Often when a person was picked on or their ego was injured when they were younger the last thing desired is to be vulnerable. Part of the person's desire is that of power as that is what that person feels will finally heal that powerlessness they experienced when their ego was badly injured.

There is a huge desire to remedy whatever kind of abandonment was suffered in one's past. This means that in order to maintain "self" when there is some kind of abandonment threat is to make sure that self is the one that comes out the victor.

It's not unusual for a narcissist to give up on therapy, that is unless the therapist becomes a source of feed for them, that would make the effort interesting for some narcissists depending upon what satisfies their ego.

What you distain in others is their willingness to be vulnerable which is something you simply do not allow yourself to be.

When it comes to narcissism there is definitely a spectrum and it isn't diagnosed as a disorder of NPD until the individual shows extreme desire of distain to being vulnerable. Instead it's considered a true weakness to allow self to be vulnerable. No, instead it's safer to be the one who condemns and discards. Perhaps, if the injury has this extreme challenge therapy would be more helpful to help self to understand it better in order to live their life in the content of traveling the road that best suits them. This often means traveling the road alone with a better understanding how that's the best road to travel for you.

This can be the route many take, not just narcissists. It's not a crime to travel through life solo.