20% of the population are predators - REALLY?

Another content creator recently made this claim and communicated it to an audience of abuse survivors.
I'll cut to the case. I think this is not only wrong, but potentially harmful advice and this is why.
#abusiverelationships #recoveryafterabuse #PTSD #hypervigilance
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[@nataliew8529]

I dont know whether 20% is right or not. I guess the main point is that it is good to be aware but not live in fear.

[@drruthannharpur]

Exactly ❤️ We don't want to live in naivety or fear 🙏

[@photina78]

🎯💯 Well said! Thank you! I'm glad nobody said those negative things to me when I was recovering from abuse! It would've made me even more paranoid. Fortunately, I was able to keep making new friends, some who had a wonderfully therapeutic effect on me. 😊

[@pdquestions7673]

Whether we like it or not, and I don't mean to sound hostile to psychology per se (and I really do try to be charitable), but I'm afraid psychology does basically promote knowledge around personality disorders in terms of stereotypes. Yes, yes, good psychologists say that the diagnostic categories are just "guidelines" and not meant to describe real individuals, but - at the same time - I think there is a major tendency, arising out of psychology (despite what good psychologists "say"), to regard people w personality disorders as stereotypes. Worse, the stereotypes become self-fulfilling prophecies, because (in my opinion) psychology has not really landed on the deep mechanics of these conditions, and I'm afraid the bias toward emotionality and infancy (& the avoidance of seeing patients (& humans generally) as emancipated / individual / capable / independent adults), and maybe a lack of a more mature philosophical perspective, makes it very hard for the ethos of psychology to produce any meaningful motivations for people who are often trapped in the confining mindset of Cluster B personality disorders. So, the result is lukewarm and often ineffective treatment schemes, which - sadly - tends to reinforce most of the stereotypes. Obviously, there are exceptional therapists, but I'm afraid it's their exceptional humanity, as opposed to exceptional fidelity to the prevailing orthodoxies, that accounts for their success w difficult patients.

[@drruthannharpur]

I sympathise but also think that most information about personality disorders isn't coming from psychologists who work with people who experience them or from academics ... I wish the world of mental health professionals would please stand up when it comes to the stereotypes and misinformation about personality disorders tbh. I share your view that they're a broad indicator of what neighbourhood you're in as a starting point but there's a lot more to people and their stories than any diagnosis. Many of my colleagues reject the concept entirely which I debate endlessly with them about!

[@pdquestions7673]

@@drruthannharpur -- At least there's some debate, but it's frustrating to see it so far at the margins and not really penetrating the mainstream. That said, it would help to see real palpable & regular examples of realistic improvement for Cluster B people, so that the debate can be more than theoretical. Looking at addictions as a reference, addictions are well known to have a VERY difficult recover, with pretty high relapse rates (and where most addicts don't even seek help), yet, in the case of addictions, mainstream psychology presents them as "afflictions" subject to improvement... in contrast to the way personality disorders are presented. Despite that contrast in descriptions, I am pretty sure addictions aren't substantially harder or easier than Cluster B disorders in terms of the difficulty of recovery or relapse risk. I think the only difference is that addicts themselves have demonstrated that some kind of recovery is possible, and that has earned them a degree of "merit" in the mainstream consciousness & addictions are somewhat "accepted" as afflictions subject to recovery & improvement. My hunch is that things like DBT & schema therapy are part of the beginnings of something that could eventually earn similar "merits." But I don't think the notion of "cluster B recovery" has been developed enough to earn the "merit" that addicts have earned in the mainstream consciousness... hopefully it's a work in progress, but I think it's important to recognize that we're not there yet. And, even in the case of addicts, I think recovery (as it exists presently) has lots of room for new insights and improvements.

[@drruthannharpur]

@@pdquestions7673 fwiw, I think there's plenty of evidence now that BPD is highly treatable... I don't see that other cluster B disorders would be different (tho I acknowledge motivation to change may not be there at the more malignant end of the spectrum where you have overlap with psychopathy and criminality). I think we share a view that recovery, however it is defined, involves much more than mental health treatments or psychotherapy.

[@rockybalboa4593]

I disagree with you. It may not be 20%, but there absolutely is something to be said for the fact that the vast majority of narcissists are undiagnosed and do not seek therapy. Therefore, the percentage of actual narcissists is absolutely much higher. Literature can only reflect what is recorded; what is recorded can only be based on what is reported and documented. We live in an age of technology. Technology contributes to instant gratification and fosters a sense of entitlement. People don’t even pick up their phones to communicate anymore to the same degree they once did before cell phones existed. People can even go on apps to order their groceries for example. Everything in these times is absolutely far too convenient. There are almost no incentives to communicate or learn personal responsibility anymore. The reality is we now live in times where someone can literally be sitting right adjacent beside you and cheating on you right under your nose with their cell phone using an app or website. These are the times we now live in thanks to technology. You also neglect to account for those professionals who are either ill equipped to either recognize or are otherwise uninformed about NPD or narcissism; therefore they often misdiagnose it as bipolar disorder or some other condition.

[@Cull_Obsidian]

You are the exact reason I don’t start up a KZbin channel. Someone is explaining to you (a person with PhD no less) with evidence to back it up and you come out here and spout utter bullshit with your entire chest. If you don’t have training or qualifications in a subject, you don’t always have to talk, especially when your opinion has the same amount of validity as someone saying the position of the starts tell your future “but that’s what I feel”

[@rockybalboa4593]

@@Cull_Obsidian I’m the reason you don’t start a KZbin channel? That’s interesting. I don’t know you personally, and that’s entirely your choice, not mine. I also do have a doctorate myself and have written a dissertation, thank you. I am knowledgeable in the limitations of studies and qualified to conduct research. I expected someone else with the same level of education nonetheless to possess the awareness of knowing that literature can only mirror what is documented statistically. Professionals are also in no way immune to being deceived themselves. This is no longer the same kind of world that we may have grown up in. This is an entirely different animal. Frankly I believe that in and of itself is common sense.

[@Cull_Obsidian]

@@rockybalboa4593 that sure is a whole lot of words to say absolutely nothing whilst trying to pass yourself off as a pseudo-intellectual. I might have had more time for your argument if you hadn’t have read my opening sentence, something very easy to grasp and taken it literally. “Is and of itself common sense” fallacious appeal to commonality there, it’s time to back up what you’re saying

[@photina78]

Nah.