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obstinaterixatrix · 6 years ago

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I had to look up a bunch of adhd articles for my presentation so here’s just like. a smorgasbord of associated features of adhd. a starting point. w/e. if there’s a link, it goes to the full article, if there isn’t, it’s behind a paywall :/

Executive Dysfunction

Glozman & Shevchenko. (2014). Executive function in children with ADHD. Our experimental study revealed the complex structure of executive function disturbances in ADHD, including neurodynamic deficits, difficulty sustaining activity and attention, poor selectivity in decision making, deficits in shifting from one executed activity to another, poor planning, poor prognostic ability, problems recalling performance, and deficits in error correction. This is consistent with the published literature and complements it with important details

Hyperfocus

Ozel-Kizil et al. (2016). Hyperfocusing as a dimension of adult attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. (scroll down)

Hyperfocusing is thought to occur on the basis of attention disorder; patients with ADHD have difficulties of focusing and sustaining, as well as shifting their attention. Therefore, some authors have suggested using “attention disorder” instead of “attention deficit” for defining the attention problem in ADHD (Doyle, 2006). When taken together, both hyperfocusing, which seems to be a state of increased attention due to heightened motivation, and excessive local interference point out an “attention disorder” instead of an “attention deficit”.

Time Blindness

Barkley (1997): Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, self-regulation, and time: Toward a more comprehensive theory.

ADHD is associated with a form of temporal myopia or time blindness concerning the direction of behavior toward conjectured future events. The behavior of those with ADHD is more controlled by the temporal now than by internally represented information pertaining to past and future.

Stimming/Fidgeting

Sarver et al. (2015). Hyperactivity in Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD): Impairing Deficit or Compensatory Behavior?

Analysis of the relations among intra-individual changes in observed activity level, attention, and performance revealed that higher rates of activity level predicted significantly better, but not normalized [working memory] performance for children with ADHD. Conversely, higher rates of activity level predicted somewhat lower [working memory] performance for [typically developing] children.

Orban et al. (2018). Inattentive Behavior in Boys with ADHD during Classroom Instruction: the Mediating Role of Working Memory Processes. (scroll down)

Results confirm anecdotal reports of intact sustained attention during activities that place minimal demands on working memory, and indicate that ADHD children’s inattention during analogue classroom instruction is related, in large part, to their underdeveloped working memory abilities.

(study compared behavior of kids watching 10 minutes of a math video vs 10 minutes of a star wars movie)

(implications: fidgeting helps access working memory)

Internal Motivation vs External Motivation

Modesto-Lowe et al. (2013). Are Motivation Deficits Underestimated in Patients With ADHD? A Review of the Literature.

Behavioral studies show altered processing of reinforcement and incentives in children with ADHD. These children respond more impulsively to rewards and choose small, immediate rewards over larger, delayed incentives. Interestingly, a high intensity of reinforcement is effective in improving task performance in children with ADHD.

(constant need for validation lol)

Emotional Dysregulation

Sobanski et al. ( 2010). Emotional lability in children and adolescents with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD): clinical correlates and familial prevalence.

ADHD is often associated with symptoms of emotional lability (EL), a term which is used in this article descriptively for symptoms such as irritability, hot temper, low frustration tolerance, and sudden unpredictable shifts towards negative emotions such as anger, dysphoria and sadness, occurring in an intensity or frequency that is considered culturally inappropriate in relation to the situational context, age and developmental stage.

Rejection Sensitivity

Scharf et al. (2014). Adolescents’ ADHD symptoms and adjustment: The role of attachment and rejection sensitivity.

ADHD symptoms were associated with higher levels of rejection sensitivity, as well as lower levels of social adjustment. These results reinforce previous research (de Boo & Prins, 2007; Hoza et al., 2005), documenting the problematic social functioning of individuals suffering from ADHD.

Rejection Sensitivity Dysphoria (informal, not a research term; articles from non-clinical websites)

Kelly, K. (n.d.). ADHD and Coping With Rejection: What You Need to Know Executive skills allow kids to come up with explanations for what happened and develop a plan to move on. [...] But kids with ADHD can get stuck. They find it hard to shift their thinking and move on. So, they may become hyperfocused on the rejection, talking about it constantly.

Dodson, W. (n.d.). Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria and ADHD People with ADHD cope with this huge emotional elephant in two main ways, which are not mutually exclusive. 1. They become people pleasers. [...] 2. They stop trying.

the reason I gathered all of this was to illustrate how a bunch of stuff related to the experience of adhd makes it easier to see the bigger picture of how they interact - emotional dysregulation relates to time blindness which explains rejection sensitivity; if there’s only ‘now’ and ‘not now’ then what you’re feeling ‘now’ is going to be experienced pretty intensely. honestly, time blindness can be related to basically everything re: Why Are Folks With ADHD Like This

I was hoping to find a few more articles about internal/external motivation because a lot of the literature seemed to focus on ‘rewards’ rather than the external validation of other people’s encouragement/positive regard. something I’ve seen in adhd cases diagnosed in adulthood is that the biggest associated feature - school problems - can be dodged if there’s a lot of involvement/support, plus there’s a lot of anecdotal stuff about folks unable to self-motivate but having an easier time if it’s for other people. couldn’t find a lot on that, though - can’t tell if it was because I wasn’t using the right search terms, I didn’t have access to the right databases, or I was looking for something that hasn’t really been researched.

some of my textbooks have talked about how there’s a lot of distress in families with adhd folks because adhd symptoms are seen as modifiable behaviors; when seen in that framing, impairment from adhd is seen as either parental or personal incompetence rather than a developmental feature. I thought that putting together some of this stuff into the powerpoint would help people to better conceptualize adhd as developmental rather than behavioral.

#long post #adhd bloggin'#adhd #if anyone wants an article w/o a link tho I might be able to hook you up #it's just like.... the dsm criteria is a starting point but it doesn't give the full picture #which like. of course.#but also it's framed in terms of obvious symptoms vs internal processes #and internal processes is what really helped me understand adhd #HAVING IT ALSO HELPS LOL

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iknockfashion · 5 years ago

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Is The World Well Dressed But Depressed?

According to data by World Health Organisation(WHO), almost 8,00,000 people die due to suicide every year, which is 1 person every 40 seconds and the survey further depicts that India and China account for 40% or more of the annual suicide deaths globally. This topic of mental health raised as yet again a pall of gloom descended on all of us, the demise of Bollywood celebrity Sushant Singh Rajput left the entire world to open their eyes and talk about mental illness. Although we don’t have direct access to the inner workings of the mind of someone who has passed away, there is much evidence that the thought processes are often gravely disordered by the effects of trauma, mental health conditions, and substance abuse. Talking about mental illness for some, the high-end fashion industry can be highly stressful, competitive, and critical. Most models of the Indian fashion industry and famous fashion designers of India are portrayed as the “tortured artists”, someone who adorns and creates dark clothing. It emphasizes on appearance, the fashion industry in India heavily focuses on appearance, and it has further created stereotypes of its own. The fashion industry in India is known as a fast-paced, high-end fashion world full of glamour and glitz. Thus, the question arises; what happens when the runway goes dark? I Knock Fashion understands that if a person can’t think rationally due to impairment of the mind, the decision clearly is not a choice, keeping that in mind today we are here to talk about what exactly happens when the spotlight fades.

“The Pressure Of Production”

The fast-paced, high-end fashion nature could be one of the numerous contributing factors to the higher-than-average amount of mental health disorders among people associated with the fashion industry in India. Earlier, the time between seasons or collections used to be around 6 months, now with globalization, a fashion cycle lasts only around 3 weeks. The reason behind this decreased duration between collections is mostly due to the high-end fashion and fast fashion cycle. The well-celebrated fast fashion brands like H&M and Forever21 are constantly mass-producing clothing in economically developing countries or underdeveloped countries to keep the production cheap and ensuring they end up with quantity over quality. The famous fashion designers of India who create high-end fashion or couture take more time to design and produce their collections because somewhere they preach quality above quantity. It’s not that easy as said, these famous fashion designers of India and across the world are always in this constant pressure of production. The high pressure, expectation, and an impractical workload all together turn out to be a deadly combination further leading to destruction, causing numerous famous fashion designer of India to fear to say no to a project, considering it to be a sign of weakness and missing out on an opportunity. All these factors further lead them to misuse drugs and alcohol and develop mental health disorders. As the scientist states, creative people tend to constantly think more about fine details, making connections, and replaying images and scenes in their head. Although musing can facilitate people to create and produce original work, musing in all aspects of life can be damaging to a person’s mental health. Going over precisely fine details in every aspect of life can lead to feelings of depression.

Finding Comfort In Drugs & Alcohol

As the fashion industry in India is constantly pressurizing the designers to create, it further develops mental health disorders. To become famous, fashion designers of India and models of the Indian fashion industry might also start indulging themselves in finding comfort in drugs and alcohol. Numerous models of the India fashion industry and the outer world have sought treatment for addiction at rehab facilities, they say running with stylist and fashion people they would spend nights drinking, partying, and socializing for better connections in the Industry. Although some people from the fashion industry in India find pressure as an essential aspect to be more productive, the rest don’t find the pressure to be enjoyable or productive. In fact, they consider it to be damaging to their mental health. The saying “one day you’re in and the next you’re out”, is apt when it comes to the fashion industry as this constant greed to create out of the box collections, leads to depression and once you stop creating, you’re forgotten.

Depression & Designers

Especially in India treating depression has typically been unfamiliar territory for the society. In the country, people don’t really get what depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts can feel like until they themselves are sailing through it. While it may appear that people committing suicide are not taking into consideration the impact that their death will have on loved ones, there is much evidence on the contrary. The mind of a person with suicidal ideation is distorted and often holds the belief that he/she will be lessening their burden on loved ones by no longer being around. Below mentioned are some of the tragic demises from the fashion industry.

⁃ Kate Spade was found in her Manhattan apartment hanging from a scarf, it was stated by her sister that she had been suffering from her mental health for years.

⁃ In 2014, designer L’wren Scott was found dead in her Apartment. She as well suffered from depression for years, there was a three-year scholarship fund announced in Scott’s name for fashion students at the London-based design school, Central Saint Martins.

⁃ A top model and former Miss Mauritius, Viveka Babajee, took her life in her Bandra apartment.

⁃ In 2010, Alexander McQueen’s attempted suicide, and it was said that he did a lot of drugs and was very unhappy.

⁃ Isabella Blow after a lifetime of struggling with mental health disorders ingested a weed killer during a house party.

Fashion Students Not Finding Safe Space For Experiments

Creating an out of the box fashion cycle typically involves the need for experimentation, it is a process that is time-intensive, laborious, and often mentally draining. Each fashion designer or student must, therefore, figure out their preferred learning environment. The fear of failure must be decreased among the industry, as this pressure can result in hard-to-attain expectations on oneself, leading to a self-destructive outcome on one’s mental health.

The Internship Hustle

As the fashion students move out of college applying for jobs after graduation this leads to another pressure. Interning while graduating is an important aspect today in the world of fashion, which leads to further pressure of dedicating yourself to that fully as well as going to school.

Fashion Influencers & Depression

In the past few years, people have been obsessing over social media and mainly influencers. Their rapidly growing fashion-focused Instagram accounts, as soon as it gains attention, that’s all they can think about. No matter if they are making money from it or not, they keep wondering if their followers like their pictures. They start putting too much weight into who is following or viewing their accounts. It’s been observed that social media overrules them to such an extent that they actually worry about how a post is performing online instead of working on themselves in real life. This pressure of making a brand of themselves on social media leads to anxiety and further depression. This is the reason some of the upcoming influencers decided to quit Instagram, as this stress of coming up with perfect content all the time actually makes them feel pressurized and stressed.

The Show Must Be Paused

The question is how many tragedies must occur before people in fashion address the pressure that the industry prolongs?

There’s no denial in stating that the pressure begins as early as fashion or design school. In the past few years, the fashion students have reported that instructors made them feel guilty if they weren’t creating, producing, or working constantly 24*7. This is the major reason that fashion student suicide rates and mental health disorders are increasing. According to a speculated report employees in creative careers like fashion are 25% more likely to experience and develop mental health disorders. The fashion models, designers, and other professionals in the fashion industry are usually subjugated to long working hours and high-stress to meet demanding production deadlines.

Mental Health Issue Should No Longer Be Escaped

The increasing suicides among the fashion industry have led to the unveiling of the unpublicized history of depression, anxiety, and insomnia. The student suicide rates and mental health issues within the fashion industry are also on the rise. It’s high time that there should be discussions taking place for how much pressure is already apparent in the industry. The industry is highly competitive and designers, models, and fashion journalists are in constant competition. This new era of fashion influencers is also responsible for increasing the competition and stress for creating out of the box content. Although few initiatives are already being taken to create a safer working environment in the industry, such as Model’s Health Pledge which looks forward to supporting the fashion model’s mental health. There’s a charter by Kering and LVMH that bans ultra-thin fashion models from marketing and runways to ensure their well-being.

I Knock Fashion Desk (Conclusion)

It’s a fact, designers and models involved in fashion have also been known for developing mental health disorders. According to you what could be the exact reason behind it?

The problem could be that creative people such as designers are more vulnerable to depression due to musing. Science says that the people who are less creative are more likely to accept what they are told by authorities and look at situations in simpler terms. The people who are full of creativity view the world more complexly. This highly competitive and critical industry of fashion can be too much for some, but this can be turned around. The fashion designers can choose to skip the world of fashion in a less tragic way, with a proper medication of course. This high-end fashion cycle can be skipped by moving from fast fashion production to only couture. The fashion designers can make their own personal rules of showcasing and releasing collections, they can present their collections only when they feel that it’s complete. And as quoted by Scottish fashion designer, Christopher Kane, “Fashion lies not in the pace of producing collections but in an alliance between the creative and commercial cannons”.

The fashion cycle should be redefined and there should be less hustling on unrealistic expectations, the world needs to understand how damaging these expectations can be. Every designer and fashion student should be able to work in a healthy environment and not feel pressured to create and produce. What are your feelings about the same?

Do let us know in the comment section and stay tuned with I Knock Fashion for further fashion and beauty related updates.

Source: https://www.iknockfashion.com/is-the-world-well-dressed-but-depressed/

#famous fashion designers of India #fashion industry in India #famous fashion designers

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hollys-corner · 8 years ago

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Is Kevin Thomas a narcissist?

Why I think Kevin is a narcissist, a case study by Holly Hayes!

1. Kevin repeatedly displays a pattern of thought that is grandiose in nature. He consistently and openly regards his own views, opinions, and perceptions as not just factual, but obvious: when asked by others to clarify his opinion, he frequently responds by mocking the other person for not having experienced the same perception as he did, or by arguing that he doesn’t want to bother explaining because they are clearly not intelligent enough to understand his argument (because if they did, then they would’ve “got it” immediately, without any explanation). He feels that it is unnecessary for him to have to explain his point, because his perceptions are blatantly obvious and universally apparent to anybody who is intelligent enough to perceive them; and if you don’t see what he sees immediately, then it’s simply just because you’re stupid.

The following screenshot was NOT taken by me - it was captured and posted by someone who I barely know (my point being that multiple people have the same impression of his behavior that I do).

This is an extremely common phenomenon among narcissists. Because of their under-developed sense of self (coupled with their inability to empathize), narcissists will project their cognitive distortions (especially their black and white thinking) onto others - who they see as caricatures, or as one-dimensional players being moved around the stage of life by the narcissist himself. They also lack object permanence, which is the ability to understand or imagine that people still exist even when they are not being observed by the narcissist - Kevin repeatedly displays this through his tendency of assuming that other people’s actions are always in some way directly related to himself. For example, upon noting that I had deactivated my Facebook account (which I do frequently), he insisted that it was because I had gotten upset at something that he had said - a comment which was so insignificant to me that I couldn’t even recall him making it. Despite me telling him that I deactivate my Facebook account perhaps as often as 1-2 times per month and that he was incorrect about my motivations for doing so, he continued to insist that I had done it because of him - he literally just couldn’t imagine me doing anything in my life that wasn’t in some way related to him.

As a result of this object impermanence, lack of empathy, and projection, narcissists will frequently assign their intentions to others (assuming that other people have the same internal motivations that they do - this is why, for example, cheaters will accuse their partners of cheating; they are projecting their own habits and beliefs onto the people around them), and be incapable of wrapping their head around the fact that others do not share their perceptions. Further, because of their belief in their own superiority, they will thus come to whole-heartedly believe that since their perceptions are superior, and since everybody perceives things in the same manner as they, that anybody who does share their opinion is automatically superior too, while anybody who does not is automatically inferior - that these people who disagree with them are not only stupid, but also dishonest, useless, and intentionally malicious. Most healthy, neurotypical individuals have grown out of this black and white way of viewing the world by the age of 8 or 9. The narcissist never outgrows this trait.

During political debates - even in debate groups where any member could reasonably expect to be challenged - Kevin will often debase the arguments of people who disagree with them by using ad hominem logical fallacies against them, especially when he becomes frustrated as they start to win the debate or gain support from onlookers. His most common insults are that anybody who disagrees with him is stupid, prone to groupthink, an Fe/Si user (I once saw him argue that NPs are incapable of independent or objective thought because of the fact that they have Si in their cognitive stack, which apparently means that they automatically suck up to authority figures no matter what position in their stack it is), and mindlessly following along with popular opinion. Despite the fact that this has been pointed out to him many times, he continues to refuse to acknowledge the fact that it is equally, if not more important, to question yourself as it is to question the status quo; and that mindlessly rebelling against what you believe to be “the popular opinion” is not just intellectually disingenuous, but also very likely to result in inaccuracies of reasoning. By automatically doing the exact opposite of what society wants you to do, you are still allowing the popular opinion to dictate what your stance is. He considers it a weakness to even consider refining or re-evaluating one’s argument - it is anathema to him, equivalent with admitting to being stupid or wrong.

In addition to mistyping people (I’ve seen him accuse an INTJ of being an ESFJ, an INFJ of being an ISTJ, and an INTP of being an INFP, for reasons that were extremely faulty, poorly reasoned, and had less to do with the individual’s functions and more to do with Kevin’s own personal agenda), he also frequently diagnoses people as having some type of cluster B personality disorder.

(”Well, isn’t that ironic, you giant hypocrite?” you’re probably thinking to yourself right now. The difference between myself and Kevin is that I don’t wield these labels like a weapon, accusing any random person who gets in my way of being a narcissist. I’m also willing to substantiate my conclusion by explaining my reasoning process (which is exactly what I’m doing right now). And, most importantly, I’m willing to listen to alternative viewpoints, take them into consideration, and admit to being wrong. Kevin is not.)

More screenshots of other people talking about Kevin. Again, neither of these were me, I didn’t instigate this conversation, and both of these people now have Kevin blocked on Facebook so that they don’t have to deal with him anymore.

2. When Kevin feels insulted or slighted by another person, his anger is disproportionate to the severity of the comment. He will fling ad hominem attacks at the other person, including calling them stupid, assigning MBTI labels to them that are incorrect and which he perceives as being insulting (ex. will accuse someone of being a sensor/feeler just because they disagreed with him, because he believes that being a sensor/feeler is a bad thing), accuse them of only disagreeing with him because they’re incapable of thinking for themselves (”groupthink” is his favorite term to misuse when people disagree with his opinion), and often resorts to making fun of the other person’s physical appearance and especially their intelligence (I couldn’t begin to tell you how many times his response has consisted of him simply calling me fat).

One of the easiest ways to set off Kevin’s feelings of inadequacy is by comparing Ni (introverted iNtuition, the rarest function) to Si (introverted sensing, the most common function). Again, because Kevin considers himself both superior and unique, he absolutely loathes being compared to Si users, a function which he considers to be representative of the very essence of normal and average - and thus, beneath him. This is also why he insults NPs just for having Si in their cognitive stack - to him, the mere concept of Si represents everything that he regards himself as the OPPOSITE of. Watching Ni being compared to Si, even though it has nothing whatsoever to do with him (and even though Jung’s source material itself outlines the similarities between Si and Ni), threatens his underdeveloped sense of self - because in his eyes, being compared to a function that is synonymous with being boring, pro-establishment, authority-loving, boot-licking, unquestioning, and fond of tradition, threatens his perception of himself as intelligent, unique, superior, original, and an independent thinker. Because, once again, in the eyes of a narcissist, every action that other people take revolves around them, in one way or another. Even when that action is simply a complete stranger explaining the similarities between Si and Ni, as outlined in Jung’s source material about the sixteen types (incredibly ironic given that he’s constantly accusing me of “ignoring definitions”).

The following is a screenshot of Kevin complaining about a bunch of people trying to explain Ni to an INTP who couldn’t wrap his head around how it works. Instead of trying to explain Ni to that person, he instead spent the entire thread arguing with the everyone who was trying to help the INTP understand Ni by comparing it to Si (a logical decision, since a) Si is very similar to Ni, and b) the person in question was an Si user, and so he obviously has a basis for understanding Ni by first understanding how his own Si works), and trying to debunk the common belief that the two are similar to one another. (Spoiler alert: THEY ARE. They’re both introverted perceiving functions, irrational and subjective (according to Jung himself). Think of them as two identical cars that use completely different types of fuel - they operate in extremely similar ways, it’s just that they value different types of information/criteria with which to make decisions and projections.) Instead of helping the person who made the thread, he decided to interpret the thread’s contents as an attack on his sense of self, and responded to it predictably by aggressively challenging and confronting anyone who dared insult him by suggesting that perceptive, original, creative, special Ni was in any way similar to common, average, boring, normie Si.

Still waiting on Kevin to explain what he appreciates about Si. Hit me up, fam! I’m excited to read your essay!

3. Kevin chooses to interpret the behavior of others around him as being in some way directly caused by, or related to, himself; he simply cannot conceive of a reason why anybody would do anything in his presence that doesn’t involve him. For example: he has repeatedly characterized Gage’s willingness to engage in debates with him, or point out the flaws in his thought process, as Gage “begging for his attention” - he believes that Gage is a narcissist who farms narcissistic supply from Kevin, because he (Kevin) is a source of high-quality supply (as a result of his superiority to others). This is not speculation on my part; Kevin himself as argued this.

Despite the fact that he could have chosen to interpret Gage’s actions in any number of ways (such as the fact that he’s an ENTP, a type that is well-known for their willingness to debate with others; or the fact that Gage debates with many other people in MBTI groups; or even that he’s arguing with Kevin just simply because he disagrees with him), he continuously chooses the interpretation of Gage as desperately needing Kevin’s attention, and Kevin’s attention alone - even though this explanation doesn’t make any sense, considering how often Gage debates with people who aren’t Kevin. No matter how often these things are pointed out to him, he will continue to insist that Gage is not only obsessed with him, but actually goes out of his way to follow him around on Facebook for the sole purpose of harvesting high-quality narcissistic supply from him. He has levied similar accusations against other people who have argued with him.

4. He is extremely paranoid and tends to misinterpret people openly disagreeing with him, mocking him, or being willing to point out the flaws in his argument, as a “smear campaign” (even though he does the same thing to others, which he then excuses as feeling compelled to “let people know the truth” despite being unwilling to entertain whether that same motivation may be true for other people as well). He also openly believes that there is a behind-the-scenes group conspiracy to discredit him and sully his good name that everyone who disagrees with him is a member of.

5. As with all narcissists, Kevin’s defenses are alloplasic - in other words, he has a tendency to blame every failure and mistake of his on the people around him or the world at large, including “enemies”, “haters”, “society”, “narcissists”, “sheeple”, and even the government. He genuinely believes that there is a conspiracy among the members of certain MBTI groups to conspire in secret in order to make him look bad by running a smear campaign against him. As a result of this alloplastic defense mechanism, Kevin does not accept personal responsibility for his actions, and never admits to being wrong or miscalculating - he considers it beneath him to even have to back up his arguments with facts or citations, because he believes that his conclusions are so self-evidently correct that he should not be required to have to meet the same burden of proof that every other debater does.

When asked for evidence (or even an explanation) that he is unable or unwilling to provide, he does not blame himself for failing to prepare his argument properly; he blames YOU for being too stupid to understand how obviously correct his argument is to begin with (external locus of control) - if you need to ask for evidence, then it’s just because you aren’t smart enough to understand where he’s coming from. He considers it an attack on his intelligence and reasoning skills that anybody should even ask for proof to begin with, let alone attempt to poke holes in his argument. Like many INTJs, he fails to understand that his impressions are subjective in nature (Ni); and like many narcissists, he fails to understand that not everybody values the same proof, or interprets the evidence in the same way, as he does. And because he both lacks the ability to empathize as well as struggles to understand that different people perceive things differently, he assumes that everybody thinks and feels the same way that he does - and if they don’t, then it’s just because they’re stupid and wrong.

6. People who are narcissistic can display the following traits: controlling, self-absorbed, calculating, intolerant of the views of others, feelings of superiority, unaware of how their behavior affects the people around them, bullying, and are very insistent that others view them in the way that they wish to be regarded. In order to protect their underdeveloped sense of self, they will frequently engage in devaluing others who violate their fragile ego: and they tend to react to this by insulting and blaming others, as well as becoming openly hostile and critical towards them. Kevin displays all of these traits and more - to date, I’ve observed perhaps a dozen different people recounting stories of having been insulted or degraded by Kevin, mostly for small infractions such as disagreeing with him, or posting rebuttals to one of his political arguments. (For example: he once posted a meme about how Big Pharma and the government were “hiding” the fact that Vitamin B17 - also known as laetrile - cures cancer. When I pointed out that this has been soundly debunked and that laetrile is not even a vitamin, but is instead actually a compound which degrades into cyanide in the human body and has caused many deaths by cyanide poisoning, Kevin responded by calling me a brainwashed idiot and a government bootlicker.) When faced with an argument that he can’t refute, he moves the goalposts, or responds with flat-out denial or insults.

7. Like all narcissists, Kevin’s capacity for self-awareness is severely stunted, and he maintains a grandiose perception of himself as being unique and superior. He does this primarily by regarding himself as being unusually intelligent, perceptive, honest, and uniquely capable of discerning “the truth” about the nature of people, society, government, authority, and the world. In order to prop up this vision of himself, he tends to support political positions which are anarchistic in nature, anti-government, anti-authority, anti-status quo, anti-establishment, anti-society, anti-pop trends, and anti-science. He supports conspiracy theories that have been thoroughly discredited, such as chemtrails, alternative cancer treatments, flat Earth theory, the faked moon landing, and the idea that vaccines cause autism. He believes in these things not because he is more scientifically literate than everyone else, but because he perceives that supporting these positions prove that he is more intellectually discerning than your average person - unlike the sheeple in the rest of society, who blindly trust authoritative voices telling them what to think and how to feel. He also does it because he has (correctly) surmised that there is an audience for these types of beliefs who will praise him for being #woke, thus verifying his perception of himself as well as earning him validation, applause, and recognition.

Unfortunately, there is a large flaw in his argument, and it is this: mindlessly rebelling against every popular opinion is just as intellectually disingenuous as mindlessly supporting every popular opinion is - that’s why it’s so important to evaluate each individual idea on its own merit, regardless of whether it’s a popular or unpopular viewpoint. Kevin refuses to do this because being seen as rebellious and different strokes his ego, and reinforces the image of himself that he wants to project outward - an image of himself as being unique, intelligent, capable, competent, rebellious, independent, a free thinker, and a Gallileo-like genius who was once revilved by society for his seemingly bizarre ideas (but is now celebrated as one of the most important thinkers of his time), and is unconstrained by the lowly viewpoints of others. Recent research published in the European Journal of Social Psychology reflected this trend among conspiracy theorists: while some of their beliefs were genuine, most of them did it simply out of a desire to be perceived as unique [x]. Unlike the regular plebians, they alone were just too intelligent to be duped or manipulated by common opinion. Kevin has displayed this belief about himself over and over and over again, and like most classic/overt narcissists, he has a very pompous and arrogant demeanor to support this.

8. Narcissists frequently resort to recruiting friends, family members, colleagues, institutions, law enforcement, therapists, peers, and many others, in order to do his bidding. He uses them to cajole, coerce, threaten, stalk, offer, retreat, tempt, convince, harass, communicate and otherwise manipulate his target. He controls these unaware instruments exactly as he plans to control his ultimate prey. He employs the same mechanisms and devices. And he dumps his props unceremoniously when the job is done.

A screenshot of Kevin tagging three additional people into the thread in order to abuse his targets by proxy.

I predict that Kevin will do the following:

1. Claim to have not even bothered to read this post (not that his lack of specific knowledge on what’s written in it will stop him from arguing that it’s wrong, though).

2. Claim that this post is proof of a targeted “smear campaign” against him by multiple members of this group.

3. Argue that I’m only doing this because I’m an Fe user, and I only wrote this because there’s a conspiracy among members of this group to disparage his name and make him look bad; and so therefore, I have written this entire post merely in the interest of trying to fit in with this nebulous, shadowy group.

4. Maintain that I only believe these things because my “master” (Gage) said all of these things first, and that I’m simply parroting points that Gage has already made in order to suck up to him (like all INTJs - who lack Si - he seems to forget that I’ve been arguing with him for 6+ months now, whereas Gage has only been arguing with him for 1-2 months. Not sure how he thinks that I was only copying Gage even before Gage had any of these opinions of him, but okay).

#kevin

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