The Borderline Experience

“I could never be so cruel to her.” My sister, nine years my junior, was talking about her newly born daughter, and the two of us were having one of our many discussions about how our mother treated us in the past. Our significant age difference made it seem as if we grew up in completely contrasting environments, but one thing remained constant, and that was our parent’s abusive and toxic behaviors. It has taken me most of my adult life to come to terms with my childhood, because I chose avoidance over examination. After all, I had a roof over my head and food to eat, and I could have had it much worse. It wasn’t until I started researching my mother’s diagnosis of Borderline Personality Disorder that the missing puzzle pieces started falling
Experts believe that there are many more people with undiagnosed BPD, because those with the personality disorder tend to avoid treatment, or are mistreated because they have a co-occurring mental illness or disorder that displays similar symptoms. It doesn’t help that the conversation surrounding BPD remains limited, creating a stigma that often makes a person with BPD feel vilified. David M. Reiss,””, wrote in his published paper titled The Borderline Experience: “In my opinion, the key to understanding the experience of a person with BPD is through appreciating that behaviors that may be highly dysfunctional as an adult were actually protective during a childhood marked by recurrent perceived trauma.” Aileen Wuornos, convicted mass murderer whose story has been told in the movie Monster, was diagnosed with BPD during her 1992 trial. Psychiatrists determined that the sexual and physical abuse Aileen suffered as a child triggered her, causing her to seek revenge on her victims. In the documentary “”, those interviewed stated that Wuornos never had a chance in life, because she was abandoned by her family and community at a very young
My younger brother was what schools and communities like to label a “troubled kid”, his antics making history when he was the first kindergartner to be expelled from our private school. What my mother saw was a carbon-copy of herself, and every side eye and negative comment was an echo of offensive remarks made about her own behavior as a child. Whenever my brother got into trouble for his disregard of authority or bad attitude, my mother saw it as a victory: my brother wasn’t just sticking up for himself, he was sticking up for my