Paranoia and narcissism: psychological dynamics and manifestations

Paranoia and Narcissism: Created During Childhood

This paper will study the effects childhood issues can have when it comes to creating someone who is paranoid and narcissistic as an adult. The video watched during class portrays the building blocks that were used to create such personalities in several world famous powers. Hitler, Stalin and Hussein are all examples used in this video to explore how childhood issues and insecurities, combined with problematic parental relationships work together to create adults who are paranoid and narcissistic.

There were three sources used to complete this work.

The video creates a strong base for understanding narcissistic personalities. Adolph Hitler had many insecurities that stemmed from childhood. His anger at Jewish people is interesting considering his own Jewish background. This displays another angle of dysfunction when it comes to parental relationships as the video alludes to the possibility that Hitler was only angry at the Jews because of his anger at his parents who through their bloodline gave him Jewish blood. His anger at his parents could carry over into an anger at being of Jewish descent. His relationship with his mother was unnaturally close. So much so in fact that he had difficulty establishing relationships with females as an adult. Conversely his father was horrifically abusive both physically and mentally which created a need to control that was also carried into his adult life and fed into the paranoid and narcissistic personality he would develop.

The life of Joseph Stalin was also explored in the video. His concerns about his short stature as well as his deformed arm served as springboards for a paranoid adult to surface. In addition he had something in common with Hitler when it came to being abused by his father. His father was a drunk who abused him and made him feel small and scared. This worked to create a desire to become powerful and all important, which is an element of narcissistic personalities that the experts often see.

In determining what causes a paranoid or narcissistic personality to develop it is important to find commonalities that can be directly linked to that end result. In the case of Hitler and Stalin there are several common traits, events and desires that all contributed to the psychological make up that created their narcissistic and paranoid natures. It is important to understand how it happened to them so that the future Hitlers and Stalins of the world can be discovered, stopped and redirected before they become powerful and power happy at the expense of others.

Some experts believe that a narcissistic personality is created by other narcissists. Those who subscribe to this theory would believe that Hitler and Stalin came from and were raised by narcissistic parents. It is important to further explore this possibility as it can answer questions about the future and how to treat the disorder before it gets out of hand (Narcissistic Personality Disorder -- 6/14/99 -- Sam Vaknin

http://my.webmd.com/content/article/71/81306.htm). According to expert Sam Vaknin, author of "Malignant Self-Love"

'Narcissists are bred by bad parenting, but the role of heredity (genetic component) is very unclear. It is clear that narcissistic parents breed narcissistic children. Still not all children of same narcissistic parents become narcissists. "

Stalin and Hitler both had tremendous need for importance and adoration. These are two typical traits of the narcissist personality. They surrounded themselves with those who would worship them and adore them as if they were superhuman. Anyone who did not agree that they were brilliant were dismissed, killed or otherwise gone (Narcissistic Personality Disorder -- 6/14/99 -- Sam Vaknin

http://my.webmd.com/content/article/71/81306.htm). Narcissists feed off feeling important. Experts have determined that the way narcissists thrive is by belittling others. Hitler and Stalin both took this element of the disorder to the extreme by their cruel and inhumane treatment of millions who they declared to be inferior to themselves and others like them. The arbitrary choosing of who would be deemed unworthy is also typical of a narcissistic personality.

The paranoia that was shown and discussed in the video can be seen throughout the life times of both men. Each of them became progressively more paranoid as time went on and displayed that trait in the way they conducted not only their professional lives but also their personal lives and interactions. Psychologically paranoia is the belief that others are out to get one, and not having a rational reason to believe such a thing. The more Hitler and Stalin used and abused people to get to the top the more paranoid they became. They were narcissistic by nature however, which means they did not suffer the usually expected guilt from using others. This means that their paranoia was unfounded and a disorder from a purely psychological standpoint. It is an interesting study of the disorders as both men did use and abuse people and have every reason to feel guilty and become paranoid as a derivative of that guilt.

Stalin provides a classic example of the plight of the narcissist.

"Yes, the great man had always wanted to excel, to surpass others, to be in the lead. But when those others had recognized his outstanding qualities, enabled him to get to the top and made him their leader, he had suddenly ceased to be exceptional or to be a leader -- he had stifled in himself the very qualities to which his rise was due (Depicting a Tyrant: Solzhenitsyn and Klima

http://www.arts.gla.ac.uk/Slavonic/Epicentre/Tyrant.htm)."

"Narcissism" is a concept originally formulated by Freud in relation to early infancy, but one which is now accepted more broadly to describe a personality disorder in which the natural development of relationships to the external world has failed to take place. In such a state only the person himself, his needs, feelings, thoughts, everything and everybody as they relate to him are experienced as fully real, while everything and everybody otherwise lacks reality or interest (Depicting a Tyrant: Solzhenitsyn and Klima

http://www.arts.gla.ac.uk/Slavonic/Epicentre/Tyrant.htm)."