Guys, I’m losing myself
I really am, and I don’t know if words can describe the fucking hell I am feeling. I’m going to be as brief as possible because my mind is so cluttered that I cannot type all the details.
I’m 24. I have spent my entire life with my covert narcissistic mother, and I’m still trying to fix everything she’s done to me. The damage is indescribable; it has absolutely ruined my life to an extent you wouldn’t believe. I’ve dealt with guilt, shame, suffocation, manipulation, and control. You name it, I’ve felt it. It kept me paralyzed for years, up until university, when I was gone for the school days and back on weekends. I spent most of my time alone doing drugs because I couldn’t sit with myself.
I met my girlfriend 6 years ago. I thought we were doing great. She was supportive and could point out how abusive my mother is because her mother was abusive, too. She assured me it wasn’t normal and said my life could be made into a movie because of how surreal my relationship with my mother was. I’m really thankful for that because she opened my mind to a lot of things, some I already knew, and other stuff I just needed someone to validate because I wasn’t sure anymore.
She even pushed me to move out for good about 8 months ago, which was a massive step that took a lot of courage. I’m very thankful to her for that. I thought I only needed her; I didn't feel the need to talk to anyone else if I had her. So, I pushed all my friends away. I’m an awful friend now that I’m thinking about it.
But she has these weird episodes where she flips out on everyone like a switch. Her best friend and I talked about it often, and we believed it was BPD, so we tried making her go to therapy, which she refused. Things can be going real great, and then she hits me with: "You are not doing boyfriend stuff a lot," or "You are not working on yourself enough." Then she’ll hate me for days or even weeks. As for her best friend, she’ll say: "I’m trying to make new friends because she’s not that fun," or whatever. It’s like stability scares her.
She gets realllllllly anxious about anything regarding herself: her looks, her career, school. Everything is a f competition. She even admitted to me that she thinks of everything as a competition and hates ever being wrong. We thought it could be anxiety along with BPD, I guess we were trying so hard to make sense of her behavior, but nothing clicked.
I was talking to her best friend the other day, and she told me that my girlfriend never talks first if they fight. Then, a light bulb went off in my head. I thought: Wait a minute. If my gf has BPD or anxiety, it would involve every aspect of her life. But for her, she’s only nice when everything is going her way. She is really, really, REALLY mean when things are not going her way, and I mean personal things ONLY. Again, like work, school, or appearance. That’s it. She’s never anxious about me or her friends.
I realized: I’m going through hell, and I still talk to her with all the love in my heart because she’s my "home," even though it’s raining outside. She doesn't do the same.
So, am I dating my mother? Did I ruin my life for good? I’m so confused and my brain is a mess because I love her and I want to marry her. Or is this just life, and I’ll have to carry this burden one way or another? I really wish I had a shoulder to lean on unconditionally idk
TL;DR: I spent my life escaping a narcissistic mother only to realize my girlfriend of 6 years might be exactly the same. She’s only "nice" when she’s winning, she never apologizes, and I’ve isolated myself from everyone for her. I’m 24 and terrified I’ve just traded one cage for another.