Is it possible to narcissist-proof (and narcissism-proof) our children?
Poonam sits down with Dr. Craig Malkin, a Harvard Medical School lecturer, the author of the internationally acclaimed book, ‘Rethinking Narcissism’ and co-author of the NYT bestseller ‘The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump.' Dr. Malkin is a clinical psychologist with three decades of experience in psychotherapy, as well as the personal experience of growing up with a mother who suffered from narcissism. He’s been quoted in most major news sources and across the internet on how narcissism affects people, relationships, and families.
On today’s episode we talk about whether it is even possible, to narcissist-proof, and narcissism-proof — our children. We look at how his mom’s behavior affected his worldview, and whether he could transfer his distilled empathy into a career as an FBI hostage negotiator (you know, if this Harvard Medical school thing didn’t pan out). We discuss the spectrum that goes from healthy narcissism and confidence to unhealthy narcissism and Narcissistic Personality Disorder, and what percent of people fall into each bucket. We explore whether social media, the fracturing of the extended family, or our fame-focused culture are to blame for the rise in narcissism in general.
In the context of how best to parent our children away from becoming extreme narcissists, and also how best to protect them from the narcissists in their world…we explore gaslighting, primary adaptive anger, and the impact of childhood neglect. Teaching our children how to recognize narcissistic behavior, and set boundaries around it, isn’t as hard as it sounds. But we’ve got to start by looking at ourselves.
Learn more about Dr. Craig Malkin:
https://www.drcraigmalkin.com/
https://www.youtube.com/@CraigMalkin
Learn more about The Release Podcast and our host, Poonam Sharma:
Web: https://thereleasepodcast.com/, https://poonam.info/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thereleasewithpoonam/
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheReleasePodcastWithPoonam