The speaker discussed the inherent contradiction in psychology and self-help between expanding oneself through exploration and the simultaneous societal demand for self-control and limitation. This paradox is pronounced in pathological narcissism, where individuals reject the constraining reality in favor of an inflated, fantastical self-concept, resulting in a persistent conflict between reality and fantasy. The narcissist’s refusal to accept reality leads to narcissistic injury, rage, and abuse, ultimately causing emotional dysregulation and the formation of a false self disconnected from true reality. Reality as Narcissistic Injury (Grandiosity Gap)