#####################################################

Monday, November 26, 2007

Personality Disorder - The Real Truth

Have you ever been accused of having a personality disorder? The flavour of the week right now is NPD or Narcissistic Personality Disorder. NPD is defined as follows:



''Narcissistic Personality Disorder - An individual with this disorder is in love with himself/herself, and has little positive regard for others other than in a superficial manner. They tend to be grandiose in how they present themselves, and tend to demand admiration from others.They believe they are special and deserve special treatment, regardless of the problems this creates for others. They readily take advantage of others, and tend to be quite arrogant. In actuality, they are very sensitive, and tend to not be able to tolerate any criticism or negative feedback. They usually seek treatment because they are frustrated in getting what they want. However, they often do not seek treatment, because they perceive everyone else as causing the problems, not themselves.'' - definition from http://www.webhealth.com/ as are the following facts.



Does it scare you to read that? That's because elements of evry Personality Disorder that has been classified to date, can be found in the personality of every person on the face of the earth.

This doesn't mean that everyone has a personality disorder. It simply means that we as individuals have our own style, our own personality based on the intensity or lack thereof of the elements that 'make us tick'. Our thought processes, our emotional needs, our socialization abilities, our cultural backgrounds and belief systems etc.

All accepted tests given by any institution for personality disorders equate layman recognized personality traits with 'medical' ones.

For Example: If you are ambitious and confident - you have an element of Narcissism

If you are expressive and emotional - you have an element of Histrionics

If you are alert and suspicious - you have an element of Paranoia

If you are affectionate and loyal - you have an element of Dependancy

The list goes on and on. But remember - everyone has elements of all of these (and other) disorders. What makes a personality tip over into an actual Personality Disorder, is the 'exaggeration' so to speak of one or more elements: the predominance of one or more symptons which become the totality of the personality. This leads to personal harm not only to the individual, but to their 'environment' and those within it. But even with some exaggerated elements, people who function within their society in a stable manner, can be accused of no more than being 'eccentric', 'individual in their style' or 'having the ability to think on a different plane'. They do NOT have a Personality Disorder.



The most recognized personality disorder is that of being Shizoid or schizophrenia. We've all seen in 'real' life and especially on TV those poor unfortunates who roam the streets talking to themselves and convinced that aliens are out to get them. This type of disorder is severe and life destroying without medication. Physcotherapy may, in conjunction with drugs, maintain this disorder, but it can't cure it. But on the rise, and becoming so obvious on the net is a Personality Disorder that until now, was hardly recognized and rarely diagnosed by anyone other than a trained physcotherapist. This is NPD.

We are all to a certain extent narcissistic. We have to be to maintain a healthy ego. We have to believe that our beliefs and convictions have merit. We have to believe that we ourselves have value and purpose. To have none of these beliefs would make us Anti-Social, a Personality Disorder of it's own.

Anyone who spends time on the net eventually comes up against the need to develop a highly tuned sense of paranoia as a weapon of self defence. We learn early, if we are paying attention, to distrust much of what we see and read and are offered on the net. To be overly alert or suspicious are the elements of paranoia. Does this mean we all become sufferers of the Personality Disorder of Paranoia? Of course not. It simply means that our rational thought processes are exemplifying these elements in order to protect our impulse reactions that may leave us open to harm. I would call that rather healthy!

It has become evident to me however that the elements of NPD are showing up in the personalities of many people on the net. I have been accused of it myself because I have the strength of my convictions, which comes into conflict with people whose only convictions seem to be, to harm. I have a healthy self-image, which I have earned after more years on this planet than any of my detractors. I have a strong sense of humour which I use shamelessly to keep from descending into the internet pit of 'transference of guilt' and pettiness of thought and expression. I have enough life experience to recognize an abuser, an idiot or a fool right off the bat. And heaven knows, the net is full of those. I also have, what many consider a bad habit, the nerve to call it as I see it. If I am wrong, I apologize. If I am right, I don't back down. And it is this last that gets me labelled by people as narcissistic. One quick peek at a webpage does NOT make a person an expert. Study and life experience do that.

So please, please people, be careful of the labels you attach, of the pits you fall into and of the lure of the net which can seep into your soul and create within YOU a personality disorder you otherwise would never have developed.

It is documented that people with NPD are incapable of rational thought and cognitive thinking. If this blog is all 'Greek' to you, then you need to learn to read. If it makes sense, then my ability for cognitive thought is proven and my level of narcissism is healthy and balanced.

You may learn something about yourself, as I did, if you take the time to take the online personality test at http://www.similarminds.com/. It's fun, easy but only valid if you are honest. My husband was sitting beside me when I took mine, so you can bet your bottom dollar I was honest! LOL My highest scores (and I had NONE over 50) was in the area of obsessive-compulsive because I was trained to keep my home and environment clean and orderly. And I readily admit that I am a little anal retentive in that regard. A cluttered home reflects a cluttered mind, my gran always said, and I have come to value that axiom. So again, I urge you to take the test and learn something about yourself that may make you a little less judgemental of other net users and a little more informed of just how complex we are as people and how our personalities don't have to be 'disordered' to be obviously different.

UPDATE: In case any readers missed it, there is a link in the comments that I am going to post
here: www.narcississupport.com. I urge everyone interested in this particular disorder to check this website out. It belongs to Kim and Steve Cooper and tells the story of their own battle with narcissism and how they overcame it, kept their marriage together and learned to laugh at themselves. It is full of courage, compassion, unconditional love and we in the 'world' must appreciate this, as these qualities seem to be on the wane in life. It will educate you about the realities of this disorder, offer support and advice on how to deal with it, and make some of you think twice before labelling anyone else as having this disorder when it's not warrented. Please, please click on this link. You will be very glad you did.
Kim and Steve - Kudos to you for your willingness to share your story in order to help others.
I am awed and humbled by your courage throughout and beyond the process you have gone through.

Saturday, November 24, 2007

Cyber Crime Investigators

Not to sound like a 'victim' here, those of you who regularly surf this blog, or have been visiting it lately are aware of just how heated some comments on the previous blog became, the threats that were made and the accusations that were flung around. In the wake of all of this, and concurrent to it, I have also been receiving nasty emails - again.
I have stated before and I will state again, that I belong to some organizations that concern themselves with net safety, harrassment, abuse and other things. I have stated and will state again that I have a lawyer who specializes in internet abuses. Upon his advice, I am posting here a link to an organization that ALL of you (the COLLECTIVE you, not the individual you) may find of interest. I have used it myself, will use it again, and urge everyone to bookmark it. But be warned. This organization is not interested in petty squabbles such as have been going on here on this blog. They are interested in serious and ongoing situations having to do with stalking, harrassment and severe inappropriate use of internet contacts. The organization is called Net Trace Inc. They are Cyber Crime Investigators and can be found at www.nettraceinc.com. As I said, I urge everyone reading this, to bookmark this site. They also have a phone number posted on site and email capabilities.

The existence of this organization and many like it, is proof positive that the internet is and will probably always be used, barring strict government guidelines, to not only convey information, but as a conduit by people hiding behind their belief in 'non-detection' to exercise a sick kind of power over the 'virtually' defenseless. Where there is great good, there is also great evil. And modern society with it's 'throw it away and get a new one' attitude places such little value on much of what we enjoy in our lives today and that especially includes the trust, the feelings and the rights of others whose faces they cannot see, the circumstances of whose lives they can't possibly know everything about, and the TOTAL affect of the words they have written as they are read by their target.

Cyber crime classifications are really still in their infancy. Currently the only enforcible ones are mirrors of crimes that can, or have been, legislated and made punishable in "real" life. But this tide is changing with every day that passes. Millions and millions of people use the net every day and most of them for social networking. This is the category of people who are most vulnerable and in need of protection. Whether you are eight or eighty - it only takes only ONE network site to expose you to cyber criminals. It only takes only ONE person to take a dislike to you for the flimsiest of reasons to make you a target and your life a living hell. Because where there is one - there are many. Whether it be the friends of the one or your bad luck to 'attract' through no fault of your own, the many, the results are the same.

So again , I urge every reader here to bookmark the above site's homepage. You never know when it will come in handy, whether for yourself, a friend, a loved one, or even a stranger you keep seeing constantly subjected to abuse, harrassment, or any other kind cyber crime.

Friday, November 23, 2007

The Cancer of Internet Intimidation

At the risk of being jumped on yet again by the commentors on my recent blogs who's user names start with the letter "Z.A.K.", I am writing this blog as I have just received an email from a friend of mine about a woman who heads up an organization on fighting the cyber cruelty of people whose greatest weapon is intimidation. Nancy's organization, of which she is the Director, is called "Centre For Safe and Responsible Internet Use". Recently during an interview she stated that "There is an epidemic of cruelty online because of the ease with which anybody can post anything." She talked about the perception that posters have, that they can say what they want, in any manner they want, because their real identities are (they think!) protected and therefore the authorities can't 'find' them. She stated that because the fear of detection is removed, the full understanding of the harm that such posters are doing becomes oblivious to them. She encouraged all users who have experienced cyber cruelty, intimidation and bullying to stand up and be counted, to refuse to give in, to report to agencies like hers the user names of such people and to be assured that there is recourse against these types of posters.
It was her explanation of the tactics used by such people that really caught my attention at this time, considering what I myself have been subjected to so recently.
Intimidation is an age old weapon of forcing the submission of others to bend to your will. It can be used in the form of shouting, verbal abuse, personal attacks, threats and physical violence. In the email were links to other articles which all had the same theme in common. To whit: People who make the choice to be cruel, to intimidate and to hurt others, usually exhibit poor language skills, lack of imagination in their arguments and can, more often than not, be found to be part of a group of like minded 'friends'. I found this particularly interesting. It seems the internet has become a breeding ground for 'packs of rabid human wolves'. Their main purpose when threatened by greater intellects, loftier ideals or what they perceive to be 'personal slights' , is to lash back, on the attack at the person that has come into their sights. They will circle and growl and hiss and nash their virtual teeth at them and then they will get virtually violent with words.
They have no concept of logic or reason or a point of view that differs from their own. Their acts/words of intimidation are cruel, often senseless and always unnecessary. The damage they do is considerable. People's sense of self, of safety, of the kindness of others and the finer aspects of human nature are destroyed and so the breeding continues as more and more users find themselves falling into the same mind set because they have been forced to defend themselves on a level they would not have sunk to otherwise. It's like a disease. It's a cancer.
It is evident in the responses on my own blogs here.
Perhaps I should not have written THIS blog entry at this time, as the ZAK's are attacking me as I type. But this email was too timely, too important and too true, not to share with those of you who will be reassured to know that you are not alone, that there are people who are making headway in exposing these cruelties and tracing and dealing with these anti-social types of users, and that if responsible and caring users stand their ground, they will succeed in taking the power from the intimidators by simply refusing to give in. I encourage everyone who cares about stopping the tide of such abuse and misuse of the opinions of others, to Google Nancy Willard and her organizationa and report, report, report.

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Response to MaxPower1971's Lies

First of all I want to apologize to a very nice man who lives in Berkshire, England and who's net user name is also MaxPower1971. This blog is not about you.
This blog is about MaxPower1971 of Mylot.com.
I said in earlier blogs that I would respond to any libelous comments made about me on mylot.
As predicted MaxPower has jumped on the bandwagon of lies, misrepresentations and a total non-understanding of what this blog is all about. Following is a discussion of his that he posted on mylot about me after he had been directed to my blog. He couldn't have properly read the entire blog or he wouldn't have said what he has said below.
Here is the discussion:


Internet cancer...The real story
MaxPower1971

Hi friends and readers. As some of you may know,I was gone for a few months due to personnal reasons. I come back to find a blog about me,calling me a cancer on the internet.So let me try to explain the mind of really weird and full of herself person. This particular woman,a BANNED user at Mylot for repeated threats of internet terrorism and her repeated violations of the guidelines here,makes fun of people's grammatical skills,and control of the english language.Mylot banned her,not me,not the MLPD(tho I like to think we had a part of it) She's the REAL cancer;She's a troll.She goes from forum to forum spreading her lies and misconceptions of life. I won't name her,but her followers are gonna know who she is. SHE'S THE REAL CANCER ON THE NET!!And I will be the cure.












End of discussion to date - I recently deleted other people's comments on this discussion to just Max's lies.



So AGAIN, I must set the record straight.

l. I NEVER in any of my blogs called Max a cancer. I called Riptide a cancer of hypocrisy. But I NEVER called Max a cancer. In fact - the only time he is mentioned in my blogs is when I named him along with others as people at Mylot to stay away from. It was their abusive BEHAVIOUR that I called a cancer. Subsequent blogs made it very clear that I was posting about abuse on the net, using cancer as an ALLEGORY - in any form, and my first blog made it clear that the abuse I knew best at that point was the type exercised on mylot by Max and friends in the mlpd. But large egos must make everything about THEM don't you know!

2. I NEVER made any threats of internet terrorism on mylot. In ONE discussion I told a user friend of mine who had commented on Max's foul mouth, that "perhaps I should have my 'hacker son' pay Max a cyber visit and teach him some internet manners". It was a joke between friends - and this friend knew that at the time my son was attending DeVry and learning how to 'hack' in order to write programs against it. It was and still is my son's nickname as he is a computer programmer. That doesn't make him a criminal hacker. But again I say, large egoes must make everything about THEM don't you know!

3. I NEVER repeatedly violated guidelines. I had two user names, I admit - therefore two accounts - the second one to keep Max and friends off my back after I retired the first one for awhile. I then retired the second one after Max disappeared from the site and returned as myself and was there happily until my banning which was brought about by a former friend who had lost her own fight to get reinstated at mylot.

4. Max says I made fun of people's grammatical skills and control of the English Language. To a certain extent he is right. I did comment on the ignorance of using foul language against innocent users. I did question his and his friends ability to read and comprehend. I still do, because neither he nor his friends seem to have yet mastered these basic skills as the above discussion illustrates.

5. He says that I go from forum to forum spreading lies and my misconception of life. WHAT?
What forums? What misconceptions? I have not and do not talk about mylot on any other site. I have commented on OTHER PEOPLE'S posts on other forums about mylot. I have written ONE article about it and I have my blog here. That's it. As for my misconceptions about life - so I take it, that it is wrong to want to see abuse in any form disappear? I take it that it is wrong to defend myself against identity theft, libel and petty small minded bullying? I take it that it is wrong to want to see the English Language return to it's former glory of form and expression when spoken or written by people educated in the English Language.

And Max has the nerve to call ME the cancer! He then goes on to say he is going to cure me.
Well bring it on boyo. Out write me. Out think me. Out 'logic' me. Cancer is an illness. The truth is not.

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

The Cancer of Anonymous Cyber Bullies

Whoa -- First let it be known that I have NO problem with people who post on the net anywhere, of retaining anonyminity. There are times and places where such a tactic is not only necessary, but prudent. HOWEVER. There is a plethora of people who surf the net, come across blogs, postings and other 'public domains' where under the cloak of anonyminity use their keyboard to ridicule, libel, and outright bully the person behind the blog or posting. Generally, these people have no prior history with their target. They simply exercise their ability (NOT A RIGHT, AN ABILITY) to behave in a manner that would make their mother's blush. It is tantamount to walking up to a stranger in public and running off at the mouth at them. Usually people who do this are considered crazy and given a wide berth by passers by. It is easier to do on the net, because their target has very little manouverability outside of deletion after they have read the nastiness posted against them. You can't just walk away - these bullies will return and return secure in their cowardice. They are another form of Internet Cancer and growing in numbers every day. They make the internet experience for a lot of people a sad and ugly thing. Often they are responsible for real harm and heartache and drive good people from good sites.

The only recourse that the targets of these small minded power trippers have is to either defeat them with reason and kindness or delete, delete, delete. To give in - to try to 'hide' - to lower oneself to their level gives them power. Like a bully in a school yard, the best way to handle these cancer cells is to stand your ground and refuse to back down. I know from experience that this can result in a nasty spillover into 'real life' at times, and though that is unfortunate, in the end it is the cyber bullies who will lose. They will lose because the more venom and ignorance they post, the more they prove their own lack of worth and they will never be taken seriously by people of character and integrity when they finally do come out from under their cloaks of anonyminity - except by like minded people of course. But people of intelligence understand that the grouping together of small minds does make a big mind or an open mind. It makes only a gathering of small minds without an original thought between them, either individually or collectively. It creates a 'pack like' mind set that feeds eventually on itself, that shows no personal growth, compassion or imagination. They are predicatable and therefore in the end powerless to continue to engender hurt, anger, humiliation or fear in their 'favorite' targets.

Like the poor, cyber bullies will always be with us. After all - in many cases, cancer is incurable. It has periods of remission, but it is always there, in the wings, waiting to strike again. But net savvy posters are 'on to' these cyber cancer cells and know how to protect themselves, on the net, off the net and within themselves. To them I say - More power to YOU!

Note For Max

I deleted my previous blog Max - not because you scare me, but because you are abusive, foul and the epitomy of WHY this entire blog was begun, but I told you, you weren't welcome and you 'virtually slapped my mouth'. You threatened me and so I deleted you. Get used to it. I have copies of everything you wrote, and your threats - and everything that's in the hands of my lawyers is there to make sure that when you and your types comes after me, I am protected because I have done nothing illegal - it is not a threat against you. Again - learn to read!

About Me

My photo
Random thoughts and wishes. The wisdom of my years. Whatever I get to thinking about...............