Emapth / Narcisist (sociopaths, narcissists, woman, husband)

[abeeraad]

Good afternoon,


I just want to know if empaths/narcissists are born this way by nature or they became empaths/narcissists due to social interactions and due to their history.
Thank you.

[reneeh63]

Here's an interesting article in the nytimes that touches more on the empathy side:

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/28/o...lity-rats.html

[abeeraad]

Originally Posted by reneeh63

Here's an interesting article in the nytimes that touches more on the empathy side:

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/28/o...lity-rats.html

Thank you.

[turkeydance]

my opinion is the old 80/20 rule.
we are "born that way" for 80%.
we learn that way for the other 20%.

[abeeraad]

turkeydance. Thank you.

[BrainGardens]

Well you can be an empath and narcissist as well I think. Sociopaths and psychopaths are different from empaths in that they lack empathy. The parts of the brain for sociopaths and psychopaths that are involved in empathy are not as lit up as other parts and you can see this by scanning the brain. I am not sure what parts of the brain are involved in being a narcissist.

You would have to do research to correlate the parts of the brain involved in it and see if it is not as lit up at birth just like the sociopath and psychopath mechanisms. I don't think there is a standard programming for every brain so every brain probably has different levels of empathy at birth however being hurt by others in life could change these levels as well. I would think genetics as well as the intakes of nutrients by the mother during pregnancy are very vital. Also diet when you are born since I think omega 3's help the brain form more properly and education in terms of ethics.

So you have:

genetics
mother's nutrition during pregnancy
diet while the brain is developing
education
psychology involving the environment (being hurt by others) because of neuroplasticity


I would think these are all major factors.

[abeeraad]

BrainGardens. Thank you.

[Ruth4Truth]

The NY Times online is really lobbying hard to get me to subscribe...

I think some people are born empaths. I think all, or nearly all, narcissists are formed by their early environment.

[Bayarea4]

My dad was a narcissist, and his sister told me that she thought it was because he was dropped on his head as a baby. But I think upbringing also played a part. He was the youngest and the only boy, and in his mother's eyes he could do no wrong.

[Eman Resu VIII]

I honestly think we live in a society that breeds narcissism. The whole emphasis on outdoing your neighbour. Having the most, being the most "successful", making the most money, having the best possessions. I believe it is mostly learned behaviour. The corporate world and capitalism breed narcissistic traits in people. Arrogance and pride in one's material wealth is seen as power in the west. Social media in the last 15 years has only made the problem worse, especially among the younger generation. People who have not yet achieved a thing in their life parade themselves on social media for attention and "likes", a distraction from the development of their real character. I found the narcissism evident among young girls and boys at college bad enough when I was in education back in 2003-2006. I can only imagine it is far, far worse now since the smartphone and facebook.

True (pathologically) sociopathic individuals are pretty rare. It is very common now for people to armchair-diagnose someone with "narcissism", when in reality they would not qualify for the pathological condition. It's often easier to label an ex-partner in this way to avoid our own responsibility for our own failings and irresponsibility in the relationship.

In almost all cases I have seen a woman for example, armchair-diagnose an ex-husband as a narcissist, in an online article, I noticed that the way the article is written, and examples of her own actions and behaviour made her out to be every bit as bad as he apparently was. And, you see, we are only hearing one side of the story. So unless somebody has an official diagnosis of a condition, I take any loose talk of actual Narcissistic Personality Disorder with a very big lump of salt.

Anyway, these are just some thoughts on the matter. Feel free to disagree.