Empirical studies with adolescents and children consistently show “awareness of the danger, hopelessness about surviving, a shortened time perspective, and pessimism about being able to reach life goals. Suicide is mentioned again and again as a strategy for dealing with the threat.”5 Other studies have found that the threat of world catastrophe rushes children to a kind of “early adulthood,” similar to the type witnessed in pre-borderline children (like Lisa) who are forced to take control of families that are out of control due to BPD, alcoholism, and other mental disorders.
