Posted by jimmygold70 on December 29, 2006, at 9:30:48
In reply to Re: Why not say NPD? » jimmygold70, posted by Quintal on December 27, 2006, at 20:10:56
> According to my last pdoc there is often a biological basis to the personality disorders. Asperger's Syndrome could be described as you say as NPD, jimmygold70 syndrome, or whatever you choose to call it. I bet you also fit the bill for several other personality disorders? That's the reason my pdoc doesn't use those diagnoses. It can be equally easy to think you have any other personality disorder and be mistaken.
That's true, I don't hold an Aristotelian view anymore - I favor treatment of symptom particulars over classifications (-:
> Narcissists don't often have trouble putting themselves first and displaying their persona - that's the hallmark of narcissism. If most of your problems are of that nature then the diagnosis of NPD seems dubious. There seems to be a tendency among some people (including psychologists) to say that shyness is narcissism - that shy people hold themselves aloof out of a belief that they are superior to other people, when in fact the opposite is usually true - they feel inferior and fear bullying and judgement, 'negative evaluation'.
NPD was just an example, you can see shyness in social phobia but then if it is something more pervasive and longstanding you might like to look at other features - Avoidant, Schizoid, Schizotypal.
> >What is frequently described as Asperger's is more frequently some manifestation of a personality disorder - be it schizoid, schizotypal, paranoid, etc...
>
> How do you know the opposite isn't true - what is commonly described as a personality disorder is not Asperger's Syndrome? It's often arbitrary.> >I have NPD and NPD is beyond 'malignant self love' (wrong) - lots of anxiety, confusion, hard to verbalize in social settings, mood changes, hard to display one's persona (e.g. smile) - all that shi*t.
>
> For *myself* the anxiety, confusion, poor verbalisation, blank facial expression etc. are primary symptoms that have troubled me all my life and were a frequent cause for concern among my teachers, parents and relatives. They are not self-diagnosed.I have a similar life story, so I can realte very easily. And I even used to have a diffculty smiling.
> >You will not find those symptoms in the DSM because none of them in particular characterizes NPD: these are peripheral symptoms, but on the other hand, you will see them in many NPDs, especially those with unstable mood (bipolar II and the like).
>
> Someone with those tendencies is more likely to fit the diagnosis of Borderline Personality Disorder - one which fits me quite well with the instability and tendency to rage but not for the poor verbalization and obsessive interest in specific subjects and overall social avoidance.Ye, it's just that BPD is a bad diagnostic group. If you see Theodore Millons' treatment of BPD, and he is THE personologist, he gets to so many different subtypes which make you wonder: Dr. Millon, please - take this diagnosis off (-:
> This is such a grey area where there's much confusion and everything overlaps. For instance where does Asperger's Syndrome end and garden variety geekiness take over? Where do ADHD and dyslexia end and plain stupidity and dim wittedness take over? That seems to be arbitrary - dependent largely on the personal opinion of the diagnoser.That's right. That's where statistical thechniques get in, and a good system such as Millon's or just the refined five factor model (the 30 subfactors) makes much more sense than "Asperger's".
> There are a few biological and neurological problems that set autistic spectrum disorders apart. Epilepsy is more common in autistic populations as are immune system deficiencies and metabolic disorders as well as learning disabilities. My guess is that someone who strongly identifies with Asperger's Syndrome and also has some of those problems is a strong contender. Perhaps one of the hallmarks of Asperger's is the tendency to obsess over a specific (and often obscure) subject and become a 'walking encyclopedia'. That's not common with other psychiatric disorders.
I have this obsession. My father has it too. Would that fit in the PDD group? I don't think so. Sure, people with Asperger's do have it. It's like saying that because people with some kinds of cancer have headaches and people with migraines have headaches, so they must be of the same spectrum.
> Yes, I do have many of those problems. I had childhood epilepsy, I have an abnormally weak immune system and I'm frequently admonished for reciting facts and figures from my current subject of interest. According to my grandmother I was even taken to the doctor by my worried parents and was suspected of being autistic for a while, but that was dismissed as I was quick to read and write and did not fit the profile of classical autism. Asperger's Syndrome was not a diagnosis not used by GPs in the UK at that time and I often wonder what would have been the outcome if it had.Again pal, you're commiting the naturalistic fallacy. Go and take a look at a real group of Aspergers and you'll get my very point. But this really doesn't matter. I have 95% of the symptoms you describe except chilhood ADHD instead of childhood epilepsy. I know I have a narcissistic style, I know I have unstable affact and some idiosyncracies. And I used to be schizoid as a kid.
By the way, what is a 'weak immune system'?
J
poster:jimmygold70
thread:716494
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20061224/msgs/717221.html