right, I do see them in my sleep, I am a mental health professional and we see quite a bit of unhealthy #narcissism. I have some, too, and it eats me up, I feel terrible when I think I’m better than anyone, even for a minute. Did you know, however, that in the research there’s evidence that we all do that? We all think we’re a little superior and it helps us be better, more creative people. Even leaders! Crazy, right?
Dear #therapydoc: If you don’t love yourself, who will love you? I don’t listen to anyone because I know, in my heart, I’m right.
Dear #POTUS: Exactly. When you’re right, you’re right.
Dear #therapydoc: And I AM, mostly right if not always.
Dear #POTUS: Can we talk more about the difference between healthy and unhealthy narcissism?
Dear #therapydoc: Mine is healthy, just so you should know. I think you know that.
Dear #POTUS: Well of course you are right, because if you weren’t healthy, how could you have been elected President of the Free World! Or is that not a thing. President of the United States, I mean. The people trust your instincts. Or at least they did on election day. Is it possible you have lost their trust? I hope not.
Dear #therapydoc: Now you are sounding like the liberal media. Don’t be ridiculous. The people love me. Have you seen how #SarahHuckabeeSanders repeats every word that comes out of my mouth? She always respects me and she is a beautiful woman, a beautiful person, beautiful. SHE gets me. She will keep her job.
Dear #POTUS: Does she ever try to give you advice? See, that would be proof that you aren’t narcissistic. If you can listen to other people and validate their advice, then you’re good.
Dear #therapydoc: HA, HA, HA! They listen to me. BELIEVE ME, they listen to me.
Dear #POTUS: But you don't tune people out when they talk to you, right? You would never do that, just space out, drum you fingers, and go, La, la, la, la, la.
#therapydoc: You’re an idiot. I would never do that.
Dear#POTUS: That’s what I thought. So you could technically respond to the naysayers that you have healthy narcissism, the kind that gets people ahead in the world, inspires them to be creative, inspires them to be leaders.
Dear #therapydoc: I don’t like that word, narcissism.
Dear #POTUS: Then what should we call it?
Dear #therapydoc: Let’s call it BLESSED. I’m gifted, and blessed.
Dear #POTUS: A good start, Mr. President, a good start.
therapydoc
1 comment:
On the one hand, I can understand that it is difficult at best to penetrate the narcissistic barricading. And on the other hand, I'm not sure how it serves others who have to be in relation to such a person. I suppose it is not the role of a therapist to be serving the needs of others and instead to be focused on the client. In the case of a person serving as president, and assuming that unhealthy narcissism is at work, that president wields considerable power to affect the lives of others. I feel pretty stressed by the barrage of stuff that comes from POTUS, the mocking, the lies, the undermining of governmental structures. I do my best to minimize my exposure by limiting the amount of time I read about him and the things he is doing. I also need to stay at least somewhat informed. I'm already worn out by being exposed to unhealthy narcissism as it is evidenced by POTUS. If I were in a personal relationship with a person I would be figuring out how to get out of the relationship. As it is, I don't really have that choice, I think. I suppose I could go to another country but that's not really a good option, I think. So if the best I can hope for is that POTUS thinks he's BLESSED and always right... it doesn't give me much hope for the future. I find it disturbing that I might be advised to try and stay in this relationship, try to keep loving a destructive person, metaphorically speaking. If this were a personal relationship, and POTUS were your client, you'd need to be focused on him. But there would still be a me suffering at the hands of this person. I seem to lack the capacity to want to try and stick by this person.
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