Breaking Bad: study of narcissism

If you haven't watched the series "Breaking Bad," you may find it worth watching.

Through the series, the main character, Walter White, a high school chemistry teacher with inoperable lung cancer, falls into a moral abyss. His addiction—to the money he makes producing nearly pure crystal meth—leads him to take risks, put his family in danger, and hurt all the people around him. The meth venture starts with what seems to be an altruistic idea to ensure that his family has adequate finances to survive after his imminent death. But producing the meth becomes for him a narcissistic journey to "win."

It's a fascinating study of a narcissist.

Early in the series, it seems that Walter White is a "good" man. He has a wife who loves and appreciates him. A son who looks up to him. Students and a community who regard him highly. I, for one, see this character as one who was always good at putting on the nice façade, but under stress, he buckles. He cannot accept help from others. He shifts blame. Deep down he is bitter about the opportunities he squandered early in his career. His narcissism–which was always there–is now revealed.

He becomes a meth cooker, and, in order to make more profits, a meth supplier. Dangerous business as Walter soon discovers. When Walter is faced with situations in which the choice is to kill or be killed, he chooses to kill, and he is empowered by this. Time and time again, when Walt has the opportunity to choose good over evil, he chooses evil. At the same time, he attempts to continue the façade of being a good man making these choices to protect his family.

There is a scene in which Walter's wife has her "Discovery" moment. Skyler asks Walter about the existence of a second cell phone and he lies about it. She knows the phone exists because he mentioned it when he was under the influence of drugs prior to a surgical procedure. In Skyler's face, I saw what I personally felt: that moment when you realize your husband is not who you think he is. Your gut turns inside out and you think you will puke. You know the person who has been sleeping beside you for years is hiding a whole fat lot of lies, and this is just the tipoff.

That moment is the beginning of the nightmare where everything that once seemed real ceases to exist. From that moment on, everything changes. I have lived it, and perhaps you have too.

When Skyler tries to leave Walter, he will not let her. This is absolutely typical of the narcissist! When you have tried to leave a narcissist, none of this seems unfamiliar or contrived.

Skyler herself eventually becomes caught in the web of lies because she tries to protect her children from the truth. Again, I can empathize with this.

When you or the people around you think you are dramatizing your "situation" with your narcissist, I recommend you watch a few good series like "Breaking Bad," "Dexter," "Mad Men," and "A Woman Scorned: the Betty Broderick Story." Each of these do a good job of depicting sociopath / narcissist thought processes and behaviors.