Why Borderlines Have Terrible Memory

Borderlines and narcissists are two sides of the same coin, and that coin is made up of complex trauma.

‘Complex post-traumatic stress disorder’, or C-PTSD for short, results in a variety of negative symptoms which affect a person’s capacity to remain present and calm in the world. In the case of the narcissist, their grandiose false self shields them greatly from this inner storm.

Borderlines are not so lucky. They suffer the full brunt of complex trauma, which manifests in the following ways:

• Emotional flashbacks: The traumatised child is submerged by a constant torrent of negative emotions. A flood of shame, guilt, fear, anger, sadness, despair, self-hatred and more always lurks beneath the surface, controlled by a hairline trigger. These emotional flashbacks are a core feature of C-PTSD. When activated, they take the traumatised person back in time. The person shrinks in stature, regressing to their childhood self. They become uncertain, highly sensitive to stress, easily angered, or mute and unable to assert themselves. They might grow shameful and hid...