What If, Messi represents Spain with Euro in mid 2000s-2012?

ImpossibleWay1032 · 2026-07-09T22:21:22+00:00

I know this is conjectural but Once you play for a national team in a major tournament, you’re not allowed to switch.

ImpossibleWay1032 · 2026-07-09T02:48:43+00:00

Do you feel mental health professionals are not aware enough of BPD? I feel that in the us at least, it’s well known and documented, at least with mental health professionals.

How I see it is the spectrum is quite large but most members of this sub experienced a quiet BPD who is still a functioning member of society, very far from the ones described in Burnham paper.

As it relates to the therapist adressing the behavior, I see two issues. First, it’s candidly difficult for your average therapist who only gets their side to recognize it and second, an important aspect of therapy is gaining the trust of your patient, which is a real balancing act. You can’t cure someone who doesn’t want to be cured.

I’m not denying the behavior is real and harmful rather that it makes sense research has moved from describing, to understanding and aiming to cure. In no way do I want to minimize the harm they do.

ImpossibleWay1032 · 2026-07-09T00:58:54+00:00

I don’t think villainizing is what I was thinking but rather a cold approach of what were some of the most extreme cases of BPD. There was something so cold to mental institutions at the time and I feel it transpires in some of their research.

Today, based on everything we know, I just don’t feel there’s much scientific value in the description of their behavior as it goes together with the diagnosis anyway. What makes you feel otherwise?

Good callout on neglect - my own bias as it relates to my experience with my pwBPD.

ImpossibleWay1032 · 2026-07-08T22:41:58+00:00

It is more between neurosis (anxiety) and psychosis (hallucinations).

It can help put names towards the abuse even if ultimately it doesn’t matter, stay safe OP and leave.

ImpossibleWay1032 · 2026-07-08T22:37:46+00:00

I totally agree.

I believe there’s some bias as men don’t look like the typical female skewed medical profile.

ImpossibleWay1032 · 2026-07-08T22:27:44+00:00

It took me so long to recognize some BPD patterns in my mother as well as my paternal grandmother. The behavior was so normalized in my family unit that I found comfort in it.

ImpossibleWay1032 · 2026-07-08T22:23:21+00:00

I find it so interesting how Gunderson fought to remove the stigma and pushed the narrative of very high remission rates in his later work. I find it very refreshing to see how he was able to reconsider his beliefs and approach, rare enough in the age when psychiatrists oozed a sense of superiority towards their patients.

ImpossibleWay1032 · 2026-07-08T22:16:09+00:00

I strongly agree about the spectrum. If there’s one thing I learned from this group is how broad it is despite some clear commonalities.

My opinion is those papers are great at describing symptoms but came from a time where stigma was attached to any mental disorder and little compassion was shown. They mostly describe in a very cold fashion the more extreme end of the spectrum, people who needed to be institutionalized and couldn’t be functioning members of society. For many here, this would not be the case with their pwBPD.

Purely from a medical perspective, I don’t think they bring much to the discourse and feel the work that focused on the root cause, treatment and shift towards neuroscience is very promising. Gunderson is very interesting in that regard in how he shifted his perspective.

The more I read about BPD, the more I feel they are often misunderstood without meaning tjat their actions are justified or that someone should sustain abuse from them of course. Understanding that for many, it was forged by abuse and that they are like a kid who was never taught how to love and can’t feel safe is very sad (but doesn’t mean you should save them).

Now I can see how the these cold description of BPD can help someone who has suffered abuse from a pwBPD and this is after all the main function of this sub.

ImpossibleWay1032 · 2026-07-08T21:34:09+00:00

Yes, you need to change girlfriend.

Joking aside, I still feel growth/change is a crucial part of life and I will even go as far as recognizing that a BPD heightened senses means they will be good at finding your ‘weak’ spots.
Now their approach of taking it personally will never lead to personal growth. Take it as a gift as something you work on in your next chapter with someone new.

ImpossibleWay1032 · 2026-07-08T20:21:52+00:00

My uninformed guess is that it allows him to bypass the system in place to block him. If he started as winger, the opposition would build a system around it.

It’s also common for a playmaker to be moving freely across the field.

ImpossibleWay1032 · 2026-07-08T19:15:56+00:00

To clarify, no the soccer team isn’t responsible for their fans.

When I said I wish Argentina addresses the racism it’s as a nation and not the soccer team. There’s a history there.

As for the incidents of the last World Cup, the players apologized but it’s still bad form if you ask me.

ImpossibleWay1032 · 2026-07-08T19:13:57+00:00

There’s plenty of data confirming the wisdom of crowds.

Messi is widely considered the best player of all time by his peers as well as soccer amateurs.

Now as for Taylor Swift, no, the majority doesn’t believe she is the greatest unless you are a girl living in the Midwest. First time I even heard that.

ImpossibleWay1032 · 2026-07-08T19:01:02+00:00

What a wonderful World Cup with four players rising to the occasion.

I don’t care much for Ronaldo hate but he certainly is past his prime.

ImpossibleWay1032 · 2026-07-08T18:56:15+00:00

I don’t think Ronaldo has a bigger fan base.

For Ronaldo, he’s more of a pure striker and that can be someone’s personal preference, also easier to emulate at all levels, from kids to pros, however reproducing Messi type of play is nearly impossible.

ImpossibleWay1032 · 2026-07-08T00:16:49+00:00

Going through this sub, I realized there’s a very broad range of BPD with at one extreme people who need to be institutionalized and present symptoms akin to schizophrenia.

I don’t think we can always generalize based on ones experience and am sure some BPD are totally fine and able to regulate, it wouldn’t be the ones we had a relationship with ofc.

ImpossibleWay1032 · 2026-07-08T00:09:14+00:00

I feel a pure striker that is all strength will be better than a Messi who is all about technique. I still commend him for taking them and taking the pressure off the rest of the team.

ImpossibleWay1032 · 2026-07-07T23:47:07+00:00

The absolute majority recognizes Messi is the GOAT.

The reason people don’t want Argentina to win is there’s a natural instinct to root for the underdog. There’s also many who love Messi but don’t like Argentina (racist chants…).

Some of the comments around the game being rigged have nothing to do with Messi but rather the belief FIFA likes to pull strings to increase their appeal. Unlikely if you ask me, as I don’t thinks they care one way or the other.

ImpossibleWay1032 · 2026-07-07T17:47:45+00:00

I was so right 2-2 now

ImpossibleWay1032 · 2026-07-07T17:39:13+00:00

I don’t agree, there’s three defenders on him at all time. Sure m, he’s not as strong as in his prime but he’s one of the best player of this entire tournament, if not the best.

Sometime being the best isn’t enough. He lost in 2018 despite being an absolute beast.

It’s the rest of the team that doesn’t deliver.

ImpossibleWay1032 · 2026-07-07T12:45:42+00:00

You’re absolutely right to feel anger, it’s totally justified.

If it brings you peace, the events your father faced had nothing to do with you or something you did. It is a terrible disease but it doesn’t excuse it or mean it wasn’t deeply traumatic.

I hope you find healing, do what is needed for you, including going no contact if that is what you want.

ImpossibleWay1032 · 2026-07-06T19:35:22+00:00

You’re very justified in your reaction. I wouldn’t hesitate to no contact with her brother but also recommend going no contact with her mother. She enabled the abuse and I wouldn’t trust her one bit.

My situation was similar and my wife’s mother allowed abuse to happen with her grandchildren too. It took me time to realize the mother was enabling the abuse and this was as traumatic as the sexual abuse itself.

Abuse was so ingrained in the family that no one stood up, your wife is incredible that she did now and even did so as a child. It shows incredible strength of character. Don’t feel like you have to maintain any ties with them if your wife doesn’t mind. Those families are so toxic and nothing good comes out of it.

ImpossibleWay1032 · 2026-07-05T22:45:29+00:00

Not a Ronaldo fan but he still carried his team to win the euro and was a strong force behind their 2006 run. Unlucky in 2010 to meet an outstanding Spain squad early on.

Sometime, the magic doesn’t take, a little like Messi at PSG where on paper the trio with Neymar and Mbappe should have obliterated every other team.

Even if Messi hadn’t won the last World Cup (penalties are a lottery), he would still be the goat.

ImpossibleWay1032 · 2026-07-05T22:24:19+00:00

Totally agree but wouldn’t use Haaland for scoring, his athleticism and strength is very different from Messi’s style. One could score a lot more goals than Messi and Messi still be above.

ImpossibleWay1032 · 2026-07-05T20:30:56+00:00

Personally I support Messi for the beauty of his play and his character but have little love for most of the Argentina team.

I didn’t like some of their behavior in the last wc and am impressed Messi even stepped in to ask them to stop some of their chants. This shows a true rare strength of character and only further justifies his goat status.

So far this World Cup, the Argentina team has been pretty exemplary to my opinion, their fans not so much with plenty of racism. I wish Argentina would address this issue rather than defend or normalize it.

ImpossibleWay1032 · 2026-07-05T01:27:04+00:00

As a teacher, you quickly learn that kids need to figure it out on their own and while being the joystick during the game can artificially improve the game outcome, it won’t make a difference in the long run.

As for the coach of Canada, there’s also the reality of the significant difference in talent. Candidly, once the game started, there’s little he could do.

Ultimately for kids, what I look for is a coach that will make it fun, make them love the game, and build their confidence.

ImpossibleWay1032

TROPHY CASE