It affects every facet of my existence including my relationships, self-image, work, and general functioning.
One of the most grueling parts of this diagnosis is that BPD is both highly stigmatized and misunderstood.
People with BPD are thought to be manipulative and toxic.
Irina Demyanovskikh
And so, I stay quiet about what I want.
Im not on dating apps.
I avoid eye contact with friendly faces at the bar.
I claim Im disinterested in romance at the moment, that Im busy working on myself first.
I say I can handle everything on my own because thats all I deserve to do.
Its incredibly lonely to live this way.
If you struggle with mental illness, maybe my experience resonates with you too.
The shame that sometimes comes along with a mental illness diagnosis lingers.
And it is exhausting.
Because the truth is this:
I am not a diagnosis.
You are not a diagnosis.
Does living with a mental illness make things hard sometimes?
You dont need to punish yourself for something that isnt your fault.
You are so much more than your symptoms and hardest days.
You are not too much for the right people.
Your mental illness does not make you difficult to love.
It is part of you, but it is not all of you.
