I always thought that as I aged I would become more and more acclimated to the issues and pressures. If anything I feel more like a teenager now than I did then. But my life was very predictable. School, work full time, hide in my room or wherever my family wasn't and play Civ3 or read for whatever few hours I had left. The last few years have been so stressful, probably exasperated by my own design, that what's built up is crashing down. What's benign to one person may hit me like a truck so I've limited social interaction for this reason. And became agoraphobic for a while.
There were multiple factors for it. One included a BPD parent constantly crossing boundaries and weaving tales. I grew up in a small town. My go to coping mechanism was to disappear. Disconnect completely, because borderlines recruit minions to do their dirty work for them once they've been cut off. One sad story will have former co-workers, highschool classmates and even the police checking in on you. So was it to avoid being triggered? I considered it avoiding harassment. Looking back I could have handled it differently but I had no idea what to do.
I'm at my most dramatic when I'm sick or frustrated with someone.
But there are times when for some reason I'm feeling incredibly overwhelmed and just not being able to do the simplest of tasks will make me morose or petulant and I need everyone to get out of the way and leave me the fuck alone so I can go contemplate suicide because I'm just so incompetent at regulating my emotions.
Being a dramatic adult is no bueno and not fun.
It was harassment. They bullied you and won.
You would have had to be very assertive in terms of setting strong boundaries (i.e. not even letting them know where you lived for a time) but since you were dealing with a parent (your mother?), I imagine that might have been difficult for you.
Your assumption on just how far I went in order to retain privacy in the situation is underestimated. It was more of a burden due to finances, one can only move so much within a small radius in order to still have their job. It started when I was about 18 so the funds weren't always readily available. Maintaining a no-contact boundary over a period of years was beneficial but again, small area.In the end, I lied to a few friends and said I was moving out of state. She followed to that area. I should have picked further away but had to make it believable due to the company I was with and their locations.