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Apathy

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Apathy

Postby centerpath » Sat May 18, 2013 3:48 pm

When my life fell apart I thought the hardest part would be facing the storms of relived trauma would never end.

They don’t end, but in time they lose their potency.

As time has gone on the hardest thing to face has been silence. Again and again as I’ve made tentative steps to reach out to people that I thought were part of my life I’ve been faced with silence.

It’s an extrapolation of the silence and inaction that’s been seen and studied in civil unrest. Not the minority of bullies and thugs that abuse the weak and exploit disorder, but the acquiescence of the majority who quietly go to their jobs and look the other way in the face of injustice.

Justice? The notion that fairness will dictate human affairs? I see few indicators that it ranks high as a priority in the dealings of men.

Selfishness? Not really. It’s prevalent, but what I see most clearly is avoidance, apathy. It’s easier to look away from a fellow member of the tribe in distress than to touch and see the wounded thing.

The only answer I have for silence is silence. To reach toward a place of meditation and allow the silence to flow over the truth of our apparent irrelevance to each other, my own irrelevance when my utility isn’t apparent.

In time I hope this alone place leads to peace.

I think that loneliness exists only when there are others present, otherwise it’s simply alone.
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Re: Apathy

Postby changeisconstant » Sun Dec 14, 2014 7:17 pm

Thank you so much for this thoughtful post! I had never thought how the general indifference with which we (people) treat each other is a cause for feeling rejection. Truly, we become irrelevant to each other.
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Re: Apathy

Postby centerpath » Wed Dec 17, 2014 8:24 pm

Thanks for writing. Haven't been on the boards for some time, and that was written an era ago in terms of process.

I was raised in a family system rich in false dichotomies. One that came to mind is that our posture is either selfish or generous. That feeds into the triad of victim/perpetrator/rescuer on one level. Learning that self regard isn't selfish. Understanding that the urge to help other (rescue?) or be helped (rescued?) was part of an imbalanced aspect of self has been daunting, but has been one path toward health. Ironically, allowing those around me to be less important has been a healthy trend.
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Re: Apathy

Postby justagirl00 » Thu Dec 18, 2014 1:59 am

I see this is an older topic, but its been resurrected, and its something that's been on my mind lately also.

I agree with you completely and thank you for describing it so eloquently and succintly. This is a very big triggering issue for me, the issue of denial and apathy. I have experienced it in my own life, when I was being abused as a child and the adults around me chose to look the other way instead of protect me. And now when I see it happening in society at large, I think that is why I get so triggered and upset, to the point I go on angry rants and end up losing friends, because they just see me as an angry, ranting person. But is it better to be apathetic? I know its not good to focus on evil, or be negative. But there is evil happening in the world. It is more socially acceptable to live in denial, and to refuse to talk about the bad stuff, and pretend like everything is wonderful. But how can a person with a conscience do that? I get so frustrated by this. And it puts me in a bind, because, I want to keep my friends, and I know they don't like acknowledging the negative stuff, but at the same time, I feel like I'm condoning abuse when I see it happening, and I don't say anything.

Anyways, thanks for posting this. Its validating to know others feel the same way.
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Re: Apathy

Postby centerpath » Thu Dec 18, 2014 11:52 am

I think some wise people would tell us that our reaction of being triggered or influenced by apathetic and cruel events around us are understandable, but also that they're an expression of ego outside of self. That because the inner place of self is wounded or unformed, we live too much outside of self and are subject to these outside forces. Knowing that might make it easier to let go and search for an inner place where we're less influenced by such events. Not devaluing them, just letting go and letting them have their own life without our entanglement.
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