As it is World Mental Health Day, I want to speak out about one of my recent diagnosis - Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD).
People often have a negative view about BPD and that is why I am reluctant to speak about it publicly. Why? Because it shows how I'm not as perfect as I want to be or as much I want people to think I am. My eating disorder doesn't make me perfect, but at least I can control my weight and make it perfect for me. Whereas BPD makes people think I'm evil and a horrible person because it's out of my control and brings out the worst in me.
I wish people would understand me but they don't. There is always an explanation for the way I behave. It's not because I'm a bad person even though it may seem like it. I promise the things I do does not come from bad intentions. It comes from a need to feel like I belong.
I've always found it hard to make and keep friends. BPD makes close friendships difficult. No one seems to stay for long in my life and I often become a burden for people because I am vulnerable, fragile, difficult and too dependent. I expect too much from people. I want to feel needed, I want to feel wanted and I want to feel like I matter. I want someone to be spontaneous and take me places, because I never had that as a child. I want to feel safe and cared for, because I never felt that as a child. I want to be treated as a first choice, because I've never been someone's first choice.
I never felt like I fitted in as a child. I always felt left out. People hurt me. I was always on my own. I was my own best friend and own worst enemy. That is why whenever I get close to someone now; I fear abandonment and rejection which leads to me losing people because they get scared and back away as I try so hard to keep them. I would do anything for someone I love not to leave me. In the past - it has ended up with threats, multiple suicide attempts, threats of suicide and self-harm, in an attempt to blackmail people not to leave me. It's not a selfish part of me, but a desperate cry for help. I have so much love and care to give - that's all I want. I want to feel worthy for once.
If I make plans with friends and for some reason they cancel, it triggers me into thinking they hate me and they have probably found someone else they would rather hang out with. I get upset and mad. I don't think about their reason, I automatically think it's about me. The reason is always me. That is why I need constant reassurance from people that they still like me and care about me.
And only recently, I realised this part of my personality not only affects my personal relationships, but also affects my professional relationships and how I relate to people in the workplace. If I don't somehow feel like I belong in a team, I feel unimportant which makes me feel worthless. If I don't get praised at work and get criticism, I feel like it's the end of the world and everyone hates me and get paranoid that I will lose my job. It comes hand in hand with perfectionism. I must do all I can to feel accepted because I never felt accepted as a child.
So, the cause of BPD is often deep rooted . Trying to keep up with constant feelings of self-doubt and worthlessness is exhausting, but with an intense form of Dynamic Interpersonal Therapy (DIT), it has made me understand why I do the things I do. I found out that my BPD is connected to my anorexia. With my DIT therapist, I found links to why I behave the way I do and it really makes sense.
Living with BPD is so hard - you will not understand how hard it is unless you have it yourself. The behaviours are only a reaction of what we fear the most - that have already happened to us before. For me, not feeling like I got enough love as a child, being used, being bullied, feeling left out - are all combination of things why it is hard for me to form healthy and stable relationships in adulthood.
However, as I recover, I am realising I have behaved inappropriately towards people which ruined a lot of friendships. I did those things because I was in a bad place and let my illness control me. I am not denying responsibility at all. I am at fault. I know I hurt people with my words and impulsive actions and I hate myself for that. I wish I could turn back time and start again. But, whats done is done and I can only work on it and improve myself for the better.
I am not a bad person, I promise. All I want is to feel is loved for once in my life. People think I only care about myself but that is not true. It may seem like I think the whole world revolves around me but it is far from that - it is a little girl, who hasn't properly grown up, so desperate to give love as well as receive love. I am fun, funny, silly and caring - I just had a difficult childhood that has left me in this mental state, but I am still a human being.
If a friend or a loved one struggles with BPD, I just need you to know that they are not a bad person. They are just scared. Please please don't leave them if you really love and care about them. It hurts. It hurts so badly when someone you love abandons you. Help that person. Be there for them. And if it gets too much and you decide to leave them, please don't be harsh to them - try not to end things in a bad way. Reassure them that things will get better and that they are not alone. It will make every bit of difference.