My BPD Sister Passed Away

by babygirl30 24 Replies latest jw friends

  • dubstepped
    dubstepped

    I've seen you mention this a few times:

    I think THAT hurts more than anything...Im crying over her loss, but if the tables were turned, I guarantee she wouldn't do the same for me.

    You're right, she wouldn't do the same. She was unfortunately a broken person. It wasn't personal to you even though it felt that way. I can see that it impacted you in that way though, and it hurts. Again I'll encourage you to try to understand her because it will help set you free from some of that. But that comes later. Right now you're probably angry, another step in the process of grieving, and that's okay. Be there, feel it, let it out, and you'll get to a point of greater acceptance later.

    my little sister - was an adult who CHOSE not to have me in her life. She chose to make this decision to be separate and not include me in she or her childs life.

    I think that the element of choice is seen so black and white, without all of the levels that go into things, and that because of that it hinders understanding of another. She was under the influence of brainwashing and a personality disorder, so choice is relative to those things. Jehovah's Witnesses teach that everything is a matter of choice, and by doing so they get to moralize everything and then judge. Your sister didn't choose to grow up in a cult, or to have BPD. You didn't choose to have a sister with those issues. Looking back lots of us acted in ways under the cult influence that we would never act like as a free person. Your sister was never free. She had multiple influences, including that of a personality disorder, one of the hardest things to even begin to treat in any therapeutic setting, something that has a higher failure rate than success at any level.

    I think that sometimes our perspectives contribute to the pain we experience. Again though, while in anger isn't the time in all likelihood to challenge those things. Maybe I shouldn't even be saying anything now. I don't want to make it worse or make you feel like I'm coming at you. I hope that later, after some time, you can sit down and re-read things written here, whether by me or others, just different perspectives, and get back to some of the places of acceptance or even forgiveness that you were in at one point and time.

    I truly am sorry. Pain has a way of trickling down to everyone. She had a lot of it, clearly, and she transferred it to others, made it their pain. Your sister was who she was, for better or worse, and nothing could change that even when she was alive. That's why I put forth that definition of acceptance, letting go of the hope that things could have been different, because I see you held onto that hope for a long time and now that she's gone you're feeling the weight of that hope collapsing. She was never going to be able to be a friend or sister because she was just so hurt and the illness had her more than she had it. It's a shame. I'm so sorry.

    I hope that, in time, you find more peace.

  • babygirl30
    babygirl30

    Let me add this 'tidbit' to the convo:

    My sister never really had friends. She would have one here and there, suffocate the life out of them, flip on them, then be lonely for a long time until she let someone 'in' again. Either way, this random woman reached out to me and explained that she is a health/wellness coach and trainer. Apparently she and my sister were close, and for years, she has encouraged my sis to 'let her pain go'...but that my sis wouldn't. Her exact words "I've never seen someone hold onto anger so tightly in my life - she just couldn't let it go. But rest assured that she loved you and I tried to get her to change, but she was impossible sometimes"

    So it isn't just ME that knew how bad and difficult my sis was. Also let me add, Im tired of the stereotypical "your sister loved you deeply"..........DID she now? In what way? Because everything she did proved otherwise.

    Her memorial is at the Kingdom Hall in 2wks and Im dreading this bs. I really am. All the people who never bothered to reach out to see me, speak to me, check on me...people who I've fed and let stay with me when they were without - all hugs and kisses at her funeral service, only to turn around and treat me like I don't exist 24 hrs later. Yay me! So much to look forward to.

  • dubstepped
    dubstepped

    There are two books about BPD, one about walking on eggshells, the other called something like I hate you, don't leave me. Sounds familiar, doesn't it?

    You're right, she didn't love you. She wasn't capable of love. That happens to remind me of my dad. My mom said that when she was engaged to my dad, his mom took her aside and told her "you think he loves you? That man has never loved anyone or anything in his life.". That rings true after a life with him.

    You aren't obligated to go to her funeral. If you go I'd highly recommend having an exit strategy in case it gets to be too much. It can also help to have a buddy, to take someone with you as a support, with that exit plan agreed upon. These are things that have helped others from the group coaching that I do. But ultimately you don't have to go. You could always choose to grieve this in your own way.

    I wasn't invited to my dad's funeral. It upset me at first, but upon further review it would have been awful for me and honestly there were certain people there that could have pushed buttons back then resulting in me acting out in a bad way. A couple elders that I have really bad feelings toward.

    Best wishes, whatever you decide to do. What pain are you willing to endure? You'll have to decide that.

  •  The Bethelite
    The Bethelite

    I only have one suggestion.

    You wrote a letter to all of us here....You should write a letter to your sister, even though she is gone.

    You should write another letter to your niece and your parents also.

    Pour your heart out to them all...Tell them how you feel.

    Will it do any good? Maybe.... I think so. Plus there is something powerful about putting it all on paper.

    Plus they will never be able to say. "They didn't know how you felt about your sister passing."

    Namaste my friend

  • babygirl30
    babygirl30
    There are two books about BPD, one about walking on eggshells, the other called something like I hate you, don't leave me. Sounds familiar, doesn't it?

    I read Walking on Eggshells years ago...along with Toxic parents. Both VERY good books, and very informative (regarding my homelife at the time). Lol!

    You aren't obligated to go to her funeral. If you go I'd highly recommend having an exit strategy in case it gets to be too much. It can also help to have a buddy, to take someone with you as a support, with that exit plan agreed upon.

    The ONLY reason I am going to this Memorial is for my extended families sake (as they are fighting to bridge the relationship between my parents and myself), and because I've gotten a LOT of support from my own friends and coworkers - which has caught me off guard. So they already told me they will be there to support ME and be there for ME, which feels good. So with all that said, I will be attending.

    I wanted to thank you for your insight on my situation...yes it was frank, but not harsh (I'm guilty of being brutally honest and direct 99% of the time myself).

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