9. The Elastic Reality: Cognitive Dissonance in Everyday Scenarios
For children with BPD, reality isn’t always fixed; it stretches and warps according to their emotional states. It’s a phenomenon where cognitive dissonance turns everyday scenarios into emotional minefields. Cognitive dissonance—the mental tension that arises when holding contradictory beliefs—is often used to explain adult behavior. Yet, in the world of BPD and kids, this becomes a whole different ballgame.
Picture this: A child with BPD scores well on a test. Logically, they should be happy, right? Not necessarily. This achievement might lead to a surge of conflicting emotions—pride, but also an all-consuming fear that they’ll never perform this well again. The reality is elastic, flexing and bending with their emotions.
The fascinating thing here isn’t just the mental gymnastics that these kids perform; it’s the sheer speed at which these shifts can happen. What is true one minute may be utterly wrong the next. This emotional seesaw makes consistency and predictability near-impossible, and that’s not because they are capricious or insincere. (9)
