I fear I may be a conversational narcissist. Not a full-blown abusive person with NPD, but whenever I reflect back on a lengthy conversation, I feel self-conscious about how much I talk about myself and how little I ask about the other person. Here's the kicker though: it's far more pronounced with women (I'm a man). With other men, I find it much more natural to always stay on topic and keep my cards close to my chest, but with women, especially one-on-one, I become an open book within minutes, even with a perfect stranger.

I ask, because I'm not sure how much of a problem this really is. I know it's considered rude to talk about yourself all the time, but the thing is, women seem to really enjoy it, and tend to come back for more. Whenever I make an active attempt to steer the conversation towards informal, neutral small-talk out of politeness, they become noticeably less engaged.

I've always been told the stereotype that women can never shut up, but that stereotype doesn't really reflect my life, as I find women are very eager to listen and learn more about you as a man. I can go on and on for hours sometimes, prattling on about all kinds of stupid shit, like my philosophy, my passions, my hot takes, my past, my trauma (their eyes usually light up with this one), and they just listen intently with wide eyes without break, and just keep asking follow-up questions wanting to hear more. I know women often like to know as much as possible about guys, to the point when they can stalk your social media or scroll through your text messages, so I may be indulging them just as much as they are indulging me. I'm just wondering if this is a habit I should curb, since it's not exactly stoic, manly behavior. Maybe I should be more like Gary Cooper, you know, the strong, silent type.

For what it's worth, I have a strained, distant relationship with my dad, but my mom calls me multiple times every week to hear how I'm doing, so this might be learned behavior.

Relatable?