“Narcissus” by Caravaggio |
Have you ever looked in the mirror and got turned on by the
sight of yourself naked? Come on. You can be honest. We’re only as sick as our
secrets. But the fact is if your answer is yes then you need help. You’re a
real sickie. It’s nice to be aware that the sight of your body may turn others
on and it’s part of the reality principle when you realize that it’s time to
turn down the lights, when the veins, little rolls of cellulite and wrinkles
start to impinge on your once youthful frame. But if you move from the stage
where you look at yourself feeling “that's not bad" to the point where you actually find yourself jerking off to the thought of your own naked body, then you have to see a therapist. In The Art of Loving Erich Fromm pointed out that you have to love
yourself before you can love someone else. But he wasn’t talking about physical
love. When you get the hots for yourself then it’s time to get help--since it’s going to make it hard to get interested in others. Self-involvement is probably not listed as a disorder in the DSM-5 and
there probably are not enough people who display this physicalized form of self-interest for the
syndrome to be recognized as a recognized pathology, whose treatment would be
covered by insurance. Still it’s not something that should be left untreated
since lusting after the self, as has been noted in the case of Narcissus, can
lead to extreme behavior. Remember? The famous mythological
character drowned when he fell for his own image in a pond.
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