Catch Narcissism: A New Theory Originated By Neville Symington Rendered As Print

is a text that I continually return to, It is difficult to distill all of the ideas, as I seem to find something new every time I read it, In general, I think its an essential book for anyone in the therapeutic or social work realm, The ideas that Symington presents regarding narcissism speak to individuals with psychosis, personality disorders, and even the more neurotic type, He posits that narcissism is the core of all mental disturbance, and he is certainly persuasive in this argument,

Central to this theory is the idea of a lifegiver, a kind of mental choice that embraces creativity and life, Narcissism, in its essence, requires that an individual has no awareness of their feelings, behaviors, symptoms, etc, He uses the story of Anna Karenina as a narrative woven throughout the theory in order to better illustrate his ideas, He also uses illuminating case studies,

One of the ideas that stay with me include destroying separateness as a way to avoid selfknowledge, This has helped me to gain empathy with severely disordered clients, whom I can now see as provoking my own rage or dissociation not by attacking, but by attempting to destroy that which brings awareness of difference and otherness.


This book has also had an impact on my own personal development, As I continue to read it, I find myself stripping away layers and getting closer to the core of my own narcissistic wounds.
It has helped me to understand relational dynamics, as well as patterns of depression and anxiety, I would highly recommend this as an essential psychoanalytic text, Very original and insightful thoughts,
I think it's something I'll return to periodically, This a book everybody should read, and definitely one of those which substantially enriched me, Throughout the characters of classics, and of Tolstoy's Anna Karenina in particular, Symington explains the root causes of modern narcissism and provides a new perspective on possible therapeutic approaches.
But more than a handbook for professionals, it is a priceless reading for all those who want to understand the narcissistic currents within the own self and within society.
Not an easy reading sometimes better approaching it with some command of psychoanalytic theories but absolutely insightful and fascinating, Small, but mightythis book packs a punch, I found it to be an eyeopening invitation to begin examining the narcissistic wounds in us all, including my own,

Symington claims that narcissism is developed as a reaction to pain and is the source of all psychopathology and mental disturbance.
His theory is well supported throughout the book by a thoughtful and thorough amount of data and research, I will be reflecting on this definition, and how it differs from what we read in the DSM about NPD, for a very long while.
masih harus membaca satu kali lagi, tapi dibanding bukulain dengan topik yg sama, saya lebih memahami karya Symington ini, tadinya mau kasih bintang, tapi mengingat dia mempelajari setiap teori tentang narsisme sebelum akhirnya menghasilkan pemikirannya sendiri mengenai topik yg sudah jauh terkenal sebelum dibicarakan Freud.
I found the insights quite compelling, We are relational beings, as Symington notes, and we all have narcissistic traits, In the developmental years, narcissism emerges when a child turns away from the caregiver lifegiver and essentially away from relationship, and soothes the self, or turns to self to meet one's needs.
This posture though is turning away from life and relationship, This becomes a pattern that continues to operate throughout life, Shame is also core to narcissism, There is a lot to distill from this book, and it's not possible to cover all, but the concepts are presented well, and in a way that challenges the reader to reevaluate your understanding of narcissism.
Well worth the time to read, and if you are a therapist, I highly recommend this book for your library, You will refer to it often,

This was the first book I read on narcissism before beginning my PhD on the subject, it was nice to return to it now that I am nearly at the end of that journey.
A perhaps inauspicious start! Analogous to reading Harry Potter as a precursory attempt to prepare for university life, But as a result, Symington took up residence rent free in my head for years to come, His ideas are truly unique, and his concept of accepting or rejecting the 'lifegiver' as constituting the narcissistic dilemma is a remarkable one.


His passing inwas a great loss, and I consider myself lucky to have attended one or two of his lectures during my studies.
In particular, his essay on mental pain and moral courage has often been a balm to me in both my personal life and clinical work.
A beautiful book in both form and content, The theme is narcissism and the book proceeds playfully, never stating too rigidly what is or is not the case, The feel of the book is like a stroll rather than a definitive route, a nice place to be theoretically, The content itself is rich and will no doubt leave you thinking more about the topic, Some main take away points are the abandonment of the idea of "healthy" narcissism, narcissism as a defensive choice, and the lifegiver: roughly a term Symington uses to denote the choice to choose for oneself and to accept ones condition and painful emotions.
Pioneer, while hundreds of experts are echoing 'there is no cure,' he and his predecessor Francis Tustin demonstrate what the cure is and why we are all walking around with it.
The extreme of Narcissism is Autism: "they are a clinical unity, " I really enjoyed this book, It is written in a simple and direct style and presents a compelling and interesting theory, I was convinced by Symington's argument that it is not enough to see narcissism simply as trauma but the element of choice needs to be included.
I am not sure how much choice there necessarily is at the point of trauma but there is certainly choice afterwards, Symington presents the choice in terms of whether we opt for the lifegiver or not and personally I did not find the phrase "the lifegiver" that helpful although others might.
I was convinced that the narcissitic shuts him or herself off from the world and the Other and in so doing does violence to himself/herself and loses touch with the fundamental lifeoriented essence of his or her self.
I think these two aspects a creative connection with the Other and a connection with the creative inner self are what Symington means by choosing the lifegiver and conversely rejecting the lifegiver but as I say that particular phrase did not help me.
I found the Narcissism's use of examples from Anna Karenina very helpful as were the clinical vignettes Symington included, So I would definitely recommend to anyone interested in psychoanalysis or more broadly interested in trying to understand narcissism, Ładne jest poruszanie się autora pomiędzy filozofią, literaturą, anegdotą, psychoanalitycznymi teoriami oraz własną praktyką kliniczną, Wszystko to przefiltrowane przez własne syntetyzujące spojrzenie i nową jakość, Obraz tworzenia się nowej teorii u początków,
Koncepcja nieświadomego odrzucania "dawcy życia" i polegania na źródle opozycyjnym wobec autonomicznego, może być pomocna w pracy klinicznej, jak i wewnętrznej.
One of those books which you really have to analyze and reread, There's so much information packed in here, Symington's theory seems well thought out and, most importantly, helpful in order to tackle this great problem, Interesting theory on Narcissism. Thoughtprovoking. Great book It's always a pleasant surprise when something I am required to read for school actually turns out to be interesting, In this book, Neville Symington approaches the welltrodden subject of narcissism, offers us fresh insights from his long clinical experience with patients suffering from this disorder, and sketches some highlights in the history of the concept of narcissism.
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