Post by Mea on Dec 16, 2015 8:55:39 GMT
Anonymous asked: what would bpd in early childhood be like? also, it is much of a bpd thing to be extremely careful about who you put emotional significance in or to make yourself not care about others as a defense against potential rejection or abandonment?
Answer: So, BPD doesn’t actually exist in early childhood. Symptoms start in early adolescence, but the disorder itself doesn’t really develop until around early adulthood. (Minors can of course be diagnosed, and they definitely can suffer severe symptoms even if they do not have a diagnosis, and they should be treated early on so the disorder doesn’t develop later.) However, a lot of people with BPD look back on their childhoods and can recognize signs of the BPD which would later form in life. While the cause of BPD is mostly unknown, it’s still believed to be a combination of nature and nurture. Someone with BPD probably always had the potential to develop the disorder, but events in their life may have triggered the disorder to actually form. A child with the hereditary make-up for someone who could develop BPD later in life may definitely show subtle signs as they grow older.
I know, for me, I was always pretending to be characters from movies. I would sometimes demand my family to call me by the name of a character. I felt no identity within myself and would therefore project the identities of fictional characters onto myself. I would lose myself in my own world sometimes. But then again, this kind of behavior is not unique to BPD. Many children do this. However, I see similarities between the child I was then and the adult I am now, struggling to find an identity and depending on others in order to form that identity. I think maybe the two are connected.
As for being careful about who you put emotional significance in, definitely. I know I hate to let myself become too invested in a person, and if I find myself becoming to attached to them, I may distance myself to protect myself from being hurt later. Not all people with BPD do this though. Some may let themselves become attached, either because they can’t help it, or some may do it as a form of emotional self-harm. They let themselves get hurt because they believe they deserve it. But then some distance themselves out of fear and are often too careful in who they let themselves care about. I’m one of those people, although I find myself caring too much anyway. x
-Mea
Answer: So, BPD doesn’t actually exist in early childhood. Symptoms start in early adolescence, but the disorder itself doesn’t really develop until around early adulthood. (Minors can of course be diagnosed, and they definitely can suffer severe symptoms even if they do not have a diagnosis, and they should be treated early on so the disorder doesn’t develop later.) However, a lot of people with BPD look back on their childhoods and can recognize signs of the BPD which would later form in life. While the cause of BPD is mostly unknown, it’s still believed to be a combination of nature and nurture. Someone with BPD probably always had the potential to develop the disorder, but events in their life may have triggered the disorder to actually form. A child with the hereditary make-up for someone who could develop BPD later in life may definitely show subtle signs as they grow older.
I know, for me, I was always pretending to be characters from movies. I would sometimes demand my family to call me by the name of a character. I felt no identity within myself and would therefore project the identities of fictional characters onto myself. I would lose myself in my own world sometimes. But then again, this kind of behavior is not unique to BPD. Many children do this. However, I see similarities between the child I was then and the adult I am now, struggling to find an identity and depending on others in order to form that identity. I think maybe the two are connected.
As for being careful about who you put emotional significance in, definitely. I know I hate to let myself become too invested in a person, and if I find myself becoming to attached to them, I may distance myself to protect myself from being hurt later. Not all people with BPD do this though. Some may let themselves become attached, either because they can’t help it, or some may do it as a form of emotional self-harm. They let themselves get hurt because they believe they deserve it. But then some distance themselves out of fear and are often too careful in who they let themselves care about. I’m one of those people, although I find myself caring too much anyway. x
-Mea
