Narcissistic Lovers: a brief excerpt

Cynthia Zayn and Kevin Dribble, authors of Narcissistic Lovers, compare narcissists to vampires in the following excerpt:

"Ns have been compared to vampires. This analogy makes a lot of sense when breaking down the characteristics of the disorder. The vampire is considered to be damned and cursed with his fate, just as the N is cursed with his disorder. Neither the vampire nor the N willingly chose his fate. The vampire uses people as tools and sources of supply to continue his existence…his constant, futile search for deliverance. The N used people as supply as well; he needs them to keep his “false self” alive while he continues his futile search for “ideal” love and deliverance of the disorder which enslaves him. 

The vampire cannot see his own image in a mirror and neither can the N . This is because the N has worked so hard to keep his real image hidden. He spent years trying to create and cultivate his “false” self’ he has pieced it together from bits of supply to which he was attracted. Therefore, when e glances into a mirror, he sees his supply staring back at him. He sees a cracked and plastered vision of several people, none of which are even remotely similar to the “vile and disgusting” real self he has carefully hidden. 

Vampires are considered “soulless”, doomed to roam the earth, snatching souls from innocent victims. Many people consider the N to be “soulless” because he seems to have no conscience or pity for his victims. Victims of N’s often say they feel as if their soul has been raped or even robbed by the N. 

Like the vampire, the N seems to roam the earth acting as a victim of his own disorder, gathering supply, almost unwillingly, as he searches for some sort of cure or deliverance. Destruction of the vampire comes about when he is exposed to the light, and the N will cease to exist when his “true” self is “brought to light.” 

~Excerpted from Narcissistic Lovers 

by Cynthia Zayn and Kevin Dibble (page 11)