“Momma” is a series of staged images with the intention of showing what it is like to live with a personality disorder – particularly, what it is like to watch a mother struggle with a personality disorder.
This series is influenced by my own personal relationship with my mother in my childhood.
While each family that suffers from the effects of personality disorders lives a wildly different reality, I created these images based off of my own experience, and with the awareness that I had not yet seen any images about personality disorders that were not stigmatizing. Captions are informed by definitions provided by the American Psychiatric Association.
As the movement towards mental health awareness continues to reduce the stigma around various mental health conditions, it is important that more resources are provided to help people understand personality disorders, as those who have these conditions are often villainized by society. If more people are aware of the symptoms and can identify when they or a loved one might be struggling with a personality disorder, then there will be less of a stigma, and more people can get the help they need.
Sometimes, parents with personality disorders treat their children or loved ones as if they are extensions of themselves. As a result of having a parent with a personality disorder, a child can grow to have an underdeveloped sense of self in their adulthood, and can be confused about who they are, what they want, and what their place is in the world.Living with a parent with a personality disorder can put a child at risk for other mental illnesses and substance abuse in the future. Parents who have personality disorders can be highly functional and loving parents, while others can be highly volatile and abusive. Because many people with personality disorders remain undiagnosed and unsupported, they can unfortunately cause long-lasting and severe harm to the people they bring into the world.Increased anxiety due to a personality disorder can cause some to turn to alcohol and drug abuse. Those with personality disorders struggle with feeling normal and view the world around them as impossible to adapt to, and these substances are viewed as ways to adapt, or to feel “normal.” A person’s personality disorder can thus lead one to become addicted to drugs or alcohol, and this can hinder proper treatment and diagnoses of both personality disorders and substance abuse disorders.People with personality disorders exhibit signs of being helpless, submissive, or emotionally immature. They might appear to be manipulative of others to try and achieve validation for childish actions and behaviors. Emotional instability in personality disorders is often a result of early childhood trauma and insecure attachments throughout a person’s life.Histrionic Personality Disorder (HPD) is a mental health condition that affects the way a person perceives themselves and relates to the world around them. An HPD diagnosis is both rare and controversial, as it is a more common diagnosis among women than it is among men. Symptoms of histrionic personality disorder include rapid shifts in mood; flirtatious, inappropriate, or sexually suggestive behavior that may violate interpersonal boundaries; exaggerated gestures or words intended to draw attention; and the inability to maintain relationships.Studies show that children of parents with a personality disorder are much more likely to be diagnosed with personality disorders at some point in their lives. However, this is not always the case, as healing is possible. Children of those with personality disorders are forced to compensate for their parents’ emotional unavailability by becoming incredibly mature and compassionate at an early age. Histories of personality disorders can trace back for generations, but it is possible to break the cycle by setting strict boundaries with your parent, although it may be uncomfortable.Those who suffer from personality disorders often text and call far more than those without them. Although blowing up the phones of family and friends is not a constructive way to communicate, it is one tactic that people living with a disorder like BPD use to talk out loud and work through their emotions. When communicating with someone who has BPD, be clear and concise in your responses, do not take hurtful messages personally, do not respond to every message, and try to respond with thoughtful and genuine encouragement.Parents with personality disorders can express their love – or rather, a desire for attention and affection – through gifts. Specifically, those with narcissistic personality disorder give gifts and/or money as a tool for maintaining control and power in relationships. People with a personality disorder might give gifts whether they have money or not, and the gifts might have absolutely no relevance to the receiver. You don’t get gifts from a narcissist because they think you are awesome. You get gifts from a narcissist because they want you to think that they are awesome.Psychotic-like symptoms may develop in people with certain personality disorders. These episodes can occur when a person is anxious or stressed and are characterized by the distortion of one’s perceptions or beliefs. However, they are not complete breaks with reality. It can seem as if the person who is experiencing psychosis is living in their head, speaking complete nonsense, or reinventing events to sound extravagant and fantastical.Some with personality disorders report feelings of intense restlessness. Chronic sleep disturbances and insomnia are common among those with BPD and HPD, resulting in consequences for poor sleep during the daytime. Symptoms of personality disorders are aggravated when one does not get enough sleep, further impairing emotional regulation.Growing up in a household with an unpredictable parent can feel like you are constantly walking on eggshells. Intimidation tactics and frequent mood swings push a narcissist’s child to always be on edge. If you are always fearing how your parent might react, then you may be suffering from narcissistic abuse.Those with personality disorders do not have a strong sense of empathy compared to those without personality disorders. They might act on impulse, create false realities, and exaggerate their behaviors. Often, those who live with personality disorders do not actually want to be the way that they are and have undergone trauma causing them to believe a false reality and live in a constant internal struggle.
