Fallen Angel
The Trauma Model behind Narcissism and Cluster B disorders
Recently I was impressed to find Dr. Peter Salerno online. He holds a PsyD and an MS in clinical psychology. An expert in the docuseries “Ted Bundy: Dialogue With The Devil” on Hulu and Disney. His core argument is that the “trauma model” of narcissim and cluster B personalities is wrong. For decades - we have heard that these disorders arise from childhood wounds - bad parenting, abuse, neglect, deep shame. The narcissist adult child is “a wounded child acting out”. Dr. Salerno’s position - backed by large amounts of behavioral genetics research is that this is “scientifically incorrect and has caused enormous collateral damage”.
The Heritability Numbers
Torgersen et al. (2013) found heritability rates of up to 71% for Cluster B disorders, including narcissistic personality disorder
Reichborn-Kjennerud (2010) reported heritability estimates for narcissistic traits as high as 77%, with little to no contribution from shared environment
Viding et al. (2005) found 67% heritability for callous-unemotional traits in children - the precursor to antisocial and narcissistic traits
Polderman et al. (2015)- a massive meta-analysis across all human psychological and behavioral traits - found an average heritability of 49%, with personality pathology traits clustering on the high end
What This means? The shared environment - the home the kids grew up in, the parenting that they received accounts for very little variance in whether someone develops a Cluster B disorder. The genetic contribution dominates. Two kids raised in the same household, by the same parents, can end up very different because they inherited different genetic predispositions. Dr. Salerno also draws on neuroimaging work showing that individuals with narcissistic and psychopathic traits exhibit ”reduced activation in the anterior insular cortex” - a brain region critical for emotional awareness and empathy. This isn’t a learned behavior. Its structural. Its hardware, not software. What this means is that it removes the blame from the victim by recognizing that the disorder was never caused by the environment in the first place. So you can stop beating yourself up - or letting others online or those in person who try to get in your head, do so.
The picture at the top of this article is Alexander Cabenel’s Fallen Angel -a picture of Satan after his fall which we can read about in the Book of Isaiah in the Bible. What we are told is that at this time Satan uttered FIVE “I will” utterances:
“I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne, I will sit upon the mount, I will ascend above the heights, I will be like the most high.” (Isaiah 14:13-14)
most people look at this painting and see tragic beauty or a misunderstood rebellion. They see “the wound” that mainstream therapy teaches, but what I believe we are looking at is pure unadulterated narcissistic rage. The painting is the definition of the Cluster B engine: grandiosity at the expense of equality. It is the refusal to accept the reality of God as the Creator and others as equals. It is the elevation of the SELF as the only valid reality. The manifestation of satan’s pride - the “I WILL” that rejects reality, rejects conscience, and rejects the existence of anyone else as a sovereign being. Look at that eye in the painting. Look at the brow. There is no repentance there. That is not the tear of a soul that has realized its error. That is the tear of a god-complex that has been thwarted. It is the heat of narcisstic rage - the fury of a creature that demands to be the center of the universe and is forced to confront the reality that it is not. The painter Cabanel captured the exact moment of the fall… the fall didn’t break satan (Lucifer) - it solidified his pride into an eternal, unrepentant stance. The story of Cain and Abel perfectly illustrates this. After murdering his brother, when God confronts him - Cain doesn’t fall to his knees. No, he complains that his punishment is too great to bear. He is the first person in history to demand empathy while denying the right of his brother to exist. He is the victim.
The mainstream culture and belief of the “wound” of narcissism as being the source of the personality disorder opens a way for people to believe that healing can only come through empathy. Its a comforting, soft lie. It tells everyone that if they just love enough, if they just understand enough they can fix the evil. BUT YOU CANNOT FIX PRIDE WITH EMPATHY. Empathy is exactly what the personality disordered individuals use to feed their own grandiosity.
Wendy McPhail, CNC, NBCCT, FDN
ADAPT Functional Health Coach
Yes and there has been an explosion of narcissists in the last few years.
And then you have the all elite c*nts all of whom are narcissists and are doing satans work,
have lied, cheated and stole their way to their riches.
There is something very liberating about being able to examine one’s self, and humbly, openly, in humility, admitting wrongful actions as well as thought. Asking/seeking forgiveness where necessary, at first brings a temporary feeling of vulnerability. Something the prideful selfish, or self-centered narcissist is unable to do.