Resources & Support

narcissus

Here are some websites, books and blogs focusing primarily on Narcissistic personality disorder (NPD), narcissistic abuse, and Borderline personality disorder (BPD), though some touch on other personality disorders as well. This is only a small sampling of what’s available. The Internet is loaded with websites about NPD and narcissistic abuse; a quick Google search will bring up many that I have neglected to list here. BPD is not so widely covered, but is becoming more so.

Blogs, Websites and Forums

Dealing with Manipulative People — Dr. George K. Simon’s excellent blog about Cluster B personality disorders (Narcissistic, Borderline, Antisocial, and Histrionic Personality Disorders) with a focus on NPD. Dr. Simon is also the author of several books, which are listed below.

Out of the Fog — excellent support forum for people dealing with those with personality disorders and other mental health problems (or who have a disorder themselves). Every personality disorder recognized by the DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) is covered. I never posted here myself, but I’ve lurked there a lot and found the site very interesting and helpful.

Narcissists Suck — Anna Valerious is a survivor of psychopathic parents, and her blog is excellent. It can also be irreverent and hilarious. Her take no prisoners style may take some getting used to, but she has a lot of heart and a LOT to say about narcissists. Valerious is a Christian, and she sometimes quotes from the Bible, but for the most part, you don’t have to be a Christian or any sort of believer to appreciate her blog. She hasn’t posted in it for awhile, but the articles are still relevant, entertaining, and useful.

An Upturned Soul — longer articles than average, but well written, intelligent, and always fascinating to read. There was no way I could leave this one off this list, since I have reblogged several of her articles already.

PsychopathyAwareness Blog — good blog about psychopathy right here at WordPress. The blogger really knows their stuff.

What Makes Narcissists Tick?— This blog was created by Kathy Krajco, an author about narcissistic abuse who was well respected in the community of narcissistic abuse victims, until her untimely death several years ago. Due to that, the blog hasn’t been updated in a long time, and many of the links don’t work, but it still contains both practical and fascinating information about narcissists and why they are the way they are and why they do what they do.

NarcissisticMother.com is a website focusing on self help for the adult children of narcissistic parents (ACONs), particularly mothers, since in our culture, mothers still have the strongest influence on their children.

SociopathWorld is an intriguing website from the point of view of sociopaths (not exactly the same as psychopaths but very similar). It’s interesting to “get inside their heads” to help understand why they act the way they do. It’s creepy and fascinating how dissociated from emotions, themselves and others they often feel and some explain it surprisingly well.
Similar to SociopathWorld is Psychopathic Writings, a blog written by a psychopath whose articles are interesting and well informed. If you like sites like these, please also check out Kiasherosjourney.

Country of Liars: a website by and for the victims of sociopaths and psychopaths. The blog’s owner, like so many other similar blog owners was the scapegoat of a family of such people. Well written blog.

Lady With A Truck’s Blog: Like so many survivors of narcissistic abuse, LWAT struggles with poverty. Our abusers ruin us on every level, even our ability to earn a living. This is a wonderful blog by a lady with an attitude and a heart. Her writing draws you in like a novel, she’s inspirational, and she’s often quite funny too.

Constant Supply: The Narcissist’s Wife. A blog by a woman married to a malignant narcissist.

Faces of Narcissism: a fairly new blog written by Joanna Moore, a narcissistic abuse survivor. She was married to an abusive, sociopathic man who she is No Contact with today. A good mix of practical, no nonsense advice and personal stories.

Grace for My Heart: Although this blog written by a Christian pastor isn’t specifically about narcissism, it’s a popular topic on his blog (he writes about narcissism every Friday in his “Narcissist Friday” posts) because of all mental disorders, NPD (along with Antisocial Personality Disorder) is the most likely to have a spiritual component. Interesting and uplifting blog for Christians and those interested in God’s grace and spirituality. One of my favorite blogs.

Worldly Annoyances — ACON blog with a biblical Christian perspective. Sue can also be extremely funny at times. Β I don’t always agree with her literal Biblical views, but there are wonderful nuggets of truth and wisdom.Her posts are short and sometimes make me smile.

Dreams Of a Better World blog: A new blog by a survivor of narcissistic abuse, with a Christian perspective.

Galesmind:Β  Blogger who writes about narcissism and a lot of other topics too. Β Often funny and entertaining. Β Gale also writes a lot about Internet abuse (bullies, trolls and other sociopaths roaming the web).

Narcwriters: a listing of personal blogs about narcissism and blogs by psychologists with a focus on NPD. A good resource that lists many blogs that I have overlooked here.

The Narcissistic Continuum: This blog is great. It differs a bit in format from most other narcissism blogs because of the way its articles are ordered according to severity across the narcissistic spectrum, from “healthy narcissism” (narcissism is good in very small doses–just like heavy metals in the blood are necessary but become poison if excessive) all the way to psychopathy/sociopathy. CZBZ’s blog is also very easy on the eyes, in my opinion.

TNC’s owner also has a forum, Web of Narcissism (WoN), which is inactive but there’s still a lot of great information there.

Lenora Thompson — Psychcentral/narcissism: Lenora Thompson is a survivor of narcissistic abuse who writes a blog about narcissismΒ on Psychcentral. Β Check her out!

No! It is Not Your Fault! Β  A blog about narcissism and narcissistic abuse from an unlikely writer who himself has an NPD diagnosis but is unusual because of his self-awareness and desire to heal from his disorder (he is in treatment). Β  Ruud’s blog is definitely worth a follow. Β Reading his story brought me to tears and I don’t cry easily. Β He also gives good, practical advice to narcissistic abuse survivors.

Psychforums: Online support for anyone with a mental disorder and those trying to understand and help loved ones who have them. Active section on NPD and other personality disorders, and includes posts from people suffering from NPD as well as their victims. Β I posted here for awhile, and the narcs and “nons” (as they are called) seem to co-exist here quite nicely.

Discussing Dissociation: Thoughts from a Trauma Therapist — Although this site focuses on those suffering from DID (dissociative identity disorder), there is much information and help here for anyone suffering from other mental disorders caused by abuse and trauma, such as C-PTSD. The symptoms of C-PTSD can closely mimic those of Borderline Personality Disorder and include dissociative features.

BPD Transformation — Blog written by a former sufferer of BPD who was cured. Ed’s posts are sometimes a bit scholarly but incredibly educational for those who like a bit of meat in their blog posts and dislike things being dumbed down the way they so often are on the web. This blogger probably knows more about the Cluster B disorders and their treatment methods than most mental health experts. But it’s not all graduate-level reading. Some of his articles are quite hilarious too.

Make BPD Stigma Free! — a blog devoted to getting BPD recognized as a form of complex PTSD and taking away the harmful “crazy” and “evil” stigmas a BPD diagnosis carries.

Healing From BPD is a good website for people suffering from BPD with information about DBT and other treatments.

Borderline Bella is a university student from England who has struggled with both having BPD and the stigma it often carries. Β  She is a new blogger here on WordPress and her writing is always honest and heartfelt. Β Her blog is definitely worth a follow!

Ramen Noodle Nation: Humans Need Not Apply: This blog is not specifically for ACONs and survivors of narcissistic abuse, but because so many of us struggle with poverty (either after being taken for everything we own or just because we were trained to be “failures” by our parents and never given the tools to do well in life), I think this website can be helpful and validating to those of us struggling with poverty or even just living on a very tight budget. Definitely on the fiscally liberal side of the political fence, this blog calls out the malignant narcissism inherent in our culture of greed and low empathy for the poor.

There are also many other personal blogs of survivors of psychopathic abuse on WordPress. There’s way too many to list Β here! Β Β If you have a blog that focuses on narcissism or BPD that you don’t see listed here, let me know and I will add it to the list. Also, if you know of any other websites you would like to see listed, let me know and I will add them.

Books
Malignant Self-Love — You can purchase or download the free eBook by Sam Vaknin. Vaknin is a narcissist who wrote this extremely detailed book about NPD. You can read part of it free online (PDF format). It is also available for purchase. There’s been a lot of controversy surrounding Vaknin’s credentials but it can’t be denied he definitely knows a lot about this subject and gives advice on how to deal with people like himself. Vaknin is unusual–a narcissist who has enough insight to know his own motives and warn people accordingly. However, given that insight is a characteristic narcissists generally don’t have, is Vaknin really a narcissist at all? Β Well…yes, he is.

Vaknin is also the subject of the documentary, I, Psychopath. He may or may not actually be a psychopath, but he does act pretty narcissistic in the film most of the time and bullies the filmmaker. Definitely worth watching even if you don’t bother with his book.

People of the Lie: The Hope for Healing Human Evil, by M. Scott Peck, MD: First published in 1983, this is probably the first book that accurately described the malignant narcissist. I wrote a review of this book in this post. While not perfect, this book holds a special place in my heart because it was the book that allowed me to first identify my mother as an “evil” narcissist. Ironically, my narc-enabler father sent it to me (even though he always defended my mother’s behavior).

Dr. George K. Simon (mentioned above) is the author of several self help books about “character disorders,” especially NPD. I have read his In Sheep’s Clothing: Understanding and Dealing with Manipulative People, and Character Disturbance: The Phenomenon of our Age (longer and goes into much more detail about psychopathy and malignant forms of narcissism than In Sheep’s Clothing but both books are excellent.

Without Conscience: The Disturbing World of Psychopaths Among Us, by William Hare, MD. Extremely readable and informative book about psychopathic behavior, from everyday psychopaths who try to make our lives miserable through the worst serial killers and other criminals who show no remorse for their deeds. Hare describes the different types of psychopaths, and the possible origins of their psychopathy, whether it’s genetic or acquired later through their environment and learning. Many quotes from psychopaths are included, and some of these are chilling. Hare sums up by discussing what may be done to help the psychopath (not much!) and for those who must deal with them, advice for handling them better. I definitely recommend this book.

Skills Training Manual for Treating Borderline Personality Disorder by Marsha M. Linehan. This is a workbook of practical exercises to help people suffering from Borderline Personality Disorder better cope with their unstable emotions and learn how to regulate them better. It was a great help to me while I was hospitalized in 1996 for Major Depression and was at that time also diagnosed with BPD. I still have my copy and recently dusted it off and started using it again.

Martha Stout’s “The Sociopath Next Door,”Β  is more about antisocial personality disorder (ASPD) than narcissism, but as ASPD is also marked by an inability to feel empathy or have a conscience (and may be on the same spectrum as NPD), so it fits here.

I also recommend Dr. James F. Masterson’s “The Emerging Self,” a scholarly manual on treating narcissistic disorders of the self, complete with case histories from therapy sessions. Β He has successfully treated people with both the Borderline and Narcissistic personality disorders. If you like something a little less scholarly, his excellent book Search for the Real Self: Unmasking the Personality Disorders of Our Age, about BPD and NPD, also contains case histories from his practice and tools for understanding these disorders and what causes them.

I realize there are many blogs I have not included. If you have a website or blog you would like me to feature in this list, please leave a note in the comments.

13 thoughts on “Resources & Support

  1. Hi! I’m the person who created the Narcissism Writer’s blog because I’m addicted to people’s stories. ha! I love the personal aspect, the things that happen when people partner, marry, are born to, work for, and live with narcissists.

    I have another blog where I write about narcissism (all aspects) since I’ve been talking to people about narcissism since 2002. My blog is called “The Narcissistic Continuum” and our support is called: The Web of Narcissism. (webofnarcissism.com)

    p.s. My nephew has lived with me since he was five (he’s 23 now) and he was diagnosed with Aspergers a few years ago. (an interesting connection!)

    p.p.s. The blog, “What Makes Narcissists Tick” was written by Kathy Krajko who died a few years ago. That’s why her main website no longer functions and many of the links are her blog are broken. Still, she was a prolific and very well respected writer when many of us were first learning about NPD.

    p.p.p.s. Is Vaknin a narcissist? Yes. He was diagnosed many years ago and proven himself worthy of the title. It’s important to remember that his”malignant” narcissism is far more severe and pathological than the majority of narcissists people are writing about today. imo, of course!

    Hugs,
    CZ

    Liked by 3 people

    • Hi, and thanks for the explanation about WMNT. I still think it’s good, despite outdated info, which is why it’s on my blogroll. I am not too familiar with Kathy Krajko (though I have heard the name)–I’m sorry so to hear she died! What happened if I may ask? But thanks or the update and I’ll amend my entry.

      I am 99% sure Vaknin is narcissist, and he may be malignant but I can’t help wondering where all his insight comes from, which is something at odds with being a narcissist. I do think he wishes he could rid of himself of the disorder, though. I don’t have to live with the man, so his insights are still valuable even if he’s a raging, psychopathic narcissist at home.

      Liked by 1 person

      • CZBZ–I will also definitely check out your blog (there are so many of us who blog!). I’m sure your nephew with Aspergers has taught you a lot about understanding it. Most NT’s can’t understand it and tend to become very impatient with us.

        I also amended the entry for “What Makes Narcissists Tick” on my blogroll with the information you gave me. Thanks

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      • Kathy had retired from teaching in her fifties and then suddenly passed away from a heart attack. There was a huge cyber-memorial in her honor, because of the groundbreaking work she did defining narcissism in a way the average person could understand. She was quite brilliant and sorely missed by many! At the time, about the only information on the web was controlled by Sam Vaknin. Not anymore. There are so many websites and books and videos, it’s absolutely amazing! People needed this information I think and that is why it spread so quickly!

        As far as being insightful…Sam reads a lot. He’s highly intelligent and has learned about his disorder(s). I agree his writing breaks through people’s resistance because it’s so hard to believe someone we care about, could be audaciously callous and manipulative! But I wouldn’t call the information Sam offers “insight” particularly. He knows how narcissists tick because he’s read the masters; i.e.: Drs. Kohut and Kernberg.

        You should write a post about this. I’d be very interested in your thoughts and I’d be happy to participate in the discussion, too!

        Liked by 2 people

        • I appreciate your information about Kathy and Vaknin. I’ll definitely look further into what you said about Sam. As for Kathy, I am so sorry. 😦 That’s such a young age to pass away, but it sounds like she was a wonderful person who helped a lot of people. Unfortunately, I am a fairly recent member of the narc abuse community, so I kind of missed out on her I guess.

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  2. Greetings,

    Just a quick thank you for including the original Country of Liars in this post (a lot of copy cats use “Country of Liars” in their blog to confuse people). I’ve been online since 2009, right after the wrath of Google blocked my site, essentially taking it down. It was the precursor to Country of Liars.

    And thanks for the very kind words: “Well written blog”… I’m my own worst critic. πŸ˜‰

    All the best!

    Liked by 2 people

    • You’re welcome! There were a few corrections I wanted to make and also wanted to add few others (and a few complex PTSD sites) too but when I tried to go in to make the corrections and additions, WP woudn’t let me–probably have too many links.

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