A different kind of borderline?

I'd have to say I'm a 'transparent' borderline with both intro and extro tendencies, in that I'm not particularly shy, but I do often just shut down and go into depression from which escape seems impossible at times.

"...perhaps even cutting themselves for their own amusement or as stress relief." Seriously? We cut ourselves for amusement???? Wtf??? Take huge issue with that statement--no surprise, much as I do with the comment on other sites that BPD's manipulate because we LIKE to. Maybe (probably) there are PD's where manipulation might be enjoyable but I don't know anyone who is BPD who did it for fun...and most weren't aware their actions were considered 'manipulation' by non's.

All told I totally agree with the OP.....fact is, if I'm NOT in a relationship I may still hit moments of manic and panic as I call them, or depression...but the other things (push pull, clingy) I just don't feel...for anyone. Friend or family member. In fact, it is quite hard for me to feel close to anyone enough to get into a relationship (last bf took a year and a half before I even began to trust him...and then his PD made itself known, so complete disaster on the back end) although I seem to have no problem with people trusting me--too fast, sometimes which can get overwhelming...oh well, six of one-half dozen of the other.

Labels are good only if they aid in healing, or in understanding, but generalized labels tend to do more harm than good, as far as I'm concerned. I think each of us are individuals and the BPD is individualized as well....the other stuff is meant to be a guide, not a stone written condemnation. (smiles)

Wow, I thought I wrote this post in my sleep or something. Yes, that's me. I too I'm glad (and nervous..?) that there are other "me's" walking around!

I'm glad to hear I'm not the only situational borderline around :P.

I feel pretty split in that sense, since towards strangers I am extremely avoidant and with close relations I go BD. So I feel very 50/50, so it's going to be weird to end up in group therapy with only borderlines who may not entirely relate to the avoidant part. Oh well, better than nothing, and I think in the end it's better for me to treat the BPD than just treat the avoidant.

Kimaya - exactly! It would be like for someone with extreme social phobia to just hide away at home and say they're fine, 'cause they removed the triggers. But if they go outside, then they're definitely not fine.

waiting4, I have heard that before as well and I think it's BS too. No BPD person ever harms themselves for 'amusement' - I am not sure what they meant with that. If anything, I can only imagine hurting oneself in order to get a reaction from someone and perhaps pretending to be unphazed themselves, but true amusement? No way. And with the manipulation, I hate that word too, because it isn't intentional manipulation. BPDs actually want love, affection and validation and they're desperate to have it, and yes, the means to achieve those aren't always fair, and as you said, they may also be completely unaware of what they're doing because they're completely controlled by it.

I think I was confused about if I was really BPD or not because every time people talk about BPD on TV, in articles, etc., it is always the BPD that affects the person in almost all situations. But yeah, we aren't all alike, and diagnoses are only a guide.

This is an eye opener. I've noticed that whenever I fall in love with a guy (most of the time unrequited) my mood is all over the place. It feels like I'm living in extremes all the time. If I don't hear anything from him I get anxious, I refuse to act on them, but they make me feel horrible. Often I end up wanting to hurt myself, which is luckily mostly out of my system now.
The weirdest part though, which I haven't figured out how that works, is when it is finally requited I drop that person faster than a hot iron. Suddenly I'm not interested anymore, just the thought of having an intimate relationship scares the '*****' out of me.
I can't seem to wrap my head around it. It's probably better this way, I can't imagine the ***** I'd be bringing down on that person. I mean, who would be willing to withstand that, for me?

Ditto....