The fragile man feigns invulnerability by projecting a hard exterior. But much like glass or porcelain, something being hard does not mean that it's durable. All it would take is a fall from a decent height for what appears to be hard to shatter into a million pieces.
Years spent committed to convincing others of our invulnerability to pain can lead us to believe this falsehood ourselves, which, in turn, propels us toward self-destructive behaviors. Our disconnection from the reality of pain subconsciously drives us to seek ways to avoid confronting it.
One of the main barriers to self-compassion is the false belief that because others have had it "worse than you," you have no right to feel sympathy for yourself.
