In support of Narcissistic
Abuse awareness and recovery.
June 1st is World Narcissistic Abuse Awareness Day
(WNAAD).
When Steven C. Knapp, Emmy
Award-winning director and producer offered to create this year's Public
Service Announcement (PSA) for World Narcissistic Abuse Awareness Day 2019, I
jumped at the opportunity. All you have to do is take a look at Knapp's body of
work and it becomes glaringly obvious that he's not just an
extremely talented producer, film-maker and advertiser, he is an advocate with
a passion for raising awareness and exposing abuse and injustice.
Some of his creative achievements include the
very powerful PSA, “What is 13 Campaign?” for End Slavery Tennessee, an
anti-sex trafficking organization. And, currently, he is producing a
documentary exposing public corruption in the affordable housing industry
called, "Non-Renewed".
However, the issue of narcissistic abuse is
one that has touched Knapp on a deeply personal level. "For the longest time,
until my 20's, I didn't understand how narcissism colored my youth," Knapp
said about the realization that his own mother was a narcissist.
"Despite all the research and work I did
in my 20's, I eventually found myself with a covertly narcissistic partner; the
Hyde came out after our breakup and included the usual narcissistic schemes and
tactics: Flying Monkeys, blame shifting, smear campaigns, bread crumbs,
emotional manipulation, etc...." Knapp said, explaining the experience of
finding himself on the receiving end of a vicious smear campaign.
"Unfortunately, lies spread faster than the truth; time and integrity are
the right countermeasures," Knapp said.
The ordeal taught Knapp that, "to survive
a narcissist you must have a fierce determination and unbreakable persistence
to reclaim your identity, reputation, and sanity. The narcissist is not bound
to reality, morality, or decency and will paint you in a negative light to
whoever they think will believe them. Men and women can be narcissists,"
Knapp added.
"It's very hard to shake off," Knapp
said of the experience. He described feeling "deeply harmed" and that
is what inspired his desire to start speaking out about it. "I wanted to
speak up about this very hard-to-spot personality to help others observe,
identify, and hopefully avoid what I had experienced,” added Knapp.
A native Nashvillian, who grew up watching
Nickelodeon, Knapp had always been interested in entertainment. After
earning a Bachelor's of Science in Electronic Media from Middle Tennessee State
University, he then spent a half-decade in broadcast journalism and went on to
start the Emmy Award-winning creative agency/production company,
knapptimecreative. "We produce films, advertisements, and content for live
events with clients big and small all over the country," Knapp explained.
Now, luckily for the WNAAD movement, Knapp has
offered to help raise the profile of narcissistic abuse by using his talent to
help give a name to that thing "that people experience and might say to
themselves, "that's weird" or "who does that?
"Sometimes people understand there is
something going on, but don't quite have a name for it. Giving something a name
can be a powerful tool for change. Through conversations, I know I've led
people to the concept of NPD and examination of their own circumstances."
said Knapp.
