ableism against cluster B personality disorders (ASPD, NPD, HPD, BPD) is a fuckin issue and it makes me mad. so I’m going to talk about it for a few minutes. prosocials encouraged to RT.

(Side note: for those who’ve never heard it before, we’re gonna use the term “prosocial” a lot throughout this. prosocial just means someone without ASPD, NPD, HPD, BPD or a conduct disorder)

right ok so cluster B personality disorders affect a person’s emotions and behaviors. They are characterized by actions that others see as dramatic, overly emotional, or erratic. They include Antisocial, Narcissistic, Histrionic and Borderline personality disorders

this thread isn’t going to touch on the symptoms like. at all. never fuckin trust “guidelines” for disorders from a Twitter thread (or carrd). if you don’t know what I’m talking about: Google Is Free! cause we’re not telling you. you can start here https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/320508 

our system is affected by NPD, BPD and conduct disorder. Conduct disorder is a behavioral disorder diagnosed in minors, 1 out of 3 children diagnosed with it develop cluster B disorders when left untreated.

Cluster B disorders a hot topic in media because of their marketably towards to the crime and horror genres. psychopathy, narcissism, attention seeking, and erratic behaviors are exploited by those outside of cluster B because of the stigma associated.

1.) terms
psychopathy (pronounced cy-cop-athy, not psycho-pathy) is a way of describing a set of personality traits including deceitfulness, lack of empathy and remorse and poor behavioral controls (impulsivity). IT IS NOT, IN MODERN USE AND THE DSM, A MENTAL DISORDER.

psychopathy and sociopathy were taken out of the DSM in the third version, replaced by antisocial personality disorder in 1980. however, ASPD and conduct disorder is not psychopathy and many people affected find it derogatory.

TW // abuse
next: narcissistic abuse. narc/npd abuse is abuse defined by using narcissism to control the way someone thinks, acts and feels. we have a lot of personal opinions on it (namely it’s no longer used for its purpose and is mostly ableism now) But we digress,

this term has caused irreparable damage to the NPD community. getting disability rights for NPD is harder than ever, because people assume we are naturally abusive. those diagnosed with npd have been continuously silenced in this conversation and we’re pretty fucking tired of it.

to be clear: abuse with ”narcissistic“ characteristics is a real issue, and policing the language of victims is cruel. as a victim of it ourselves, you have to realize the general public is ignorant and predominantly ableist.

that’s just how it is today. people are more than willing to use the struggle of victims to demonize NPD. the solution many cluster B’s are proposing is to change the diagnostic label of NPD. narcissist is a lost cause of a label, and we find most only mean it as an insult.

If enough people protest to change the N in NPD in the DSM: a large portion of the weight of stigma will be lifted off millions of shoulders. we made this as a joke this morning but we think it shows what a lot of people with npd go through

Those were the two big ones but other terms directed towards the cluster B community that leave a bad taste in our mouth include: psycho, freak, and referring to those with npd as “narcs” or putting N before our names (This has a specific history, you can DM abt if you want)

avoid calling people with cluster B disorders media words. we may describe are traits as such, but it is both medically inaccurate and out of date. If you’re going to discuss our condition, use the medical terminology and stick to it. We have boundaries like everyone else.

2.) representation
if you were to think of figures who fit cluster B, you’ll probably come up with antagonists of horror movies and serial killers. Thats because the media has been running a half a century smear campaign against us.

you get pretty good at identifying the stereotypes after living with and knowing friends the disorder. The murderous antisocial, reckless psychopathic teenager, seductive histrionic, the narcissistic helicopter boss and borderline ex come to mind. these are all examples of +

the way we consume media affecting how we think of mental illness. it’s the same as how split portrayed systems as beasts and how jaws made sharks scary. Fiction not only affects reality, but it shapes how we view it entirely.

anyway, this was a lot of words so to give a nice little gift wrapped takeaway for prosocials, heres a list of shit that aids in the stigmatization of cluster B

- writing characters to be dangerous, manipulative, aggressive or criminal because they have traits of or noticeable NPD, ASPD, HPD or BPD

- using narcissist, antisocial, borderline or histrionic as derogatory terms knowingly or ignorantly towards their medical use

- supporting media (movies, shows, characters, comics etc) that showcase cluster b with malicious intent

- using the stigma of cluster b disorders for personal profit

- psychoanalyzing and armchair diagnosing those you don’t personally treat (celebrities, politicians, family, friends, past partners) as psychopaths or CB, or implying they are so as a prosocial without a degree or expertise

we are only 1 system, so we were as broad as possible. we can’t and won’t diagnose u. don’t dm us asking abt ur symptoms, thtz not our problem. This isnt a guideline for these disorders. Don’t comment “but cluster ppl can be bad ppl” u know that’s not what were fuckin talking abt