I dunno. She's alive. She's not living under a bridge or in a tent in the mountains. Two big plusses in the the world of addiction.
...and I speak from experience. I have addicts and homeless people in my family. I also have a "Kim and Kyle" sister relationship in my family that closely mirrors the Kim and Kyle sister relationship I see on tv.
I also don't see Kim as narcissistic at all. Not by a mile. When she interacts with Kyle, what I see is an attempt at expressing her feelings (which Kyle perpetually dismisses) in hopes of Kyle actually listening and trying to understand her for once.
Genetics, addiction and lack of healthy rearing and socializaiton with a dash of Hollywood and fame sprinkled on top are responsible for most of the rest.
Not that any of it should be used as an excuse for anything, but it does qualify as an explanation. Everything is a certain way for a reason.
And where addiction and rearing are concerned, barking orders a la Kyle, "Get clean!", "Get a job!" make none of that baggage go away. It just pushes it in deeper.
IMO, I see Kim trying to live by the rules set by her domineering mother followed by those of her domineering sister. She has unwittingly given all her power to those two and kept none for herself since early childhood. She only knows this one way of living, and it's living for others - not for herself.
I feel she needs to flip this around and learn that she has choice and power in how she lives her life. Which, oddly enough, is likely all Kyle ever wanted for her. Kyle's just coming at it the wrong way
And, it's easier said than done. From experience, the process of learning that one has power of choice is the hardest step - and she may never get there. Many don't.
Neither addiction nor psychological issues related to unhealthy rearing are easy to overcome. They last a lifetime and rarely ever fully go away. The best one can do is learn the root causes and manage them.
Kim has made it this far, and I'd say that is something.
I also think genetics are at play quite a bit with things like this, and not just physically ( e.g. physical predisposition to alcohol) - but socially and psychologically as well. Where rearing is concerned...even if Kim and Kyle were raised and treated by their mother in exactly the same way (which I don't think is possible in any family), it still doesn't mean they'd respond in the same way. We are genetically wired differently which means we interpret the same data from the same world differently. And in response, the world interprets us differently...and right out of the womb.
The moment we're born, we form a relationship with our parents that will be different from the relationship that parent has with ALL other siblings.
Through no fault of anyone.
