Hi to the voiceless and voiceful on this board!
(A new feeling just came to me - after watching Ellen Burstyn play Elliott Stabler's bi-polar mother in Law & Order:SVU and then finding the movie, Dolores Clairborne, on Cinemax last night.)
The thought that this feeling created has to do with the word, b*tch. I used that alot in the past to describe a behaviour of someone's - as in "she is acting like a b*tch right now." However, the new thought is that people who suffer from NPD and Bi-Polar, in general, also have this tendency and just ARE b*tches throughout life! It was interesting how this thought seemed to relieve a certain burden from me...in that, no matter what I do, no matter how nice and polite I am (and was taught to be!

) women like my mother, my co-worker, my cousin and my aunt are ALWAYS going to be b*tches. I think it is better to look at them this way than to take everything personally or try to enlighten them by pateintly explaining - directly or indirectly - concepts such as self-awareness, respect for differering points of view, respect for healthy boundaries, etc. So, in any dealings with them and for my own peace of mind and love for myself/the planet, I think it is better to walk into any interaction with them, having made this conclusion.
Thanks for letting me share,
Dawning.