A few days ago I received an email from someone who told me that she too suffers from BPD. She understands what I’m dealing with. It’s so good to be reminded that I’m not alone and that there’s someone out there who cares enough to share this with me. I was glad she contacted me.
Ann Lamott says that the most powerful sermon in the world is “Me too.” She wrote the following:
Me too.
When you are struggling,
when you are hurting,
wounded, limping, doubting,
questioning, barely hanging on,
moments away from another relapse,
and somebody can identify with you –
someone knows the temptations that are at your door,
somebody has felt the pain you are feeling,
when someone can look you in the eyes and say, ‘Me too,’
and they actually mean it –
it can save you.
When you aren’t judged,
or lectured,
or looked down upon,
but somebody demonstrates that they get it,
that they know what it’s like,
that you aren’t alone,
that’s ‘me too.’
If all of us were to share more freely with each other – our feelings, our emotional pain, even our doubts about God – I think many of us would be able to say to each other: “Me Too.” That would give such relief!
I am glad when someone honestly shares her troubles and pain with me, sharing openly instead of keeping feelings of shame hidden inside. When someone shares her troubles with me, although her pain might be different than mine, I know that we’re sharing in the suffering somehow. We have found a compassionate soul. Our own pain does not hurt as badly.
Too bad this BPD we deal with has such stigma attached to it. Less of us feel open to share. We tend to feel ashamed, and continue to struggle alone.
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