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Relationships

Mumsnet has not checked the qualifications of anyone posting here. If you need help urgently or expert advice, please see our domestic violence webguide and/or relationships webguide. Many Mumsnetters experiencing domestic abuse have found this thread helpful: Listen up, everybody

Borderline Personality Disorder in men?

61 replies

NearlySoon · 06/02/2025 21:59

NC. I know that nobody can diagnose someone online. But I’m just posting here to ask if this sounds familiar to anyone? The confusion has been difficult to understand. I do love him (together on-off for 8 years). and I don’t think he means to hurt people but I also don’t think he’s ever going to seek help because it’s too painful for him. I think he may have childhood trauma due to not having any memories prior to 6 years old. This is long, sorry.

We also have a child together. At the moment we’re together but we don’t live together because he’s not able to live with me as he will suddenly wake up, say he can’t cope and take off. Which isn’t good for our child. She spends weekends with him and seems to get the best of him. He seems to be able to give her a happy time (because it’s never more than 24 hours).

Stuff I have noticed with me and behaviour in regards to work & in general

He says that sometimes he feels really close to me and really loves me and at other times he feels we’re wrong for each other and he doesn’t love me. He changes his mind a lot.

He never shouts at me but can quickly get angry and blame me for things that are completely outside of my control.

He is very, very disagreeable generally with me and others. If I disagree with him about an issue, he takes it very personally and thinks I’m attacking him.

If I ever tell him that he’s hurt my feelings, he turns on me and says very cruel, unkind things. We can’t have a conversation without him saying that I’m attacking him, when I’m trying to resolve conflict or tell him how I feel. Later, he says he didn’t mean any of it.

He blames other people for things that are nobody’s fault and finds it difficult to take responsibility for hurting people.

Will say that we need to break up, but be back on my doorstep hours later.

He will start a new job, say he’s really enjoying it and then suddenly he wants to leave. He was working at a place where he was supposedly happy. Then, he found out that another guy at the company was getting paid more than him for doing the same job. They refused to pay him more so he found another job which paid more. Within about 6 weeks he was regretting leaving the first job and spent about a year, trying to go back to the original company. He’s had about 10 jobs since Covid. He is a high earner and performs well but will get cold feet quickly.

He’s got some irrational beliefs such as, the government is trying to kill us off and also is quite paranoid to the extent that he doesn’t want to use loyalty cards because he thinks retailers are spying on him. He has a tendency to be drawn to conspiracy theories. He never ever uses his phone unless it’s on speaker phone because he thinks if he puts the phone to his ear, he’ll get cancer. This means that other people in his family often hear all his private conversations which has caused quite a few problems.

He has lots of faddy interests and changes in personality. At one point he thought that sex should only ever have a connection with one person then suddenly one day he wants to try swinging. Then he changes his mind again.

Some of his fads include obsessions with reiki, self-help books, AI, gyming on/off, diets on/off. Taking too many vitamins. Drinking too much alcohol. He can become obsessed about almost any new thing he discovers.

He takes unnecessary risks like paying for a car by bank transfer that he’s never seen in person before, then driving 200 miles to get it, not knowing if it’s a scam or not because it’s from a private seller.

A lot of his ideas make no sense. For example, if he goes into a room and hears someone coughing or sneezing he will immediately say he’s got a sore throat and when I point out that this is impossible, he says his body works differently to everyone else’s.

He doesn’t have many friends and the few he does have say that he does things to excess.

Just wondering if any of this stuff sounds like BPD. He’s never happy and it’s such a shame. It’s also difficult for me to cope with and is a head f*

OP posts:
NearlySoon · 08/02/2025 08:49

@Climbinghigher I don't think I can change him. Quite the opposite. I think that maybe one day the situation will fizzle out and that probably depends on how our daughter is feeling about spending time with him.

OP posts:
dEdiCatEdFeliNeEntHusiAst · 08/02/2025 08:51

NearlySoon · 08/02/2025 08:30

He certainly has the money. Why say you think it's not BPD without saying what you think it is?

In any case, he's very unable to accept he needs help.

I didn't start this thread to get advice from other people about whether I should leave him. Remember, I have dealt with this for years - I know it's never going to be a fairytale. And I'm ND myself.

If I cut him off, he stalks me and turns up in every place I am. This is easier for me, believe it or not. There is less stress and pressure on me if I just try to manage him. And don't tell me to call the police because they will do nothing.

It's very easy to tell people what to do - remember I'm also ND. It would be different if we didn't have a child. I have to coparent with him atm. If I ever see signs that him looking after her for 24 hours a week was damaging her I would stop contact but atm she's happy.

I haven't read all the replies/advice you've had but as I didn't tell you to leave him can only assume you've bungled all your replies together under one quote.

I also think maybe you are misunderstanding this message board. I can't tell you or diagnose what is wrong with him as I have -
A. No idea
B. Am not a medical professional
C.Have never met him

I offered my opinion (which you asked for) as a person who has first hand experience. I'm sorry if my answer didn't meet your requirements.

NearlySoon · 08/02/2025 08:53

@dEdiCatEdFeliNeEntHusiAst that particular part about people saying leave him wasn't aimed at you. Sorry for the confusion.

It's the fact that you mentioned a particular kind of therapy that would be expensive that made me think you had something in mind.

OP posts:
GoldFishPocketWatch · 08/02/2025 08:58

He sounds in some ways similar to my husband who it looks like will be diagnosed with C-PTSD. Not exactly the same but very similar symptoms in some ways. DH has very severe childhood trauma.

DorothyStorm · 08/02/2025 16:19

NearlySoon · 08/02/2025 08:44

What do you personally know about ND people that makes you qualified to say that we can't make decisions and need to listen to you?

The stalking sounds alarming to most people. But he's never once shown any signs of being violent, either to me or anyone else. He's never even sworn at me tbh.

I never said listen to me, i said listen to other people carefully. The many, many people on here for a start.

Anyone can post, but I have decades of experience both at a personal and professional level. Thanks for asking.

Stalking is abuse. Stalking is the crime. Not being violent shouldn't be your benchmark. The fact he also stalks his older daughter is awful. This man is completely unstable. Likely a danger. It makes perfect sense he job hops.

but it is great to see that you have distanced yourself from him, and this isnt a relationship that you are currently in. Dont waste more of your life trying to manage him.

NearlySoon · 08/02/2025 19:13

I didn't ask for peoples opinions about my relationship and I also didn't ask people to jump to conclusions and accuse me of putting his needs before my daughter's which is something I see a lot of on MN.

This is not AIBU. I was asking for peoples experiences of BPD out of interest only. It helps me to be able to understand it. I don't think I should have to justify that - if people don't want to answer they don't need to.

Perhaps you should take into consideration the obvious fact that nothing anyone on this thread has said is new to me - I've heard it all from my mother. But here's the thing, she did not exactly give me good examples of stable relationships and now she's surprised that it's happening to me.

OP posts:
Hiccupsandteacups · 08/02/2025 19:23

Some very similar things to my husband who I’ve also suspected for 2 years at least, to have BPD

DorothyStorm · 08/02/2025 19:25

I didn't ask for peoples opinions about my relationship
yeah that’s not how the internet works.

she did not exactly give me good examples of stable relationships and now she's surprised that it's happening to me.
But you are now an adult and in control of your own choices. Stop wasting your life trying to self diagnose and help your arsehole of a boyfriend and focus on what you can do for you to make your life better. He isnt interested in getting any help. You cannot force him to do so. So focus on getting yourself help.

NearlySoon · 08/02/2025 19:42

'I didn't ask for peoples opinions about my relationship
yeah that’s not how the internet works.'

I don't know how long you've been on Mumsnet but the etiquette on threads here is not to derail the discussion with irrelevant stuff. I didn't say 'should I have anything to do with him now'.

And that only AIBU invites people to openly disagree. If you don't like my thread, then either don't post on it or report it if you think it's not allowed.

OP posts:
NearlySoon · 08/02/2025 19:45

Hiccupsandteacups · 08/02/2025 19:23

Some very similar things to my husband who I’ve also suspected for 2 years at least, to have BPD

Do you live together?

OP posts:
Petrine · 08/02/2025 20:01

OP I’m sure you know that BPD is a serious mental illness and as such it can only be diagnosed by a psychiatrist.

Your partner sounds a difficult man to be with but that’s all. Having a difficult personality doesn’t equate to having a serious mental illness.

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