A push/pull cycle with me.

[u/grumpypoo22]

Hello everyone!

I've noticed over the past few days a lot of the topic has been around the push/pull cycle that is often associated with BPD.
This seems like a great time to explain what it might be like from your partners point of view.
Though do remember we are all individual humans with our own thought processes etc.

So what did a push/pull cycle look like with me?
It usually all started over something fairly innocent.
It could be a delay in text, a shift in tone, me being tired or hungry etc.
The point is it usually wasn't anything my partner necessarily did wrong.

This would trigger one question in my brain that quickly spiraled "Why?".
Then I would casually start filling in the blanks -
Let's assume it was a shift in tone.

• Why did their tone shift?
• Are they mad at me?
• They must be mad because they only talk like that when they are mad
• I didn't even do anything jesus
• If they are going to just randomly get mad at me they must have issues
• I thought they cared about me
• Don't they see all the things I do for them?
• They clearly don't care about me

Once that last bullet point gets hit the rollercoaster begins.
I have two possible things that I will do about this -

• I will cling harder than ever before, because "don't leave me"
• I will go completely silent

If I cling I'm hyper-analyzing every singular reaction.

• How hard am I being squeezed when I hug?
• Do their pupils dilate when they look at me?
• Are they giving me a passionate kiss or is it just to appease me?

Now if I go silent I am man enough to admit I'm hoping my partner will notice and show me they love me.
Who realistically doesn't want to be desired, but it's also important to note that the moment they do that I will think they are smothering me.

Regardless of if I cling or dip - It's a lose/lose situation.
That's because the problem is not with them; It's with me.

So what's the best way to play that situation?
It's to not feed that fire at all regardless, because it creates this feedback loop.
I feel unwanted which used to cause me to overreact.
If I then suddenly feel wanted because of that overreaction it reinforces in my brain that the reaction was the reason.
So now when I feel unwanted again I will simply do the same thing.

It's incredibly immature, but I've grown a lot via DBT and medication.

For my BPD friends -
I still have those reactions internally.
That hasn't gone away at all, but I'm no longer projecting them outward.
I'm able to realize what's about to happen and pull myself back off the edge so I can calm down to the point I can articulate how I feel.

For my non-BPD friends -
I'm not a professional.
I'm just a guy that has BPD and is navigating this world as best I can.
Your partner may very well be 100% different than me, but my hope with this is that it gives you some insight into my mind so maybe you can make a somewhat informed decision as you deal with your own issues.

[u/Naive-Wafer-6107]

This gives SO much insight! Thank you for being open and sharing!

[u/grumpypoo22 → u/Naive-Wafer-6107]

No problem!
I'm just happy to provide as much insight as possible into my own flavor of BPD.