My recent ex was intense in ways that are hard to describe. She carried the hallmarks of a malignant narcissist—traits I’ve found, to some degree, in almost everyone around me. What set her apart wasn’t just her confidence or self-focus, but how seamlessly it blurred into something manipulative and exhausting.
"She had all the traits of a malignant narcissist, but so does almost everyone I know."
The experience left me questioning where personality ends and pathology begins. Maybe we’re all shaped by the same cultural mirror that rewards self-obsession as connection, leaving empathy to flicker at the edges.
Author’s summary: A short introspective piece exploring how narcissistic traits in modern relationships have become unsettlingly common.