I call this pattern malignant victimhood: what happens when people have been hurt and have turned that hurt outward—instead of metabolizing it—until they have become the thing that hurt them. Victims who prey on their kind, going for the throat at every opportunity. Cannibals.
https://cristinagherghelvox.blogspot.com/2026/09/not-born-for-this-world-on-aphantasia.html

I wrote this book for readers who are interested in Theory of Mind, simulation theory, social cognition, cognitive science, philosophy of mind, phenomenology, mental imagery, aphantasia, neurodiversity, empathy, and ethics—but especially for readers who have had the uneasy feeling that something in the usual language of understanding other people does not quite add up.

The book examines narcissistic abuse through a framework that extends beyond conventional trauma terminology, arguing that chronic psychological manipulation can affect the very cognitive resources through which a person represents themselves, regulates themselves, imagines possibilities, and maintains a sense of direction. https://booksbycristinagherghel.blogspot.com/2026/09/the-sabotage-of-declared-preference-why.html

The book draws on the dark triad literature to name the specific interpersonal capability that enables selective clinical disclosure: Machiavellianism. The person with high Machiavellian traits reads what the clinician wants to see and becomes that thing for the duration of the interaction. They arrive already fluent in the language of neurodiversity, already prepared with narratives that map onto diagnostic criteria for ADHD or autism, already practiced in the presentation of acceptable suffering.

This book, like most of my work, combines deeply personal reflection with research-backed analysis, offering readers a clear framework for recognizing harmful patterns and psychological exploitation. It is not softened or diluted—it speaks the language of an abused reality.