Can Narcissists Truly Connect With Their Bodies? |
Do you talk to yourself about your body as if it were a thing separate from the rest of you? If so, this is the type of self-talk typical of narcissists. They tend to ignore, negate, and yet seemingly thrive in the world, but suffer from the disconnection between mind and body.
If we trace our beginnings, we find that the instinct of connection to the body begins at birth. There, we see natural and freely expressed enthusiasm, curiosity, and desire. This early environment conveys numerous messages to us that we carry throughout life about how to act toward ourselves and others. This is where we learn to take in information, and it is where the narcissistic adaptation begins regarding whether to reveal our truths or cover up our bodies and personalities.
As we grow, many scenarios and patterns step in to disrupt or foster the psychological and emotional relationship between body and psyche. We learn body appreciation to gain intimacy, love, and to convey a myriad of emotional reactions. Relational difficulties and successes arise from physical issues, overt and subtle, social and private, to which we are exposed and assume. All reflect the learned sense of body, self-regard, encouragement, and authentic expressiveness.
Body narcissism concerns one’s attitude to the body and intense need for appreciation, but the inability to be open to intimacy. To a narcissist, the body reveals a person needing positive and adoring reactions. This is to compensate for the conflict regarding their body, although they often receive projections of standing out and appearing unusual. Although it appears........