Comorbid mental diagnoses

Hi, Tentcity!

I have Complex PTSD, Acquired Brain Injury, Mild Cognitive Impairment, anxiety (including OCD when under stress) and sometimes depression. I'm now addicted to the anxiety medication Pregabalin, which I use for chronic insomnia. Three times in my life insomnia has become acute and I've stopped sleeping at all, leading to psychiatric hospitals where I've been misdiagnosed with schizophrenia and forced to take anti-psychotics.

In such places the staff are required to check on patients regularly through the night to make sure no one's topping themselves. Because of C-PTSD no one can approach me without waking me, so despite the medication I get very little sleep in nuthouses. My first incarceration was in late 1983 and the last one was two years ago.

Like me, you have distressing conditions that are mostly invisible to other people, meaning you get misunderstood and patronised. I wonder who labelled you with NPD. As far as I know PDs are a relatively new phenomenon and it seems like there's one for everybody. They're also demeaning and dismissive labels. NPD in particular is bandied about by the general population as marking someone to be avoided.

I need to be up and about today so have very little time, but I couldn't resist letting you know there's at least one other person on the forum with co-morbid psychiatric disorders. I hope you'll stick around.

Thanks for the response. It seems like you've also been through a lot and a very long time. I've had severe ocd for 9 years and it was beyond imaginally difficult because they would happen every 5 seconds for like 9 years and I was using many rituals and I know now that is only makes it worse. "Ocd mindful" on youtube can put it in to better words than I can ever, highest possible recommendation and this is from someone who has severe ocd. To answer your question about my npd, I am self diagnosed, so I never went to get it diagnosed from a doctor who would put it on my record because of what others would think of me, which I think was smart, i dont want to go off on a tangent so I'll just say it worked in my favor. My father is also a narcissist and I remember him abusing me as a toddler and making me feel ashamed, neglected and forgotten. This is the abuse that creates a narcissist. Narcissism is basically childhood abuse that results of coping mechanisms that any child would begin because of the fear of feeling unloved, neglected and abused.

Tentcity wrote:I am self diagnosed, so I never went to get it diagnosed from a doctor who would put it on my record because of what others would think of me, which I think was smart

I agree with you, except that I would never hang a PD label on myself. They seem to be catch-all ways of writing people off.

My father is also a narcissist and I remember him abusing me as a toddler and making me feel ashamed, neglected and forgotten.

This treatment meted out by a caregiver is more associated with Complex PTSD, which arises from interpersonal trauma from which there is no perceived escape. Childhood cruelty definitely qualifies.

It bothers me that adults abused as children get insulting labels to add insult to injury. No one's suggested I have any PD, but variations of insanity have appeared on my medical records three times now. I work in an agency that helps victims of sexual assault, and it doesn't surprise me how many of our clients have had to accept disrespectful labelling that diminishes their worth as human beings. When something happens to you that no one else will acknowledge, it's not surprising if you feel estranged from humankind and have the occasional crack-up.

Narcissism is basically childhood abuse that results of coping mechanisms that any child would begin because of the fear of feeling unloved, neglected and abused.

Maybe you'd feel better about yourself if you reframed your quirks as fleas, https://outofthefog.website/what-not-to ... 12/3/fleas

Candid wrote:

Tentcity wrote:I am self diagnosed, so I never went to get it diagnosed from a doctor who would put it on my record because of what others would think of me, which I think was smart

I agree with you, except that I would never hang a PD label on myself. They seem to be catch-all ways of writing people off.

Thanks. As for labeling it doesn't really change me me or make a difference. Believe me, I've tried so hard and it such a difficult thing to have lived with.

My father is also a narcissist and I remember him abusing me as a toddler and making me feel ashamed, neglected and forgotten.

This treatment meted out by a caregiver is more associated with Complex PTSD, which arises from interpersonal trauma from which there is no perceived escape. Childhood cruelty definitely qualifies.

Narcissists are created by emotional abuse and neglect as a young child. It is deffenetly npd that I have.


It bothers me that adults abused as children get insulting labels to add insult to injury. No one's suggested I have any PD, but variations of insanity have appeared on my medical records three times now. I work in an agency that helps victims of sexual assault, and it doesn't surprise me how many of our clients have had to accept disrespectful labelling that diminishes their worth as human beings. When something happens to you that no one else will acknowledge, it's not surprising if you feel estranged from humankind and have the occasional crack-up.

Narcissism is basically childhood abuse that results of coping mechanisms that any child would begin because of the fear of feeling unloved, neglected and abused.

Maybe you'd feel better about yourself if you reframed your quirks as fleas, https://outofthefog.website/what-not-to ... 12/3/fleas

I am a narcissist, it's not something I should pretend doesn't exist because if that was the case I would have never seemed out help online via research for the last nine years.

Narcissism is created by emotional abuse and neglect as s child. Neglect is one of the worst things that can happen to a child, it crushes their spirit early on and they strive for acceptance for the rest of their lives because of it. It's extremely difficult.

Tentcity wrote:Narcissism is created by emotional abuse and neglect as s child. Neglect is one of the worst things that can happen to a child, it crushes their spirit early on and they strive for acceptance for the rest of their lives because of it. It's extremely difficult.

Interesting. I have those same issues. I categorically reject all PD labels for myself, and I don't label other people, either. I will say someone has some kind of headwarp, eg. my husband has aspergers, but not that someone is something (other than a human being doing her or his best in a difficult life).

Striving for acceptance for the rest of their lives is something I can readily relate to. I also immediately felt I could connect with you, so much so that I replied straight away even though it had to be a hurried post.

We get all sorts on the Uncommon Forum. It's a particularly liberal space. I've been banned elsewhere for writing too much and going too deep. But whaddya know, here I'm a MVP. Hey, I'll take any kind of acceptance.

I wonder whether you've seen the online offerings of one Sam Vaknin, self-confessed narcissist. He's widely quoted on PD forums.

For you (and for another member I could name), the issue was with father. For me it was mother. I was born into a traditional family: father went to work, mother ruled the home. She ruled him, too. He adored her. Even as a toddler I knew he would never hear a word against her.

Dad died four years ago, right before I literally went out and broke my head (the acquired brain injury). She's still alive but I haven't been in the same room as her since 1991.

Having been in the mental health system for more than 30 years I've accepted that I'm stuck with the way I relate to the world. More than one therapist in a long line has put me in the too-hard basket. I no longer believe there's a cure for Complex PTSD.

Anyway, I hope you'll stay with us.