The Birth of Sorrow | Part 1: Crossing into Neurotic-Level Narcissism

Heal NPD

Link to episode 1 in this series, on psychotic-level NPD: https://youtu.be/IoxUCbNUJUE

Link to episode 2 in this series, on borderline-level NPD: https://youtu.be/Oz-C503q_9Y

This is the third episode of a four-episode series describing the narcissistic personality style across different levels of severity. Due to the length of the material, this episode has been divided into three parts. This is part one.

In this part, Dr. Ettensohn explores the developmental shift from borderline to neurotic-level personality organization, and how this shift transforms the inner life of individuals with narcissistic traits.

Part one serves as a conceptual bridge—reviewing core ideas from earlier episodes while highlighting the emergence of psychological capacities that make neurotic-level functioning possible. These include the ability to maintain a continuous sense of self, to recognize others as enduring subjects, and to experience ambivalence, guilt, and loss without fragmentation.

Through the lens of psychoanalytic developmental theory, Dr. Ettensohn illustrates how this shift brings with it new emotional burdens: the capacity to grieve, to feel remorse, and to live with an awareness of history.

This part introduces the foundational concepts of subjectivity and historicity, which will be explored in greater depth in parts two and three.

References:

Kernberg, O. F. (1984). Severe personality disorders: Psychotherapeutic strategies. Yale University Press.

Ogden, T. H. (1986). The matrix of the mind: Object relations and the psychoanalytic dialogue. International Universities Press.

Ogden, T. H. (1989). The primitive edge of experience. Jason Aronson.

Winnicott, D. W. (1965). The maturational processes and the facilitating environment: Studies in the theory of emotional development. International Universities Press.