Alcoholism & NPD & other personality disorders.
 

Well....I am finally begining to understand some of my father's behaviors....not only is he an Alcoholic but he also has all 9 behavior patterns that are used to diagnosed clinical Narsistic Personality Disorder.

1. has a grandiose sense of self-importance (everything he does is ALWAYS right. Everything we do is always wrong. He believes he is perfect & without fault & is allowed to "punish" us any wya he see's fit for being faulty because he is some supreme being)

2. is preoccupied with fantasies of unlimited success, power, brilliance, beauty, or ideal love (see above)

3. believes that he or she is "special" and unique and can only be understood by other special people( that is IF he can find someone who is "special" enough to be graced by his presence)

4.requires excessive admiration (yes)

5.strong sense of entitlement (yes)

6.takes advantage of others to achieve his or her own ends (100 percent..never fails)

7. lacks empathy (sadly yes. He does not understand or take into accont anyone else's feelings. God forbid you try to have a talk with him or open up emotionally. You tell him he has hurt you & he will go on to rip out your heart, stop on it, call you a worthless peice of crap, and tell you to stop whining)

8.is often envious or believes others are envious of him or her (he hates that my mother has friends...even female friends...he often calls her a lesbian. He also hates that she spends time with her family....while he has totally isiolated and pushed away his family....his sister was diagnosed with heart failure and given 6 months-1 year to live last winter. He hasn't called her once...not even for holidays or her birthday - but around his friends and in public he is the "perfect father/husband" & a diffrent fake personality)

9. arrogant affect.

Howdy Mlynn,

My biological parents had some of those symptoms you describe. Sometimes I wonder if maybe all alkies/addicts have some form of NPD. I think the most important thing I learned from "diagnosing" my parents is that _I_ was not crazy. Knowing that my parents had a well known disorder validated my feelings that _I_ am healthy and that all I suffer from is the "emotional baggage" that _they_ dumped on me. That means I can get well, that I can recover from all the low self-esteem and build for myself a life that is healthy and happy.

thanx for sharing those symptoms

Mike :)