Verywell / Ellen Lindner
Spoiler alert!
Joe wants to know you, to protect you, to loveyou.
As a result, you may have found yourself wondering how accurate the series' depiction ofstalkingis.
Verywell / Ellen Lindner
What’s Realistic About the Depiction of Stalking in You?
Resentful Stalkers
A resentful stalkers' goal is to intimidate and frighten.
Does Joe Have a Mental Health Condition?
InYou, Joe Goldberg exhibits “psychopathic traits and narcissistic traits,” says Hatters Friedman.
Hatters Friedman notes there’s no single mental health condition associated with stalking.
Narcissism varies in severity from person to person.
According to Lev, “Stalking is seen in the full spectrum of narcissism.”
And for a malignant narcissist like Joe, “Their aim is to fully possess [their victim]….
Stalking is a good way to get there.
You’re getting to know this person’s weaknesses and their strengths and their needs and their desires.
And you’re more able to control them and possess them.”
They feel shame, and shame may look like guilt…
It’s actually very self-absorbed.
Yet, the series doesn’t acknowledge this reality.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.National Intimate Partner And Sexual Violence Survey (NISVS): 2015 Data Brief.
Mullen PE, Pathe M, Purcell R, Stuart GW.Study of stalkers.Am J Psychiatry.
1999;156(8):1244-1249.
Rosenbaum KB, Hatters Friedman S.You (the novel and the television series).J Am Acad Psychiatry Law.
2019;47(2):267-268. doi:10.29158/JAAPL.003849-19
