I definitely think many men with substantial childhood trauma either actually have NPD, or tend that direction and get labeled with those traits the same way “unstable” women are labeled with BPD. In both cases, I think a stable sense of self never had time to develop.
What is needed is support and compassion, not cruelty and judgment.
I was reading the reviews of the tv show Succession. People are so quick to say, “I’m nothing like that.” Is that true? I think that’s not the lesson at all. I think we’re all capable of that, and more.
I think that’s the lesson.