Does anyone feel like they use therapy for the "wrong" reasons? Let me explain...
I think a big part of where my BPD comes from is lack of secure attachment with my mom... or dad... or anyone really... ever. I didn't have a mother figure in my life who was consistently nurturing and "there for me." Emotional neglect, basically. So the attachment symptom of BPD is huge for me. I attach to and idolize people often and very easily. Usually... no, almost always... they are women who are a little bit older than me. They are people that I find pretty and nurturing and essentially flawless. Like the ideal mother figure would be to me. I want them to take care of me. Now sometimes, this happens with therapists (I'm on my 10th now). There is often some transference going on with them... like I want them to take the role of a mom for me. And as my BPD self has learned over the years, being sick or hurt is what gets me the most attention and the kind of attention that I like. So sometimes I find that I am exaggerating the symptoms of my mental illnesses. Or even actually keeping myself sick when I know I could try harder and make changes that would help me overcome my mental illnesses. But without my illnesses, who am I? Without them, would I still get the attention and care that I crave and need? Therapy is usually the highlight of my week. I often find myself missing being an inpatient and being in residential care. I know there are other, healthier ways to receive this kind of care and attention and get those needs met without being sick, but there's such a huge barrier in regards to that for me. And it's frustrating because part of me wants to really overcome the BPD and other diagnoses, but a bigger part of me feels like I should hold onto it. Like I don't want to lose the diagnoses. I don't want to lose therapy. And so what does one do when they're using therapy as a way to keep them sick, essentially? At least that's what I feel like I've done over the years. But I also feel that I really do need therapy to recover. So I don't quite know what to do about that... It's like the very thing that is supposed to help me get better is the thing that I use to keep me sick. I feel like I'm abusing it, but I love it. I'm addicted, in a sense. It's like a drug.
Has anyone else had similar experiences, and if so, what did you do to overcome it?
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