There's absolutely no verifiable truth to that absurd claim and it demonstrates the problem with online communities: they're often populated by those who, like those they claim to be criticizing (narcs or otherwise), want to control a narrative, irrespective of truth or objectivity. Any cursory search in a legitimate library, academic journal or similar, would easily dispel that and prove, quite literally, the exact opposite (which I'm sure you realize). It also makes no logical sense if you even understand narcissism, and that position de facto excludes all the other types, such as covert or communal, thereby disrespecting and erasing victims across the board. Regardless, garbage is all over the internet, as are people who don't know what they're talking about. And the confusion caused by them makes issues worse, which is why I only post on here, and only occasionally. Discord is no better than reddit and arguably somewhat worse, and most of the communities are crossed over and on both, so you're being fed by the same cretinism--the only difference is that you have a different username and login for one versus the other. For your own mental health and development, I'd leave them all. If all they do is propagate lies and talk bullshit, then what's the point? What value is it adding? Nevermind the fact that there are countless groups spread across the internet that are explicitly intended to mislead people for their own purposes, and want people to be confused or harmed. Guard yourself and your brain best you can and raise your standard of engagement.

I'd also really avoid self-diagnosing, unless you've been diagnosed by a professional as having borderline, don't form ideas in your head about what you may or may not suffer from without knowing it for certain. That's as dangerous as anything else. Just focus on being well-rounded and healthy and when possible, talk to a professional about your concerns otherwise.

I've never come across anyone who's ever suggested that people with narcissism are neurodivergent in the way it's typically understood. They're certainly not neurodivergent in that context, and you're correct that in no way am I implying that. Narcissism is strictly a personality disorder that manifests in outward abuse and is not under the same spectrum as autism from any interpretation I'm aware of. Understanding it as a disorder and the impact narcs have on others isn't "accepting" it or them, and it's not giving them any sort of excuse/justification for their actions, nor is it extending them any kindness. It's simply a way of bringing clarity to the actions and underlying worldviews that motivate narcissists to act the way they do, which, at least in my case, brings relief and helps elucidate the distinction between actual reality (what narcissists do and what their actions cause) versus the false reality they invent to uphold their ego (what they say they do/are). The gap between those things are what results in the cognitive dissonance that causes much of the pain, confusion, and self-blame in their victims (e.g., they tell you they love or care for you but all their actions indicate otherwise). This is especially important to remember since gaslighting is their primary method to control narratives, redirect things they don't like, and maintain the reality that they want (such as, with their children, having no boundaries).

Conversely, a person working to understand how neurodivergent people think and behave is different because it's an expression of empathy, in order to understand how they are situated within the context of society, norms, and within the broad scope of human behavior, usually with the intent to help them be more accepted or tolerated or accommodated.

Narcissists lack empathy by definition, incidentally.

Well, I don't have a solution for your actual question about being banned, but I can offer an interpretation of your issue and my own opinion, which echoes some of what Maeve commented. I suspect that you're young, which I know makes it feel that you "need" something like a reddit community. I could be wrong about that, but in either case, you don't. I was the victim of a covert narc mother and enabler father and am now estranged from both. My partner had an abusive malignant narc father. We both used to frequent those communities for a time, but as we/I got older, I realized they're really not that helpful. The validation of your feelings and experience certainly has some level of value, but it's minimal, and stops once you're aware of the simple fact that you aren't alone. Then it becomes a place to wallow in sorrow rather than try to actually deal with the situation (whether mental or physical) and develop strategies to solve issues. Once I saw that, it's far better to focus on how to move forward, emotionally or otherwise. I would suggest leaving reddit permanently, primarily because it's terrible for mental health due to it being an echo-chamber by design. It reinforces feelings of helplessness over the long term. In my view those communities should only be used as a reference, and not something to really be a 'part' of. Functionally all they do is enable your suffering to remain present in your life rather than acting as a healthy off-ramp.

Instead, what I did was educate myself on the clinical, scientific and psychological aspects of narcissism and read technical blogs, websites, and academic papers by legitimate researchers about the subject. Not YouTube. It's infinitely better because it provided me technical tools and ways of thinking to improve myself and heal and respond to abusers, rather than fragments regurgitated by random reddit users. Understanding the real reasons why narcissists (or people with similar disorders) act the way they do is enormously helpful and uplifting, because you then can understand yourself and your pain, and it frees you from needing online validation because you know why things are the way they are, and how to react to future occurrences. And then you can take control of yourself and of your suffering and start to heal. But for me at least, those communities were like water-logged loose band-aids; they helped in the very small short term, but they quickly fell off, so then the solution is to walk to the hospital and get a permanent solution. And in this context that's to learn and grow on your own. That's not to say communities don't have any value, they do (I'm here aren't I?), but reddit's popularity and ease of access means it's quality is bottom of the barrel, and it's often much more damaging than helpful.

TLDR: go elsewhere, preferably a library.

honestly if you're serious just be an independent journalist and find income elsewhere to support it. It's the only way to maintain journalistic integrity anyway, and they're needed.

ditto

Glad to hear you made it out of the weeds. It takes such a long time these days which makes it that much harder.

Never heard of Preply, thanks. I've considered tutoring, though a bit hard with no references and such. I'd do the bar/restaurant thing, but since I'm not a citizen where I am, can't work for a local company. So my only option really is to run something on my own. I'm hoping that once my classes start I can build some good relationships with my professors and find some part time remote academic work.

Yeah, that's tough. I wish you the best of luck. A handful of people I know who have full time jobs do gig work in addition. It ain't easy these days.

Thank you for the link. I wondered if there were any accounts on Rednote that could help. As I mentioned in my post, my current understanding is that a student visa would be the most straightforward and likely path, so that's what I'm currently compiling resources for.