Meeting with sis after 8 months NC

Started by thirstywork, December 06, 2018, 07:38:13 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

thirstywork

I'm not sure exactly why I have signed up to do this.
8 months ago my malevolent BPD sis and I had a big blowout fight which lead me here, and a few other revelationary places and I saw the light. She was giving me the silent treatment so I comfortably slipped into NC and learned to gray rock my entire flying monkey, enabling family. They tried so hard to guilt me into speaking to her and apologising (I didn't do anything at all) just to make it all go away, but I didn't, and eventually all but my mum stopped asking.
Fast forward to September, she messages me asking to meet to 'talk it all through' but says she's too busy to meet right away. I decided grey rock was the best way forward so I just said something like 'sure'.
Now we're here, and she wants to meet for coffee tomorrow and I've somehow agreed to it thinking I can just be all medium chill and nod my way through the meeting.
Firstly, I question myself why I even agreed to this? My life has been a million times better without her. I don't feel any remorse, or guilt, just clarity that she has been abusive towards me my whole life. She doesn't need me or miss me in any way, she needs the ego boost that she can hoover me back in. We've crossed paths at a family function once since then, and although she complained to everyone about it to the high heavens, it simply wasn't that awkward that we weren't speaking.

I think I agreed because I'm trying to get my enabling family off my back. I think perhaps I view it as the path of least resistance. If I don't meet with her then that's another battle won for her to continue painting her masterpiece for the family on why I'm a Bad Person, cue more 'but she's your sister and she's sick' chorus from the fam.

Secondly, what the heck am I gonna say to her when she asks me difficult things? Because in my heart I feel that I'm not interested in any kind of a relationship with her, that I see through her manipulations now and I think what she does to everyone in her life is despicable and impossible to watch. With all that bubbling underneath, what if I slip? What if she asks me to apologise? She's said to family members that that's what she wants and expects. I can't. I can't dole out fake apologies for something I didn't do. My only plan at the moment is to keep asking her to explain what exactly it is that I'm apologising for until she talks herself in circles and out of the question, but I have no idea if that would actually work. What happens when the conversation goes dead because every sentence I say has 2 words? I want her to say to everyone that I was boring, not that I was rude and a b*tch. I want to give her the opposite of ammunition.

Any last minute tips?!

all4peace

#1
Find your solid ground. I can't speak for you, but for me it is
-who i am
-what i accept/stand for
-what i can offer

Remember--you don't need to answer any question you don't want to answer. You can say:
-i'm not comfortable talking about that
-i don't have an answer for you at this time
-i don't see it the way you do
-i accept your assessment of me, although i do not agree with it

etc.

You have no control whatsoever over what she thinks about you or repeats to others. You only have what you know to be true. If you don't have a good reason for YOU for doing this, then don't. Understand that it may not improve things, it may make them worse, and either way you may have reasons for and against doing this.

You do not owe this to your family. They will think whatever they're going to think. They may think you're terrible for not meeting with her, and they may still think you're terrible if you do meet with her. Make your decision for you.

We'll be here for you!

D.Dan

 :yeahthat:

I also want to point out that you can leave when you feel like it. You're not obligated to sit there and get verbally beaten down by her.

I've read some recommendations of a time limit. Maybe have a friend text or call with an emergency after 15- 20 minutes to get you out of there.

bloomie

thirstywork - just seeing this today... thinking you are meeting today. Will be here when you are ready to share how you are doing after this meeting. :hug:
The most powerful people are peaceful people.

The truth will set you free if you believe it.

LoverofPeace

#4
Hello,

I could have written this post myself, and had to double check to make sure it wasn't my own  :stars:.

I posted on another thread here on June 16th of this year called "Is It Time to Go No Contact?", because I also went through the same thing concerning a fall out with my NPD/bipolar sister about 8 months ago.  I'm telling you, I understand wholeheartedly the hell you are feeling because of them and our flying monkey family members. I also went through an atrocious situation where this narc sister wasn't only wrong, I was also driving at the time, she was sitting behind me when she attacked, and my narc mother who needed spinal surgery at the time was sitting in the front passenger seat! I had to pull over and teach her a good lesson (it felt good, but not recommended because things could have gotten worse out there). Not to mention, it wasn't even over my mother or anything like that. It was because she was trying to get in my business about a friend of mine! How's that for a set of kahoonas (sp?) on a narc?  :evil2: I mentioned narc mother, who is also a flying monkey to this sick sister, because she had the nerve to not only make light of the situation saying we were both wrong--instead of admitting this was way out of line with this sister, she even began insinuating about the incident via phone speaker to my grandmother when I was visiting her one day and decided to call my mother to see how she was doing, too. Something that is now a thing of the past in checking up on those two all of the time; because I just can't take it with them anymore. It's not only heartless, it's so unwarranted. You don't do these type of things even to an enemy; at least I wouldn't.  :sadno:

So Thirstywork, I totally get it. This sister tried calling soon after her sickening behavior after baiting me about my grandmother's progress (who in fact was in inpatient rehab post surgery herself and we were driving from there the night of her attack) and she kept insisting 'we have to talk'. What for? When I called (after going back and forth by text her controlling ways of how many messages she left) all she did was insult me more. I am proud that I stayed calm and got the best of her before hanging up to her silence, because she couldn't get a reaction from me.

This sister has also gone 'silent treatment', other than my mother's spinal surgery that happened every since. She called herself slipping into town to 'surprise' everyone during my mother's inpatient rehab; but the joke was on her if she thought I'd be there. Was almost there that day, but declined. For a reason, I see and feel it was divine intervention. Stopping all this contact with them really helps to keep the peace a lot more.  ;D

So, though you might have met up with your sister by now--and I pray all went well--you don't have to keep doing this at all if you don't want to. Take it from me; someone who used to do this all of the time. I tried to make all family and friends happy until I just basically had to cut them all off. I only check up on my grandmother and mother now and like I said, even that is on my terms only; currently once or twice a week mostly by phone when it used to be more visits. I do admit I blame it on work and school, but it is the only thing that they can bear hearing right now. Later, I may go into more with them before I go completely NC.  :yeahthat:

Please be in touch to make sure you're okay, Thirstywork. This website is a real lifesaver and like a lifeline for people like us.  :like:

Many blessings to you and everyone looking to live the beautiful, spiritual, peaceful life they deserve!  ;)

P.S. Notice how I keep saying, 'this sister'? I can't even say 'my'; makes me very uncomfortable to even claim her.

thirstywork

Wow, it took me a while to get back to this.

Thank you so much for all your support! Those last minute tips really really helped. I managed to catch them just before I went in for this coffee and simply the idea that I could leave if I wanted really calmed me down and gave me a feeling of liberation.

I got myself worked up over nothing. She is a master manipulator, but not at all confrontational. I know this, I know her so incredibly well. She gave me a fairly lengthy apology and said she wanted to meet and sort it out in case we saw each other over Christmas. I told her I had no plans to see family over Christmas, and I didn't see her anyway, so really that was a fake reason. The apology was ok though - I mean I didn't believe a word of it but the best part was I just said 'ok, thanks' and didn't say anything else. No apology back. And she didn't ask. I was so worried about that part because while I want to be grey rock and basically unnoticeable to her, I also want to constantly love and respect myself and I think for me to apologise for her abusing me would be incredibly disrespectful to myself. So that went smoothly.

In fact, it all went so smoothly that I caught myself feeling that it was such a shame I couldn't just invite her back to see my new place right that minute, we weren't far away. But I stopped myself, and I'm glad I did. Because that's what she does, lulls me into a false sense of security and then obliterates my trust and tries to destroy my world.

Now, a couple of months later, she's creating drama in her life and with the rest of the family again and I am staying well away from it, rather unscathed apart from the occasionally bit of frustration that I'm not mucking in to help out. While I don't like what she puts everyone through, it's almost a joy to be able to watch it from the sidelines and not get dragged in. And a little bit of schadenfreude that the family are all worried, because I've been trying to guide them to the light for months and they never listen to me or look at the links or videos I send, and they didn't give me much sympathy when I was her victim, just acted more like I was the problem. I don't want them to be worried ultimately, I want them to come around to my way of thinking because their unwavering fear and guilt based caring is nurturing, not helping, the awful behaviours my BPDsis has.

LemonLime

Nice work, thirstywork.  You clearly are very intelligent and level-headed with healthy boundaries.   And of course, being all that doesn't necessarily make life easier.  But it makes life healthier.   And that can be satisfying.

I feel quite similar about my situation with my uBPD sis.   I totally am ONTO her.   Others "sort of see it" at best, in spite of the educational materials I've provided them.  It's frustrating.   I'm spoon-feeding them info, leading them right through it.   But it was getting to the point where it probably appeared I was obsessed with getting them to understand.  And since that is admittedly weird, I stopped.   I want COMPANY in this....I want them to be able to see it and support me, and me to support them.  But they just can't or won't.   So thank goodness for this wonderful and supportive group!!

thirstywork

Quote from: Kat1984 on March 02, 2019, 05:17:09 PM
I want COMPANY in this....I want them to be able to see it and support me, and me to support them.  But they just can't or won't.

Yes! Exactly! It feels so weird and infuriating that they can't just see it as plain as day like we do! Makes you feel like you're going mad. But then that's the power of the illness I suppose. Gaslighting galore!