Journal of Alcoholism & Drug Dependence
Open Access
ISSN: 2329-6488
ISSN: 2329-6488
Sam Vaknin
Southern Federal University, Russia
Scientific Tracks Abstracts: jaldd
Classical addiction - to drugs, alcohol, gambling, or to other compulsive behaviors - provides the addict with an exoskeleton: boundaries, rituals, timetables, and order in an otherwise chaotically disintegrating universe. But there are addictions which serve as endoskeleton: they regulate the addict’s inner environment. The narcissist, for example, is addicted narcissistic supply to regulate his inner universe. Narcissists care little about the world out there, except as an ensemble of potential and actual sources of narcissistic supply. The narcissist's drug of choice - attention - is geared to sustain his grandiose fantasies and senses of omnipotence and omniscience.
Sam Vaknin is a Visiting Professor of Psychology, Southern Federal University, Rostov-on-Don, Russia and Professor of Finance and Psychology in CIAPS (Centre for International Advanced and Professional Studies). He is the author of "Malignant Self-love: Narcissism Revisited" and other books about personality disorders. My work is cited in hundreds of books and dozens of academic papers: I have spent the past 6 years developing a treatment modality for Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD). Over the years with volunteers it was found to be effective with clients suffering from a major depressive episode as well