I have tried to put a list together.....but will sum it up like this:
If you have dated a few women and are older 25+..............you will feel in your gut, behavior that is wrong, disrespectful, etc. You literally will feel your anxiety rise, sickness in your gut.
I dated a girl one time for 8 months......for the first three months, it was good. REALLY good. Then the games started, the manipulation, the disrespect. When the relationship ended, I was shocked and confused. I did a few months of research and reading, and think she was NPD/BPD. She gave me many sleepless nights, as I tried to figure out WHY she was acting the way she was, WHY she had suddenly turned into such a manipulative biatch, HOW I could fix it . I caught her in many many lies, some of which were about abusive boyfriends, many other lies.
This is exactly how she wanted it. She wanted me confused.
Know what the problem was ?
I wanted a relationship too much. The first red flags were all the deep, very personal questions she asked early in the relationship, including "when was the last time you had sex?" She was building a profile on me, to learn how to best manipulate me. I realize all this in hindsight.
BEHAVIORS THAT MAY INDICATE BORDERLINE PERSONALITY DISORDER
(For ease of use, the generic masculine pronoun has been used.
Please recognize that the below behaviors apply to both male and female.) |
Low stress tolerance with explosive behavior.
Moody – switches from nice guy/gal to anger without much provocation.
Survive on threats and intimidation to keep others chained to them.
They do not take responsibility for their behavior.
They have to be right. They have to win. They have to look good.
Very slow to forgive others. They hang on to resentment.
Unable to sustain a totally faithful relationship with love partner.
Tendency to project their own shortcomings onto the world about them – frequent blaming. Never at fault.
Ready rationalization – rarely at a loss for words – twists conversation to divorce themselves from responsibility.
Glimpses of integrity and emotion are seen – but short-lived. They give you hope that they are changing, but return soon to deviant behavior.
In a trust relationship, inevitably betray and violate their commitments and get blocked emotionally when they get too close to those they say they love.
They have no concept of open sharing of ideas, feelings, emotions. Conversation goes per their direction. They have the last word always.
Can show tenderness of feeling, then return to customary behaviors. Two (or more) vastly different sides to their personality are seen.
They never seem to get enough of what they want. They leave others feeling drained and confused.
Highly contradictory. He loves me, he hates me. They threaten their partner with poverty, then indulge their partner or the relationship.
You end up feeling responsible for the problem. They get to your feelings. No matter what -- they win, you lose.
Attitude of “I’ll meet your needs if you meet mine. If you don’t, I’ll find someone else who will or I will not meet yours.”
They are so skilled at making a mountain out of a molehill, and you become so tired of the conflict. It drains all of your energy, love and hope.
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The woman I dated literally hit EVERY point on the list above. When I read that list, my jaw dropped, and suddenly it all made sense, All of it.
Anyways, it was a short relationship that left me very hurt, dazed and confused. Thankfully, it led me to dig and find out what the F she was. I won't be fooled again.
Here is my advice:
Take it very slow
Do NOT ignore red flags - write those red flags down somewhere and literally review them periodically. This will put into perspective the whole picture, and show patterns. Otherwise, you will be like a frog slowly being boiled alive.
ALWAYS be willing to walk away. THAT was MY downfall at the time. Wanted the relationship too much, ignored red flags and disrespect because of it.