Narcissistic vs. Sadistic Supply
Channel: Prof. Sam Vaknin
Date: 2023-04-20

There are two forms of supply: narcissistic and sadistic. They both serve to buttress grandiosity, a cognitive distortion.

In any given environment, the narcissist feeds off either narcissistic supply or sadistic supply - never both.

Where the locus of grandiosity is narcissistic (example: “I am a good father, husband, or boss”) or histrionic (attention) - sadistic supply would actually be perceived as negative and result in a narcissistic injury!

Psychopaths who are also sadistic and sadists (people with the now discarded diagnosis of sadistic personality disorder) seek only sadistic supply.

Finally, borderlines alternate between the two types of supply, depending on their self-state. Like narcissists, borderlines are fantasy-prone and grandiose.

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