Sam Vaknin explains that the human need to be seen—rooted in early survival—is lifelong and evolves into a need for witnessing, where others not only remember events but agree with one’s interpretation, shaping self-concept. He contrasts healthy witnessing, which supports a stable, autonomous self, with pathological witnessing in narcissism, where a fragmented self relies entirely on external witnesses, leading to vulnerability and psychopathology. He warns that modern isolation and declining social witnessing threaten mental health broadly, potentially causing widespread disorders as people lose the external scaffolding that sustains identity. Witnessing the Narcissist: Need to be Remembered, Validated