Thread:TVfan99/@comment-1509826-20140419221107/@comment-24819071-20140419233338

This isn't a diagnosis, but it is my professional opinion as a trained psychologist.

I believe, unfortunately, that there is a personality disorder at play here - or it can be an Axis I mental illness like bipolar disorder, which may mimic the behaviours of those with narcissistic personalities when in a manic phase. But does this character suffer from severe mood swings and if so, how long do these moods persist for?

Does this character engage in any compulsive behaviours (ie. self-harm, binge eating, have issues with bulimia or anorexia, abuse alcohol or other drugs, shoplift compulsively even when money is on hand, engage in promiscuous sex, or gambling?)

How does this character feel about rejection, criticism, or being alone?

Do he/she feel like they have a coherent identity? By that mean, does this character have values, opinions, goals, and ideas about themselves and others that are stable and not generally liable to change? Things that are their own - their own values, goals, opinions, etc that he/she sticks by?

Is this character indifferent to whether they form relationships with people, or is he/she very much oriented towards others?

Does this character understand that people can have both good and bad qualities at the same time?

Does this character feel intense feelings of shame over very minor misdeeds?

How does this character feel about being left, or broken up with by their lover in a relationship?

Does this character ever have sadomasochistic thoughts (ie. does he/she enjoy hurting animals, does he/she enjoy unusual sexual practices like BDSM, or other fetishes and fixations, does this character ever think of or fantasize about how it might feel to take a life? Does he/she blame themselves most of the time?

Often, those with personality disorder have some degree of difficulty (some little, others immense) forming any meaningful or lasting relationships with people. They have an incredibly difficult time connecting emotionally to people.

I would say that there is a borderline personality template here at work, but I do not believe it is enough to qualify for a diagnosis. Perhaps, a subthreshold, but not outright borderline personality disorder. My reasoning for this is that the character has delusions of grandeur and gradiosty, which are apart of BPD because BPD is a cluster B personality disorder and Cluster B personalities are all on a narcissism spectrum. All three suffer from pathological narcissism, but NPD is the most extreme, BPD is in the middle and AsPD is a the low end. Intelligence among these people are often high, with the vast majority scoring above average IQ scores. The characters aggressive and violent behaviour over minor provocations is associated with borderline personality. False arrogance is a common symptom to NPD, BPD, and many other personalities. However, it is also a very normal defense mechanism used by all people.

I need the questions I asked answered as best as possible, to get a clearer picture of this character. I see a BPD template, but not sufficient enough for a diagnosis - not even close.