Vulnerable Narcissism: Why You Feel Emotionally Unstable in Relationships | Epi 162

In this episode, we continue our discussion of vulnerable narcissism. Now we get into how these dynamics actually show up in lived relationships—not just as emotional neediness or dependency, but as a deeper reliance on another person’s psychological functioning: their ability to think, decide, organize, and hold uncertainty when you cannot. We focus on how emotional instability often emerges when this kind of internal containment is outsourced to the other person, so that your own sense of clarity, agency, and emotional steadiness begins to fluctuate depending on their availability. We dive deep into what makes these relationships feel so intense, confusing, and destabilizing for both people involved.

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Dr. Anthony Mazzella is a psychoanalyst and psychodynamic psychotherapist specializing in narcissism, personality disorders, and relational dynamics.