Diagnostic Confusion

Recent discussions have got me thinking, and whether we all agree or not, one thing is clear. In other areas of medicine, second opinions rarely vary much. But in mental health, diagnoses are all over the place.

Result: People who fit the description of APD are being labelled psychopaths. People who are narcissistic but not malignant narcissists are being diagnosed with NPD.

This must be very painful to them. Though far from innocent, they are also far from malicious with pathological envy for every happy person they see. Yet they are lumped together with the malicious and regarded as malicious when they aren't. And, as I mentioned before, this confusion trivializes the abuse suffered by those abused by real malignant narcissists or psychopaths. So this confusion hurts people on both ends of the issue.

When will it end? Predators are as distinct a category as could be. Distinct in behavior, motivation, brain physiology, and respense to treatment. Distinct in their own estimation as well!

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