Category Archives: Intimacy

Finding a Partner with a Healthy Self-Image

Character Matters, Entitlement, impression management, Intimacy, Lying and Deception, Manipulation, Manipulators, Mental Health, Narcissism, Personality and Character, Personality and Character Disorders, Psychological Manipulation, Psychology, Relationships, Self-Esteem, Social Issues, Spirituality, , , , , , ,

Developing a healthy self-image is a formidable task made even more challenging in a culture that encourages and rewards narcissism.

Discerning Character Requires Certain Skills

Abuse, Character Matters, conscience, Empowerment, gaslighting, impression management, Integrity, Intimacy, Love, Lying and Deception, Manipulation, Manipulators, Narcissism, Personality and Character, Psychological Manipulation, Relationships, Self-Esteem, Social Issues, Spirituality, , , , , , ,

Discerning decency of character in our times is a challenge. With all manner of character dysfuntion “normalized,” we’ve largely become desensitized, even to the most egregious forms.

The 10 Qualities of Wholesome Character

Intimacy, Love, Mental Health, Narcissism, Personality and Character, Personality and Character Disorders, Psychology, Relationships, Responsibility, Social Issues, Spirituality, , , , ,

Wholesome character is in particularly short supply these days. The problem is not just narcissism. And it’s not just antisociality. Character disturbances encompass a wide spectrum of problematic traits and behaviors that vary in types and degrees of severity. It’s bad enough that we have such a shortage of wholesome character. And it’s bad enough that behavior once regarded as unusual, unbecoming, or even outrageous, has become normalized. But what’s even more appalling is that we seem to have forgotten what good character is all about and what it takes to cultivate and promote it. 

Mind Control and Heart Control

Addiction and Recovery, Aggression, Entitlement, Faith, impression management, Intimacy, Lying and Deception, Media, Narcissism, Neurotics, Psychopathy and Sociopathy, , , , , , , , ,

Mind control is about holding sway over what a person thinks. But mind control can morph into heart control. Manipulators know this.

Misconceptions about Narcissism Revisited

Abuse, Aggression, Character Matters, Entitlement, Integrity, Intimacy, Mental Health, Narcissism, Personality and Character, Personality and Character Disorders, Psychology, Relationships, Social Issues, Spirituality, , , , , ,

Misconceptions about narcissism abound. There is a core to narcissism. But various traits in a narcissist’s character pose unique problems.

Aggressive Narcissist Characters

Abuse, Aggression, Covert-Aggression, Entitlement, Integrity, Intimacy, Narcissism, Personality and Character, Personality and Character Disorders, Psychology, Relationships, , , , ,

It’s one thing to be so self-centered, entitled, and lacking in empathy that you wontonly use and abuse others. But it’s quite another thing to be so intent on dominating or controlling that you do anything to have the upper hand. That’s the big difference between most narcissists and the aggressive narcissist.

Love Languages Can Confuse and Mislead

empathy, Integrity, Intimacy, Love, Manipulation, Mental Health, Narcissism, Psychological Manipulation, Psychology, Relationships, Self-Esteem, Social Issues, , , , ,

The so-called “love languages” are the ways people express and/or like to receive affection. But genuine love is much more than affection. And equating love’s many close cousins with the real deal is often quite emotionally costly.