I took it as he is over-dramatizing what is going on. Things aren’t as bad as he is making them out. He hasn’t experienced real trauma. He just elevated it in his mind to excuse his behavior.
There are hints I picked up on that he was possibly molested, although it's never explicitly uttered, that's the feeling I got. Also, his brother dies of leukemia. He's desparately clinging to innocence of childhood while teetering on the edge of being an adult, and he doesn't trust adults. Whether it's elevated in his own mind or justified and he can't admit it to himself, the feelings he has are real to him and that's the subtle beauty. Sometimes your feelings trump reality and there's not much you can do about it.