For eight years in the 1990s, Attorney Charles Ware hosted the extremely popular legal advice radio program "The Lawyer's Mailbox"; the Number One (#1)legal advice radio program in the Mid-Atlantic Region,on WEAA - 88.9 FM, Morgan State University Radio in Baltimore, Maryland.
www.CharlesJeromeWare.com

Thursday, June 18, 2015

NARCISSISM PROBLEM IN DIVORCE COURT : SURVEY BY MARYLAND FAMILY LAW ATTORNEY

www.charlesjeromeware.com    " Here to make a Difference " in Divorce and other Family Law matters.  For an initial courtesy consultation with this  "TOP 10 DIVORCE and FAMILY LAW ATTORNEY", Charles Ware,   headquartered in Howard County, Maryland, call us at (410) 720-6129.  We can help you.




Maybe it's in the water, the air, or perhaps it's just our present family culture  --- but, in any event, in my 30-plus years of successful divorce and family law experience I am observing that  narcissism appears to be increasing among parties in these types of cases.
 What is "narcissism" ?  Generally, narcissism is described as the pursuit of gratification from vanity or egotistic  admiration of one's own attributes. The term originated from Greek mythology.  Narcissists  are believed to think only of themselves and not of the feelings of others. A "narcissistic personality disorder" is defined as "a mental disorder in which people have an inflated sense of their own importance, a deep need for admiration and a lack of empathy for others ; but behind this mask of ultraconfidence lies a fragile self-esteem that is vulnerable to the slightest criticism" [ Mayo Clinic, www.mayoclinic.org].


 Both men and women can suffer from this mental disorder.


A narcissistic party(person) in a divorce action can wreak havoc in the divorce process on everyone involved. Further, there appears to be no medicine can helps this person [Talk therapy is the principal treatment regime].


In my long experience in handling difficult family law cases, one of the best ways to deal with the narcissistic party in a divorce action is to impose strictly the legal rules and procedures governing the action; and not get side-tracked with emotion. It is my observation that the classic narcissist is similar to the modern-day personality version of "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde": clever, treacherous and extremely duplicitous.

Be aware that  the following traits could reveal a narcissist in your midst in a divorce/family law case, plus there are other traits that may apply as well:


(1) Manipulation : Narcissists are master manipulators whose actions are rarely in alignment with their words.
(2)  Perjury:  Narcissists  are liars. Period. They will easily lie under oath.
(3) Empathy for others:  Narcissists lack empathy for others; and care only about themselves.
(4) Disrespect for adverse court orders : Narcissists do not respect court orders they feel are adverse to their personal interests, and thus will always try to weasel  their way out of them (outside of the court's permission).
(5) Children's best interests: Narcissists do not care about the children's best interests. The only thing that matters to him or her is what the narcissist wants.



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