Marja Bergen

author, mental health advocate, follower of Christ

Month: July 2021 (page 1 of 3)

Call me stupid – Life with BPD

Many people would call me stupid. Why would a person diagnosed with a shameful condition like borderline personality disorder (BPD) want to let everyone know about it? She must be crazy. But you see, I don’t believe there’s a good reason to be ashamed of BPD. I’m a person like any other. My illness is […]

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BPD – Suicidal ideation

From an anonymous person: “People who have not experienced it simply do not understand the emotional and even physical toll mental health issues cause. Suicidal thoughts and ideations became the norm for me. It is not that I ever truly wanted to die, I was just tired of living. I was tired of the pain […]

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BPD – goodbyes

From Wichita: “Yesterday, I had to say goodbye to a dear friend of mine, because I became emotional and said things I never should have. I tried to be responsible. I walked away so she wouldn’t have to deal with that, because no one should have to. I told my siblings what I really thought […]

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Relationships – A BPD Life

Here is another sharing from the person in Wichita, KS: Imagine the most intense feeling you have ever had in your life. Maybe it’s the first time you fell in love, or the worst argument you have ever had with someone you love. The intensity with which you felt those emotions is probably equivalent to […]

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BPD – How to help

Do you remember the story from the  person in Wichita, KS? Here are some more of her thoughts: “My surroundings have left me feeling like there is no hope, because no one wants to help. Not someone like me. Not someone with questionable actions in their past.” “I read The Art of Asking by my […]

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Why talk about BPD?

I believe that by openly talking about an illness to which shame is normally attached, that sense of shame will be greatly reduced.

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BPD – My deep shame

  June 2018    When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. 1 Peter 2:22-23   I had thought I was a good person. I always tried to be. Like other Christians, I tried to follow […]

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BPD – A sense of our humanity

We sense our humanity most fully when we walk with someone through their pain. There’s something about encouraging a troubled person to peel back the layers to find their healthy self again. It’s a privilege to be allowed to accompany them on their journey. We experience our humanity most when we can be a friend […]

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Real people – BPD

They are real people like you and me. Yet they suffer in ways few would be able to comprehend. Please try to imagine what it would be like to be this 26-year-old woman from Wichita, KS. She writes: “I was diagnosed with BPD about seven years ago. When I was told what it was, I […]

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Never Worthy Enough

I know it’s hard for those who don’t have mental illness to understand. I, and many of us, feel small next to our supporters. I don’t think they consciously set themselves above us, yet we feel lower. We feel inferior. For me it was like my supporters were father and mother, me the child. I […]

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