The 'Harry Potter' Quote That Speaks to Me as Someone With BPD
One of my favorite series of all time is the Harry Potter series — and for good reason. The “Harry Potter” books have taught me many life lessons from how one can find happiness in the darkest of times to how one’s future is not always what they were born into.
But one of my favorite quotes that relates so much to my mental health is one said by Albus Dumbledore.
“Understanding is the first step to acceptance, and only with acceptance can there be recovery.”
Having been diagnosed with borderline personality disorder (BPD) just recently and having been told there’s no cure to it, I never knew how to recover. The thing is, there is a way. There is always a way. While my condition may be permanent, I have also been told there is a way to control this mental disorder to the point that the symptoms will seem to have disappeared.
There is one simple problem though.
How was I supposed to control this before even accepting the fact I have this mental illness? Who in the world would ask for a mental illness? I certainly didn’t ask for this. Why should I even bother trying to control something I shouldn’t have?
In the end, being in denial was getting me nowhere and I had to learn to accept my situation. I had to learn to radically accept. For those of you who have tried, radical acceptance is no easy task. In fact, it’s more of a challenge. Nonetheless, it was the way to go. In order to “recover” I had to radically accept first. But how was I supposed to do that?
The answer, like the quote says, is by understanding. Understand what? Understand that yes, I did not ask for this, but this is what I inevitably have, due to the biopsychosocial factors I have no control over. Understand that mental disorders are disorders that require you to be kind and gentle to yourself in order to heal. Understand you are not alone in facing all this. Just like acceptance, understanding all about your mental disorder won’t be easy, but it does help a lot. So I hope that with this quote, you may be guided towards the road to your recovery as it did for me.
If you or someone you know needs help, visit our suicide prevention resources page.
If you need support right now, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 or text “START” to 741-741.
We want to hear your story. Become a Mighty contributor here.
Photo via Harry Potter Facebook page.