Over the years, “narcissist” has become the internet’s favorite word.
As more people become aware of their mental health and how it impacts them day-to-day, they’re also learning more about narcissism.
Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD) is characterized by a lack of empathy and a need to gaslight, manipulate, and destroy their victims. For the past year, my mom and I have been looking back at our past after we learned that my grandfather was a narcissist. We’ve learned how pervasive narcissistic abuse is and how even the smallest things can have a lasting impact.
Anyone who watches enough videos on my mom’s YouTube channel knows how protective she is towards animals. She even created a storyline in Ark: Survival Evolved about helping the weaker dinosaurs who couldn’t defend themselves. The other day, her therapist suggested that this need to protect could stem from how her father treated her.
When my mom was a child, my grandfather would force her to watch wildlife documentaries with him. He would use these nature shows to explain how women were inferior to men (yes, he actually did that) and used the animals’ behavior as examples of how women should be submissive to men. And some of the shows he picked were actually really graphic. And by graphic, I mean you actually saw the lion attack his prey, kill said prey, then eat his victim in all of its gruesome, bloody glory.
Oh, and did I mention my mom was like four, five, maybe six years old at the time?
She’s told me these stories before, but I think speaking with her therapist was the first time she realized just how traumatizing that experience was for her. Or how much of a trigger it was to watch Animal Planet with me and my brother when we were little. Those videos were not graphic and were made for kids. They still bothered her.
I asked my mom if watching The Lion King with me was a trigger, since I was obsessed with that film when I was younger. Surprisingly, she said she doesn’t even remember watching it. For the record, we’ve watched the original animated film three times, with the most recent being a couple of years ago, but Mom doesn’t have any recollection of watching the film at all. She simply blocked the movie from her memory.
Edit – May 23, 2025:
Mom and I watched The Lion King again after I initially wrote this article, and she actually remembered watching it. In fact, I think seeing the film was very healing for her.
đź“Ś Changelog
- May 23, 2025: Rewrote the article to provide additional information and improve readability.Â
- September 4, 2019: Date original article was posted.
