Favorite BPD Symptom?

Do you have a favorite? Maybe you have some symptom that isn't all bad or that simply doesn't bother you so much. Tell us about it here!

Lol sometimes I like the fact that I exhibit 'frantic efforts to avoid real or imagined abandonment' because (honestly) I am loyal ...pretty much to a fault....and yet I know where to draw lines...

None. Seriously, none. I hate all of my symptoms.

Now, if you're talking aspects of being a person with BPD, I have one thing. Increased affective empathy. I think having a passion for and sense of social justice have been good for me. I care about the welfare of other people. I've built my career around understanding cycles of poverty and social and economic power dynamics. I have a hard time not crying when someone shares a painful experience or when I see a depiction of suffering. It has it's downsides because I can seem overly emotional or like a sap, but caring far outweighs the embarrassment of crying in public. It helps balance out the issues I have with cognitive empathy.

One thing that draws me to pwbpd is their genuineness. ..

I'm the same. None. Of the ones I have, I can't say that any would be a favourite or one that I "like" more than the others. For me it feels like they are all so intertwined I can't select one as not being linked in some way to another.

I have no sense of self, so I feel totally empty inside, then when I find someone who briefly fills it, I fear they will abandon me, so I idealise and devalue, with intense inappropriate anger, so my moods go all over the place and I use unsafe behaviours to regulate it. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. They are all so linked there is not one part that is more pleasant or even that I could say is the real cause of the chaos which if "fixed" I would be ok.

Agree though, that people with BPD can have great qualities alongside this. Empathy, being able to get a sense of how others are feeling, social justice.

Although not a symptom, it has been my experience people with BPD are very perceptive. This is a trait i share, and the only one i like.

I'm very good with animals. I've heard that people with BPD are good with babies and animals. Not sure how true this is, but I feel like my BPD has influenced me this way.

I trained an "evil" parakeet to be the nicest bird you'd ever meet. While everyone was making fun of her for being "crazy" and biting everyone, I felt bad for her and understood her. Parakeets are very social, so if you coop them up in a cage alone and never interact with them, of course they're going to go "crazy". I spent a year interacting with her daily until she became friendly enough to not bite. Also she would follow me around the house and hop on my finger without pressure.

Toucan wrote:I'm very good with animals. I've heard that people with BPD are good with babies and animals. Not sure how true this is, but I feel like my BPD has influenced me this way.

I'm the same way. I haven't really had any experience with babies, but I'm great with animals, specifically dogs. It may be partially because I have tiny ankle biters (well one now) so I show no fear. My friend had a chihuahua that was a yappy little angry thing. She told me that her dog took months to warm up to people and even let them touch her. After an hour she jumped up on the couch and started cuddling with me. I love dogs. I miss having something who will love me unconditionally. They really do make the best companions. Cats on the other hand hate me. Always have. I think they're evil, hateful monsters. Perhaps they can sense that.

It is sad to me to see so many people (here and in the outside world) not seeing anything good about themselves/ their disorder. There is SOMETHING good in EVERYTHING! You just need to learn to look at things from a different angle and explore!

Apparently i see things, like i observe a lot, i realised that. I observe way too much but its good because some people don't pick up on it. It's not a favourite, i personally feel my mental illness shouldn't be seen as a good thing.