Monday, April 3, 2017
Malignant Narcissism on My 600lb Life?
If you want to see possible NPD/sociopathy in full swing, take a look at the recent My 600lb life show with Steven Assanti and his brother Justin. They never have put up such a dysfunctional family on that show. I wonder about them going to the bottle of the barrel to find the worse fat people to make all super-fat people look bad. The show has gone from "inspiration" which I never bought into the wonders of WLS solving all problems to "side show horrors". Could there be an agenda with showing severely fat people who are like this? In Steven's case, why did they choose such a mentally ill/dark soul? This guy is like a one man advertisement for societal rejection and cutting off of the severely obese. He acts like one of those crazy "mind control" people that conspiracy websites are always warning about.
I even saw a petition for Steven Assanti to have all medical care shut off, due to his abuse of nurses and refusal to take any responsibility for his health. This is a show that definitely will INCREASE the hatred of fat people especially supersized people. In many ways I wish I didn't watch it. It was triggering and now I am watching it like a train-wreck kind of like Whitney Thore, to warn about it to others on this blog. I am NOT a supporter. As they fatten us up, and people become more severely obese, poster children for hatred of the obese are now becoming common on our media.
Steven Assanti makes sick. Spiritually, he looks completely seared. Considering my condition I am usually empathetic towards those who share conditions like my own but this guy made me want to puke. Some in the crucible of severe childhood abuse, do become like their abusers or choose evil. The show seems to show some evidence for drug abuse too. I know this show is destroying reputations of superfat people and how people will blame us all for our condition. To be frank,Steven Assanti with his high pitched voice, and other signs made me wonder if he has a chromosomal condition such as Klinefelter's or something. That condition doesn't explain or justify the severe malignant narcissism, everyone saw displayed before us on our TV sets.
I'm not the type to think people should be shut away from society but I kept wondering of him, why isn't he in a mental institution of some type or a group home getting some HELP or at least protecting the rest of society? The father is part of the problem too. I made the mistake of looking up his name online and his mental condition and his inability for empathy and immaturity are EXTREME.
I don't want to give this guy anymore attention but if you search for "fatboygetdown" on Youtube, you can see his old videos. It's a link I do not want any track backs from. He is seriously ill and [evil], beyond the weight. When I was watching the show on My 600lb life, I immediately thought narcissistic sociopath though a more blatant less cunning one that doesn't do a very good job of covering up to fool people. He was put in the news for being thrown out of the hospital for ordering pizzas and was on the "Dr Phil's" house years and years ago, where he didn't get along with anyone.
Justin the brother, needs to go no contact with his family to have any hope. I think he could have a chance to gain a better life in learning some social skills and seeing possibilities beyond his upbringing. I saw his youtube channel too. He posted a news story about his brother. Hopefully he can get his own weight under control as well.
What a nightmare! For once in my life I am out of smart Alec comments!
ReplyDeleteYeah it was like watching a train wreck.
DeleteHello Peep,
ReplyDeleteThanks for this post, I was watched that guy and thought he was mentally ill. He is just awful. I think they do need to address his mental health before anything else.
I am thinking they are aiming for ratings these days, pulling out the oddest most dramatic folks. I usually have such empathy for the folks featured, but this time it was pure disdain!
CLP
Hi CLP, I think the guy needs some serious mental treatment too though curing malignant narcissism, is not doable so my hope is not high for him at all. Some people online wrote wondering aloud if the Dad was giving into all his food demands, hoping he would die soon as a result. It troubles me there is NO place for someone like this to go but his Dad's house especially since he has such severe problems. He's not all there, that's for sure. Yeah I had disdain too. The brother still has a soul left but it's been impacted by the evil people around him. He seemed afraid of the brother, even with the Steven being immobile, so I wondered what happened to him.
DeleteI wondered if it might be Foetal Alcohol Syndrome but with all the vids up on youtube he seems perfectly able to plan and manipulate - rather than the compulsive behaviour you see with FAS.
ReplyDeleteAgree his ability to plan and manipulate seems higher then their's and his IQ too...I think they should test for Prader Willi on both of them pronto. I was surprised to see the mother is very thin too along [saw a video where she came to celebrate his birthday] and the father is plump but still around average weight land. Prader Willi could account for his oddly shaped mouth and face--FAS looks different, and food compulsions and probably low metabolism to go with it. I think some Prader Willi people can be near normal in intelligence but not sure on that. Both of the brothers need tested. His extreme OCD, PIZZA only or else, fits into some of the criteria for Prader Willi. He does seem severely developmentally disabled too, the immaturity points to major problems. {Hey us Aspies are not normal, I can cloak, but when the Aspergers has shown itself full force, it's not easy} He may have a "normal" IQ to plot and plan AND be a NPD AND have Prader Willi.
Delete"There are many characteristics of PWS which makes this syndrome unique and which contribute to behaviours that you may not find elsewhere. Specifically there are several "PWS" behaviours:
Food-seeking (including stealing, taking money to buy food, taking food from others, and eating indiscriminately)
Temper outbursts (particularly around food, but also around other things)
Skin-picking (there is a tendency to a high threshold of pain, but skin-picking also portrays anxiety, boredom, loss of self-esteem, nervousness, and develops into a habit)
High pain threshold
Temperature dysfunction (often can't tell the difference between hot and cold, and can dress inappropriately for hot or cold days)
Obsessive compulsive behaviours
Tenuous emotional control
His videos on Youtube almost show all of the above.
I'd bet money on it not being PWS. Working at the hospital I have met a textbook example of the syndrome. We could argue about what counts as below average intelligence but there's one thing in PWS that always checks - it's INABILITY to stop eating and loosing weight. It's quite literally physically impossible, given the horrible metabolism and lack of muscle. Steven has lost weight when he needed and he did it on his own.
DeleteEven the PWS people lose weight in structured group homes. I think Steven has only lost weight in structured environments when Dr. Now's hospital has controlled all his food intact. He's too fat to sneak off very far like sneaking down to the hospital cafeteria. And it's not like he was able to take the bus to the nearest bank to get some disability money to buy some McDonalds. They had him on PW level diets when they put on 800 calories in the hospital, I heard of a group home on a documentary putting kids on 600 calories and they were able to lose.
DeleteSteven appears to show characteristics of Borderline Personality Disorder. Frequent mood lability, Inappropriate, intense anger or problems controlling anger; A pattern of intense and unstable relationships with family, friends, and loved ones, often swinging from extreme closeness and love (idealization) to extreme dislike or anger (devaluation), etc. That is just my opinion.
ReplyDeleteInteresting. He definitely is more on the volatile borderline wing. The plotting cold ones like my mother aren't discerned so easily. A lot got fed up fast with Steven even around him. Still wish they'd make sure it's not Prader Willi.
DeleteAfter watching this guy on 600lb life I looked up his name plus psychopath. That's how I found this blog. His behavior is so contrived and purposefully mean. He showed no care for the people caring for him. Obviously his father caves into him but I thought it was great his brother decided not to have contact with him (I hope he kept up with that). The show obviously played into his narcissism and he had no problem walking around nude in front of the camera (just like his youtube videos). The scene where the doctor doesn't allow him admittance to the hospital (imagine using an ambulance to get to the hospital for a drug prescription; very selfish), and he is left to get home somehow is how everyone in his life should have treated him. No one should have gotten him a cat.
ReplyDeleteYeah, many people on a lot of discussion boards questioned if he was an out and out psychopath. He has some serious issues. I don't know why he is not in a group home or some other structured environment. It was strange to me. I think it is great the brother went no contact too, he looked a lot happier after his would be pyschopathic brother was out of the house. The drug seeking stuff was just crazy, I was in shock how far he took things. He definitely is desperate for attention. I found it strange they think that it is appropriate for some guy that mentally and physically disabled to live alone in an isolated apartment. I agree about the cat, poor cat. His videos show extreme mental dysfunction. He's messed up. I can understand someone cracking up from having an extreme body, the world sees you as a "monster" so they become a "monster" but whatever inside of him that is broken too would be there if he was thin or ultra fat.
DeleteCan you imagine having to live in a group home with him though? The poor other residents! I'm not sure what can be done with this guy. And who knows how he got this way but I think your speculations on his mental health are apt. But it's very hard (legally) to commit people to mental health care. In a way, if this had to be a show (on My 600lb Life) it would have been good if it was for the brother. He's the one who deserves the help. But I fear that the terrible behavior of this guy got the ratings (knocking urine over for a nurse to clean up??).
DeleteI agree about how the world views extreme bodies; we live in a very superficial (and by that I mean lack of critical thinking and understanding deep causes of problems as well as appearances) society. It's terrible because it prevents people from having the life they deserve.
Yeah you are right those poor group home residents, probably 50 years ago he would have been put life-long into a mental hospital with lock-downs. I do think we need to have legal protections but you wonder why a guy like that is left to self destruct with no help, there is so much failure in the mental health care system now. I think the brother deserved the help too. It is odd to me to see two thin/average weight parents and such fat brothers, it makes me wonder about genetics and other health issues. Yes this world is very superficial and it's growing worse in the USA with all the sociopath and Social Darwinian politics. I agree it's terrible.
DeleteI wish they would check on PWS. Even the shape of his fingers made me think that's what he has!
ReplyDeleteHe has a lot of markers of some other kind of physical problem. Honestly that is one thing I get pissed off about with 600lb life, they hide a lot of conditions that can cause severe weight like what happened with that one woman with very bad Lipedema. His mouth seems to have an odd arch and he is so thin on top, he has a lymphatic condition I believe that is seems caused by more then weight alone, which came first the chicken or the egg. With the pizza, he seems to have PWS saitety issues, there was one other man who failed to diet and lose weight, I think had some of those issues, hell I fail to diet so whom am I do judge? I felt sorry for that man, Steven K? He was a lymph case too, from what I could tell. I think Dr. Now's diet plans for losing 50lbs a month are crazy too and assumes they are all maintaining their weights on 30,000 calories a day.
DeleteOh there's other chromosone 15 disorders that contribute to weight. I once around 10 years ago trying to figure out what the hell was wrong with me, did reading at a genetic section of a very large university library.
I'm hungry now and ignoring it on purpose and I had stuffed cabbage at 8:00pm. That's one issue these doctors never address. I always find it strange how Dr. Now himself is fat and always yelling at them for being fat. He's got to be at least 250 himself.
This guy whose high, and has severe mental disorders, probably has even LESS ability to stop food cravings or cope with them. I think the stiff upper lip bootsraps crap is failing in general. With the pizzas that shows OCD, and other behavioral disorders too. Most normal people would get sick of pizza and say to hell with pizza after the first few.
I totally agree with your take on people's expectations about weight loss for people who have extreme weight issues. For some reason people don't believe in metabolic disorders (add to that the rise in fast food everywhere as well as the country's change in farming focus to corn and soy). Corporations purposefully create 'food' concoctions that cause people to virtually become addicted to flavorings (salt and sugar based). Certain people with particular genetic backgrounds cannot tolerate that type of food without getting overweight or fat.
ReplyDeleteI've done some research based on liposuction (the fact that it is a harmful procedure) and realized that the understanding of fat by science and medicine is extremely bereft. One of the studies I found was the starvation study done after WWII on volunteer soldiers (ex). The researchers found that after starvation and then re-feeding the men not only regained their weight but their set point was 10% higher than before; they regained plus 10%.
My point is that fat and weight are not well understood at all. Add to this any type of anxiety disorder or the issues you presented (genetic problems), or health issues like thyroiditis, and we have something very complicated being judged by society and put on reality TV.
Thanks Patricia. I do not understand why people do not understand different metabolisms, I really do no. The corn and soy and GMOs have added their part of this as well as corporations with their sugar and salt "bliss points". Very few seem to get that some people's bodies will burn it off while others will not.
DeleteLiposuction troubles me, and even the kind used for Lipedema. I know of people in my stage who got Lipedema done and the water, fluid and fat came back. Yes the understanding of fat is very limited. As I wrote in that one article, I believe failing lymph systems in general are playing a part in the obesity epidemic. All the dieting is not helping and the same answers. Oh sure, that is a huge danger, if you diet or do starvation mode stuff, the body will kick down the metabolism and never get it back to normal.
He's a psychopath / malignant narcissist. No doubt in my mind.
ReplyDeleteYeah he showed many of the signs. I felt sorry for his brother, I hope things are better for him. I don't know what become of Steven or if he is still alive.
Delete