Interview with The Borderliner
Borderline Personality Disorder is a condition many people don’t know enough about. Maggie Young, who suffers from Borderline herself, was nice enough to answer a few questions.
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How did Borderline change your life?
“Well, when I was younger I wasn’t that much different from everyone else. At school I was quiet and I wasn’t very good at standing up for myself, but apart from that, my life was just like everyone else’s. I didn’t have to many problems until I was about fourteen. I was experiencing a lot of stress at school and I couldn’t handle it. That’s when I realised I wasn’t like other people. When I got diagnosed with Borderline last year, I was sort of expecting it, so it wasn’t a big surprise.”
What can you tell me about the symptoms of Borderline?
“Everyone with Borderline is different. There are people who cut their wrists, things like that. But I don’t. I’m depressed more often than other people, and there have been times when I wanted to die. My therapist told me I have no self esteem. I don’t love myself and I don’t trust people. I always feel like the people around me are out there to hurt me. So I try to protect myself, by shouting at them. I don’t get angry very easily. People often confuse my other emotions with anger. But I guess that’s what it seems like to them. I have mood swings every day and I never know what’s going to happen next. One moment I could be very happy and the next moment I could be freaking out about something.”
How did your family react when you got diagnosed?
“My mum was very supportive. She has read a lot about it and is always willing to learn more. The rest of my family doesn’t really understand much about it. To them I’m just a normal 19-year-old.”
Do you consider yourself to be normal?
“I am pretty normal. And nothing’s wrong with my social skills. I just feel rejected a lot and I have mood swings. My emotions are stronger than other people’s emotions. I also have very strong opinions about things and that sometimes turns people off. I think it’s important that people know that people with Borderline didn’t choose to be that way. It’s important to always keep looking at the person behind the Borderline, because we are people, just like everyone else.”
Maggie’s name has been changed to protect her privacy.
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