I recently interviewed John from the YouTube channel, PDQuestions, about his experiences after being diagnosed with Narcissistic Personality Disorder.

One of the things we talked about was the need to adopt an attitude of welcome for painful and difficult emotions and experiences where these serve our healing, recovery and growth.

This can look different for different people. For example, you may need to accept the discomfort of being assertive and speaking your mind if you tend to be overly people pleasing. If you tend to be someone who is always in a relationship, welcoming the unfamiliarity of being single may be an important part of personal growth. If you tend to avoid sharing your emotions with others, then taking the risk of sharing things in a vulnerable way may be vital.

This is an especially challenging process for people who struggle with personality disorders or other longstanding patterns in their relationships that do not serve them well. I am reminded of Dr Marsha Linehan, who developed Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) and her emphasis on acceptance.

It might be hell to climb out of hell, but it is also hell to stay there so accepting, tolerating and welcoming the discomfort and sometimes, pain, of new experiences is vital. I am reminded of Winston Churchill's famous quote:

If you're going through hell, keep going.

You can watch the full interview with John here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2nECFnzj6I&t=132s

#copingskills #bpdrecovery #dbtskills #dbt #borderlinepersonalitydisorder #radicalacceptance