There are two kinds of attention-seekers.
One was given so much that attention became the baseline; its absence feels like punishment. The other was given too little and learned to perform for scraps.
The first demands what he’s used to; the second chases what he never had.
A psychological idea is that, to be an ordinary person, someone must, at some point, allow you to be extraordinary (loved and successful); yet not so extraordinary that you demand constant affirmation.