Narcissistic Withdrawal
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psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...
, narcissistic withdrawal is a stage in
narcissism Narcissism is a self-centered personality style characterized as having an excessive preoccupation with oneself and one's own needs, often at the expense of others. Narcissism, named after the Greek mythological figure ''Narcissus'', has evolv ...
and a narcissistic defense characterized by "turning away from parental figures, and by the fantasy that essential needs can be satisfied by the individual alone". In adulthood, it is more likely to be an ego defense with repressed origins. Individuals feel obliged to withdraw from any relationship that threatens to be more than short-term, avoiding the risk of
narcissistic injury In psychology, narcissistic injury, also known as narcissistic wound or wounded ego, is emotional trauma that overwhelms an individual's defense mechanisms and devastates their pride and self-worth. In some cases, the shame or disgrace is so sig ...
, and will instead retreat into a
comfort zone comfort zone is a familiar psychological state where people are at ease and (perceive they are) in control of their environment, experiencing low levels of anxiety and stress. Judith Bardwick defines the term as "a behavioral state where a p ...
. The idea was first described by
Melanie Klein Melanie Klein (; ; Reizes; 30 March 1882 – 22 September 1960) was an Austrian-British author and psychoanalysis, psychoanalyst known for her work in child analysis. She was the primary figure in the development of object relations theory. Kl ...
in her
psychoanalytic PsychoanalysisFrom Greek: and is a set of theories and techniques of research to discover unconscious processes and their influence on conscious thought, emotion and behaviour. Based on dream interpretation, psychoanalysis is also a talk the ...
research on stages of narcissism in children.


Psychoanalysis

Sigmund Freud Sigmund Freud ( ; ; born Sigismund Schlomo Freud; 6 May 1856 – 23 September 1939) was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, a clinical method for evaluating and treating psychopathology, pathologies seen as originating fro ...
originally used the term ''narcissism'' to denote the process of the projection of the individual's libido from its object onto themselves; his essay "
On Narcissism ''On Narcissism'' () is a 1914 essay by Sigmund Freud, the founder of psychoanalysis. In the paper, Freud sums up his earlier discussions on the subject of narcissism, considers its place in sexual development, and looks at the deeper problems of ...
" saw him explore the idea through an examination of such everyday events as illness or sleep: "the condition of sleep, too, resembles illness in implying a narcissistic withdrawal of the positions of the
libido In psychology, libido (; ) is psychic drive or energy, usually conceived of as sexual in nature, but sometimes conceived of as including other forms of desire. The term ''libido'' was originally developed by Sigmund Freud, the pioneering origin ...
on to the subject's own self". Later, in " Mourning and Melancholia", he examined how "a withdrawal of the libido ..on a narcissistic basis" in depression could allow both a freezing and a preservation of affection: "by taking flight into the ego, love escapes extinction".
Otto Fenichel Otto Fenichel (; 2 December 1897, Vienna – 22 January 1946, Los Angeles) was an Austrian psychoanalyst of the so-called "second generation". He was born into a prominent family of Jewish lawyers. Education and psychoanalytic affiliations Otto ...
would extend his analysis to borderline conditions, demonstrating how "in a reactive withdrawal of libido .. a regression to narcissism is also a regression to the primal narcissistic omnipotence which makes its reappearance in the form of
megalomania Megalomania is an obsession with power, wealth, fame, and a passion for grand schemes. Megalomania or megalomaniac may also refer to: Psychology * Grandiose delusions * Narcissistic personality disorder * Omnipotence (psychoanalysis), a stage ...
". For
Melanie Klein Melanie Klein (; ; Reizes; 30 March 1882 – 22 September 1960) was an Austrian-British author and psychoanalysis, psychoanalyst known for her work in child analysis. She was the primary figure in the development of object relations theory. Kl ...
, however, a more positive element came to the forefront: "frustration, which stimulates narcissistic withdrawal, is also ..a fundamental factor in adaptation to reality". Similarly, D. W. Winnicott observed "that there is an aspect of withdrawal that is healthy", considering that it might be "helpful to think of withdrawal as a condition in which the person concerned (child or adult) holds a regressed part of the self and nurses it, at the expense of external relationships". Differing from the prior perspectives of psychoanalysts,
Heinz Kohut Heinz Kohut (; May 3, 1913 – October 8, 1981) was an Austrian-born American psychoanalyst best known for his development of self psychology, an influential school of thought within psychodynamic/psychoanalytic theory which helped transform the ...
considered that "the narcissistically vulnerable individual responds to actual (or anticipated)
narcissistic injury In psychology, narcissistic injury, also known as narcissistic wound or wounded ego, is emotional trauma that overwhelms an individual's defense mechanisms and devastates their pride and self-worth. In some cases, the shame or disgrace is so sig ...
either with shamefaced withdrawal or with narcissistic rage".
Otto Kernberg Otto Friedmann Kernberg (; born 10 September 1928) is an Austrian-born American psychoanalyst and professor of psychiatry at Weill Cornell Medicine. He is most widely known for his psychoanalytic theories on borderline personality organizatio ...
also saw the difference between normal narcissism and "'' pathological narcissism''... swithdrawal into "
splendid isolation Splendid isolation is a term used to describe the 19th-century British diplomatic practice of avoiding permanent alliances from 1815 to 1902. The concept developed as early as 1822, when Britain left the post-1815 Concert of Europe, and continu ...
"" in the latter instance; while Herbert Rosenfeld was concerned with "states of withdrawal commonly seen in narcissistic patients in which death is idealised as superior to life", as well as with "the alternation of states of narcissistic withdrawal and ego disintegration".


Schizoid withdrawal

Closely related to narcissistic withdrawal is schizoid withdrawal, "the escape from too great pressure by abolishing emotional relationships altogether in favour of an introverted and withdrawn personality". These "fantastic refuges from need are forms of emotional starvation,
megalomania Megalomania is an obsession with power, wealth, fame, and a passion for grand schemes. Megalomania or megalomaniac may also refer to: Psychology * Grandiose delusions * Narcissistic personality disorder * Omnipotence (psychoanalysis), a stage ...
s and distortions of reality born of fear" that maladaptively complicate an individual's capacity to enjoy a relationship.


Sociology

"Narcissists will isolate themselves, leave their families, ignore others, do anything to preserve a special ..sense of self". Arguably, however, all such "narcissistic withdrawal is haunted by its ''alter ego'': the ghost of a full social presence" – with people living their lives "along a continuum which ranges from the maximal degree of social commitment ..to a maximal degree of social withdrawal". If "of all modes of narcissistic withdrawal, depression is the most crippling", a contributing factor may be that "depressed persons come to appreciate consciously how much social effort is in fact required in the normal course of keeping one's usual place in undertakings".


Therapy

Object relations theory Object relations theory is a school of thought in psychoanalytic theory and psychoanalysis centered around theories of stages of ego development. Its concerns include the relation of the psyche to others in childhood and the exploration of re ...
would see the process of therapy as one whereby the therapist enabled his or her patient to have "resituated the object ''from'' the purely schizoid usage ''to'' the shared schizoid usage (initially) until eventually ..the object relation – discussing, arguing, idealizing, hating, etc. – emerged". Fenichel considered that in patients where "their narcissistic regression is a reaction to narcissistic injuries; if they are shown this fact and given time to face the real injuries and to develop other types of reaction, they may be helped enormously"
Neville Symington Neville Symington (3 July 1937 - 3 December 2019) was a member of the Middle Group of British Psychoanalysts which argues that the primary motivation of the child is object-seeking rather than drive gratification. He published a number of books ...
however estimated that "often a kind of war develops between analyst and patient, with the analyst trying to haul the patient out of the cocoon ..his narcissistic envelope ..and the patient pulling for all his worth in the other direction".


Cultural analogues

* In Joanne Greenberg's novel ''I Never Promised You a Rose Garden'', the therapist of the protagonist wonders "if there is a pattern.... You give up a secret to our view and then you get so scared that you run for cover into your panic or into your secret world. To live there." * More generally, the 1920s have been described as a time of "changes in which women were channelled toward narcissistic withdrawal rather than developing strong egos".G. K. Levinger/H. L. Raush, ''Close Relationships'' (1977) p. 64


See also


References


Further reading

* D. W. Winnicott, "Withdrawal and regression" in ''Collected Papers'' (London 1958) {{Narcissism Narcissism Psychoanalytic terminology Freudian psychology