Is Feeling Trapped by Things Part of BPD?

I am diagnosed Borderline. Some things don't seem to go with it is what my counselor says. I don't understand. Could someone tell me if they have had a similar experience?

I feel trapped by jobs. Want to run away screaming. I also feel trapped in the shower or tub. I sometimes feel that way if I am doing dishes. I started an online support group and at first I liked it but now I am bored and feel trapped. Is this kind of thing normal for a Borderline?

Feeling trapped by a job seems to be typical of BPDers, but I'm not sure about your other anxiety related issues...
Could just be anxiety...?

Not having ever felt trapped by a job, myself, maybe someone else would be better suited to answer this in more depth.

Ok, thank you. I hope someone else can answer. I guess I feel kind of anxious, but not like a panic attack. I have had those and know what they feel like. This is more of a feeling that I can't do that particular thing anymore or I will go crazy. Like standing and doing dishes. Even if it's ten minutes, I feel like I will go insane. I can hardly stand still and want to scream. Sometimes I have to stop and then go back later and finish.

I can definitely relate to feeling trapped by a job. Work is a major trigger for me. I start to feel that I have lost all control of my life, and whatever tenuous grasp I have on my identity. Then I run like hell, burning bridges all along the way.

Mooshoo, is it a feeling that you can't do the same thing for 8 hurs a day without going nuts? That is my feeling. 8 hours feels like eternity. I feel like I am being controlled by some external force. Maybe like a slave. The idea that I am supposed to be at a certain place at a certain time for a certain length of time and do what someone else tells me seems insane to me. Does it feel like that? Same with a shower, dishes, laundry, that I am being controlled. Is that normal for Borderline?

YES!!! A thousand times yes!

I often get the feeling when I'm holding down a job I've been at for over 6 months or so that my life is passing my by while I work there. I start getting really anxious, thinking, "I only have so many days in my life. I look out the window, and countless wonderful days are passing me by. OTHER people get to sit around at Starbucks all day or go out and about whenever they please, and why do I have to be stuck HERE every single day???" I mean, I used to have a career where I had a lot of freedom to switch up lunch break times and change up my hours, and I didn't feel it so badly then, but there have definitely been some ugly job situations I've been in where I felt like my entire life was passing me by, by my allowing myself to work in what amounted to a jail cell.

Unfortunately, I destroyed my initial career and calling, so I will never probably have the chance to pick my hours again if I ever am able to find another job where I live now, so the thought of that trapped feeling really makes me kind of depressed about thinking about working again. I don't know if I'll be able to handle it, because of that suffocating feeling. The words "Life is too short!" come to mind.

On the other hand, I'm basically a housewife now, and my husband is perfectly fine with that, but I frequently wish I had a job to keep me busy and not worrying about things. I don't get outside to enjoy the day anywhere near as much as I fantasize I would when I'm working in a job I hate.

Is this really a thing connected to BPD?? I kind of always just wondered if it was how everyone felt about their jobs if they're not absolutely in love with them. Is there a name for this kind of anxiety? I have a LOT of social anxiety as well, so I always figured that was just part of the aggravation, as far as I was concerned. Can't wait to read more responses about this!

ambivalentmess wrote: I feel like I am being controlled by some external force. Maybe like a slave. The idea that I am supposed to be at a certain place at a certain time for a certain length of time and do what someone else tells me seems insane to me.

That is exactly what I feel like! I do think that a lot of this is not "normal". I always assumed that everyone was terrified to go to work every morning, so much so that they would be on the verge of panic. Apparently this is not how most people feel.

When I go to work I feel that I have completely lost myself. Work makes me feel that I am being erased, I am following someone else's rules and I no longer exist. I think that this definitely has to do with the feeling of not having an identity. So of course being in a situation for 8 hrs a day in which I feel annihilated would be highly triggering.
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Eight hours a day?!?

H*ll, I can barely carry on a conversation that I started for more than 5 minutes. Sometimes, I am soooooo done after 30 second.

Of course, I also have ADD, but I can totally relate to feeling trapped by social interactions.

Yes, I can relate to this. Especially the job thing. Novelty wears off very quickly for me when I'm at a new job. I start to feel like I'm wasted there. My mind wonders off so easily that I start fantasising about other possiblities. As for being told what to do, what to wear etc. Jesus, I hate that! Last job i was at I felt very much that what identity I did feel in me, was being stifled and compromised daily. I hated that and would regularly argue with my superiors who attempted to control everything I did! LOL.
Having said that, structure and keeping busy is a good way for me to avoid self-destructing lol! But yes, I understand what you're saying. As for day to day chores, i guess a part of me knows where you're coming from on that. It's a monotony that just seems to be a part of life. A life without duty and responsiblity and self-care can start to unravel pretty quick, I find.
But I don't feel claustrophobic too often, perhaps that's just an anxiety thing with you. Hope I've got the gist of what you're saying. Maybe not, lol. Not really concentrating hard.

Ok, lol, it looks like it is a Borderline thing. I also have that same trouble with my mind wandering after the novelty wears off. And that's exactly when I've learned the job, anywhere from a few weeks to a few months. I can relate to conversation, too. Trying to actually have one in person, no thanks. Online, fine. I get bored so fast I can't stand it.