letter to the editor

Sympathy-empathy cures for narcissists

Tue, 10/10/2017 - 8:00am

Dear Editor:

Most Americans do not have the disease of narcism. Most Americans have sympathy and many have empathy. The empathy hits our stomachs when a very unkind treatment has been thrown at victims. These are victims of crime, victims of hurricanes and victims of American rights being removed.

Predominately Americans react too quickly in anger when we see and hear an injustice thrown at our neighbor. Narcissim is an illness and anger is an inappropriate response. One of the primary causes of this illness is early childhood neglect. To overcome the isolation feeling of neglect, you acquire a self-defined position where you begin believing that you’re better than others. Soon you discover you are unable to take criticism, insist you made no mistakes and keep compassion and empathy out of your head so you remain “strong.” The pain of neglect is locked up in the mind’s prison-walls.

Do not assume that you have never exhibited signs of narcissism as we all should acknowledge those times when, we had a sense of self-importance, a sense of entitlement, a lack of empathy: or unwilling or unable to recognize the feelings and needs of others; or exhibit arrogant, haughty behaviors or attitudes.

If you find you are living with someone who has this disease, you may study all the symptoms, talk with psychologists to understand, but you are really looking for a cure, and in some cases a miracle cure.  So I Googled “narcissism miracle cure.” There were treatments for the illness, but rarely was their talk of cure until I looked for a miracle.

Within those miracle cures I found some potential hope in therapy, but a surprising use of biblical verses that seemed to aid the narcissist to find ways to express empathy and compassion as a start.

Pastor William Earnhardt  once said — “Living my life so that people will remember me after I die is too small a cause to live for.”  The miracle cure for narcissism begins with erasing the isolation and neglect to make room for compassion and empathy.

Jarryl Larson

Edgecomb