Sam and Maureen Callahan discussed the challenges faced by individuals with borderline or dysfunctional mothers, highlighting two main issues: negative messaging that instills feelings of unworthiness and the mother’s tendency to set the child up for failure. Children dealing with such mothers often internalize the blame, believing they are the problem to avoid the terrifying truth that their mother is dysfunctional, which could threaten their survival. This deep-seated belief makes it difficult for individuals to achieve self-awareness and accept that the dysfunction lies with the mother, not themselves, as the inner child remains fearful of this reality.