Loneliness and Connecting With Others
Many of us with Borderline Personality Disorder know what it means to feel lonely. In my personal experience, I feel that I am a good, likable person at heart — someone who has something to contribute and who likes lifting others up in word and deed. I enjoy being around others and conversing — be it a simple, “superficial” conversation about the weather with the cashier at the grocery store to deeper conversations that might spontaneously develop, say, at a coffee shop or restaurant.
The dialectic that I face is a deep desire to connect with and be around other people and then the opposite desire, especially when my mood is low, of wanting to isolate and not be around anyone. Because I am still working on learning Interpersonal Effectiveness skills to help me within relationships with others, I still have a tendency to get very black and white/ all or nothing when it comes to being around others or keeping to myself. The moodiness and low self-esteem don’t help either.
I’ve been trying to find shades of grey. I recently made a commitment to get out of the house for a few hours every day, although I can have one all day pajama day a week when I hang out at home. With the exception of one day (not the PJ day), I’ve been keeping this commitment, and it seems to be helping with my mood and feelings of loneliness.
I don’t feel quite ready to engage on the intimate level required to nurture and maintain a deep, close connection (though I do have one with my significant other and one other friend). I think I’m afraid that I’ll invest and and then end up getting black or white and pushing the person away, only to be alone again. It’s a valid fear — it’s happened many times in the past.
So, I’m trying to just take it slow. When I get out of the house, I run errands or treat myself to a bite to eat. Sometimes I look around at a store, go for a walk in the park, and most recently I’ve resumed yoga classes twice a week.
During these activities, I am able to interact with others outside of just the mental health setting (the DBT and support groups I attend during the week), and this is nice. And, while I’m usually content to spend a lot of time interacting with others online, there is something about face-to-face interaction that simply can’t be replaced for me, even with all of modern technology.
Do I feel lonely because I don’t feel ready to give and take on a deep level right now? Honestly? Yes. Very. Do I want to work on my fears, build my skills, and try a little bit each day to deepen my ability to connect, despite my abandonment issues, mood swings, and tendency to push others away? Immensely.
I’m working on it, one day at a time, and trying to be as kind and compassionate with myself along the way.
Thanks for reading.
More Soon.
More Soon.
P.S. One way I’ve been keeping busy is by studying Spanish daily for one hour at a time. I’ve also started a second blog, focused on DBT skills, called My Daily DBT.com.
Everything you wrote hit home for me. i just recently found out about your blog, and i LOVE IT!! you are so brave. Keep up the goodwork. P.S i also have borderline personality, and lately i have been battling a mild depression because i also have pushed my friends away. Its weird i never have problems making friends only in keeping them because of the "black and white" thing. *sigh* Keep writing! lol
Everything you wrote hit home for me. i just recently found out about your blog, and i LOVE IT!! you are so brave. Keep up the goodwork. P.S i also have borderline personality, and lately i have been battling a mild depression because i also have pushed my friends away. Its weird i never have problems making friends only in keeping them because of the "black and white" thing. *sigh* Keep writing! lol
Feeling exactly the same at the moment! I have lost several friendships over the past few months – due to a combination of factors including faults of mine, or faults of theirs, or sometimes just circumstance. But there is definitely a common thread of me pushing away after having strong emotional reactions to small triggers.
As you know, it's partly why myself and two other girls started BPDFriends.org as there aren't many BPD support groups down here, and mostly we really want to make some support networks for ourselves and others who will understand this emotional sensitiveness!
And always I'll keep reading your blog, as it is equally comforting and inspiring every day. Love, Jess xox
Feeling exactly the same at the moment! I have lost several friendships over the past few months – due to a combination of factors including faults of mine, or faults of theirs, or sometimes just circumstance. But there is definitely a common thread of me pushing away after having strong emotional reactions to small triggers.
As you know, it's partly why myself and two other girls started BPDFriends.org as there aren't many BPD support groups down here, and mostly we really want to make some support networks for ourselves and others who will understand this emotional sensitiveness!
And always I'll keep reading your blog, as it is equally comforting and inspiring every day. Love, Jess xox
Thank you so much for your kind words, and welcome! ♥
Thank you so much for your kind words, and welcome! ♥
Thank you for sharing, Jess, and thank you for starting a new community for our Aussie friends! ♥
Thank you for sharing, Jess, and thank you for starting a new community for our Aussie friends! ♥
Hi Nessa, I find it interesting that you own up to "black and white" thinking. However, I'm interested in what makes you a "black and white" thinker. I'm only curious because I have BPD, and I've been told the same, but I live my life on principle, and I'm pretty liberal, which makes me more open-minded than most people I know. I am "either/or" on some things, however, my principles allow me to be more accepting of things I don't agree with. I just started a blog on blogger.com, and I would love to hear your story.
Hi Nessa, I find it interesting that you own up to "black and white" thinking. However, I'm interested in what makes you a "black and white" thinker. I'm only curious because I have BPD, and I've been told the same, but I live my life on principle, and I'm pretty liberal, which makes me more open-minded than most people I know. I am "either/or" on some things, however, my principles allow me to be more accepting of things I don't agree with. I just started a blog on blogger.com, and I would love to hear your story.
I experience bouts of loneliness. Initially, I would fall into a depressive state, but these days I'm more accepting of my alone time. I still feel sad when I'm lonely, but sometimes I think it's beneficial because it allows me to indulge in self-relfection and find ways to fix my situation. Spending time around people who trigger less flattering behavior is no good for someone like me. I'm currently searching for ways to entertain myself, and find productive things to do with my time. I started following your blog today so as to create a community of people like us who can support each other. Thank you so much for sharing your life with us!
I experience bouts of loneliness. Initially, I would fall into a depressive state, but these days I'm more accepting of my alone time. I still feel sad when I'm lonely, but sometimes I think it's beneficial because it allows me to indulge in self-relfection and find ways to fix my situation. Spending time around people who trigger less flattering behavior is no good for someone like me. I'm currently searching for ways to entertain myself, and find productive things to do with my time. I started following your blog today so as to create a community of people like us who can support each other. Thank you so much for sharing your life with us!
Thank you so much for your kind words and for sharing a glimpse of your own experience, too. 🙂
Thank you so much for your kind words and for sharing a glimpse of your own experience, too. 🙂