“Emotionally stable parents share their children’s joy and quiet their fear. But caretaking roles are reversed for children of borderlines whose mothers are chronically upset. Children repress their fear in order to calm their mother. Situations that should frighten children may not because they have learned not to feel.” MotherParentsChild AbuseEmotional AbuseBorderlineAbusive ParentsBpdAbusive MotherAbusive Women Book:Understanding the Borderline Mother Source: Understanding the Borderline Mother
“Unbearable pain that is expressed and acknowledged becomes bearable. But borderlines received no such responses in their childhood. Therefore, they are stuck in the past, trying to elicit what they needed as a child—validation of their unbearable pain.” Child AbuseEmotional AbuseBorderline Personality DisorderBpdBorderline Mother Book:Understanding the Borderline Mother Source: Understanding the Borderline Mother
“Therapists sometimes warn family members not to depend on the person with BPD to validate their self-worth, yet young children have no choice. They can and will do anything to hold onto the good mother (the loving, caring person) who unpredictably turns into the Witch mother (the terrifying, raging beast).” Child AbuseEmotional AbuseBorderline Personality DisorderBpdAbusive MotherBorderline Mother Book:Understanding the Borderline Mother Source: Understanding the Borderline Mother
“It is rare for even adult children to abandon their mother, regardless of how many times their mother has abandoned them.” TraumaChild AbuseEmotional AbuseAbandonmentBpdAbusive MotherTrauma BondingBorderline Mother Book:Understanding the Borderline Mother Source: Understanding the Borderline Mother