Borderline Personality Disorder. Am I really a more qualified diagnoser? Other

[BPDguy]

sufferers have newbie tips? I never believed in mental health until tonight. I have been pretty outspoken about it too...Way to sell drugs, label problem kids, label natural human emotions as disorders, not a real science, etc. For 11 years now though, every aspect of my life...work, relationships, self-esteem has just been "whack" Lol. I was diagnosed with depression but never took my medicine for it because I just didn't agree with the psychiatrist nor the symptoms. I was then diagnosed with bipolar disorder and everyone I did confide this in agreed whole heartedly that they suspected that as well. I didn't ever start my bipolar meds even though my parents told me they'd help me get better. I just couldn't take the drugs when I would go over and over the symptoms and realized that even though I suffered from them, it was a real stretch in my head to identify with the symptoms (instead of YES it was more like, yea I guess I feel like that) and silently have rejected (for 8 yrs) that I'm bipolar or that any of this mumbo jumbo exists and haven't sought help since other than a counselor to talk to and codependents anonymous after a traumatic experience while looking for someone who could really understand my mind's workings. The counselor (though an AMAZING and loving person and counselor) didn't fix the underlying problem...I know she wasn't a psychiatrist and not able to make judgement as one...kind of like an alcoholic quitting alcohol but never addressing WHY they drink. So I've still been searching for the reason I find myself in the situations I do everyday. Finally tonight I randomly saw something that said borderline personality disorder BPD on the net and clicked it and went through about 15 sites with symptoms and stories. I don't understand the physiological reasons for BDP but I am very emotional now because for the first time in all these years every symptom I read is a YES, I FEEL THAT WAY EVERY SECOND OF MY LIFE...THAT IS EXACTLY HOW I TREAT PEOPLE...THAT IS JUST HOW I COPE...My first question is how often are people (non-hypochondriacs lol) right about their own mental health diagnosis? Is it enough to say that for the first time in my life I identify with these words and not a few 20 minute meetings as a teenager with a pricey psychiatrist I can trust that this is probably my diagnosis? Also, I know that the literature says treatment can be lengthy...well, I can't afford this so how often are people able to read, self help, counseling, open up to others, etc after just one meeting with a psych to get neuroleptic drugs? Does anyone have BPD and take something that works well for them? I am so relieved I heard about this never-mentioned disorder and so comforted that I read my daily sufferings written down by another human being so I won't even go through the details or stories since I'm sure if you have BPD, you know exactly what you do to keep this cycle going of painful situations and you know we could write a book.

 

[Ms Kitty]

Since Borderline PD is a personality dosorcer and no0t a chemical imbalance, drugs are limited in their ability to treat it. Therapy is the only real treatment for BPD. Anti depressants are sometimes prescribed but that's about it. DBT or Dialectic Behavior is the latest and greatest therapy for Borderline which is usually treatment resistant. Check out www.dbtselfhelp.com for more answers.

 

[Karma Singh]

Hi BPD,
the basic error which most fall into is the assumption that Borderline is an illness. This is not true!!!

There's a free download handbook all about it that you can get from
http://www.list.543bookshop.com#free

Blessed be

Karma Singh

 

[Sir Studley Smugley]

It is NEVER a good idea to diagnose yourself; you can't be objective. A disorder like BPD can share many symptoms with other disorders. It is frequently misdiagnosed by experienced professionals; someone that is having mental health problems isn't able to see themselves clearly and objectively. This is not to say that you are wrong, you may very well have BPD but you must consult a professional .

I have BPD, and my trearment has been lengthy. I have been put on a great many drugs to smooth over my symptoms, but the results were limited. It would have been wonderful if all I had to take were a couple of pills every day. I have to be able to tolerate myself , and my reactions to stuff that p***es me off, of which there is much, depending on my mood.

I agree I could probably write a book, and you're also correct about keeping the pain cycle going.

You are obviously an intelligent person. The best theory on BPD, at least in my mind, is a combination of upbringing and biology. There is a structure in your brain called the amygdala, the center of your emotions. The theory holds that with borderlines, that area is more easily "tickled," which explains the borderine's legendary emotional explosiveness. This oversensitivity, and the amygdala's slowness in returning to "normal" state, makes a borderline more prone to the emotional torture they all experience.

Check out Dialectical Behaiour Therapy. It is not a cure, but it has made my life much more bearable. It is specifically designed for BPD; a first since so many so-called professionals will write off borderlines- some won't even treat them.

You might even come to appreciate your BPD; it makes you sensitive to things that "normal" people dont even notice. There's a lot of life to be experienced; BPD gives you the opportunity to experience more than most. Don't see it necessarily as a "curse," if you can learn to live with your disorder, you have an advantage over a good chunk of the population.

Good luck.

 

[Lila]

Do you know that BPD is a disorder which is caused by childhood trauma, traumas that you may or not remember. The child's emotional and mental state stop at this age and they are unable to deal with emotions, are unable to like and love themselves. I know that you have read all of the symptoms. BPD requires the same medications as Bi-Polar that is an antidepressant and an anti-psychotic. But there are specific therapies for BPD the normal therapies don't work. This isn't as time consuming as you would think, not a period of years. One is Emotion Regulation which speaks for itself. There is Cognitive Restructuring Therapy which helps the sufferer to learn mature thought patterns and to love and like themselves. It teaches a healthy way of thinking as an adult. Emotion Regulation is sometimes called Dialectical Behavior Therapy. There is a revolutionary therapy called EMDR which is done by a therapist who specializes in this therapy. She has the skills to bring to you conscious mind the trauma or traumas that you may or may not remember and allows you to deal with them in the adult mind in a healthy way rather than the severely damaging way that was processed by the child

But Bi-Polar is a desease just like diabetes and heart disease and the same requirements that medications must be taken to allow a person to live a normal and productive life. If you were a diabetic I am certain you would take your insulin to prevent coma or death. It is a problem with the brain chemical Serotonin and the neurotransmitters in the brain. Only the prescribed medications can corrrect this. You don't want to continue with the suffering in you body and mind anymore I am certain.

Unfortunately we cannot diagnose ourselves there are fine lines between Bi-Polar and BPD that only a psychiatrist can diagnose.

If the cost is a problem you can go to the site nami.org which is the National Alliance for the Mentally ILL. On their site you can find your local chapter and there phone number. They offer support and if there are any free or low cost clinics or psychiatrists in your area they will know. On the site you can also look up both of these mental problems.

The most important thing for right now is that you start taking the medications that you were prescribed and only a psychiatrist can diagnose and treat you with the right medications. No matter which is your diagnosis the medication is for both and can change your life for the better.

I am so sorry that you are suffering, but there is help and it is good to see that you are excited about the solution to your mental health. You can also call your local Services Department they may also have referalls to free help. You do qualify for Social Security Disability which would give you an income and pay for your medical and medications. If you apply you can take your application to your local Department of Human Resources or Welfare and get a medical card, money and food stamps that will help you until you are approved. Please take care of yourself

 

[Alper Tunga K]

BPDguy,

I am not surprised to learn that you have the opinion that you probably have BPD after reading about its symptoms. It happens to anyone who don't have in depth knowledge on these matters.


You can take look at these criteria set for BPD to understand what I mean better. You'll see that how general these criteria set for BPD are:

<<Borderline personality disorder is a condition in which a person makes impulsive actions, and has an unstable mood and chaotic relationships.

Symptoms

Relationships with others are intense and unstable. They swing wildly from love to hate and back again. People with BPD will frantically try to avoid real or imagined abandonment.


BPD patients may also be uncertain about their identity or self-image. They tend to see things in terms of extremes, either all good or all bad. They also typically view themselves as victims of circumstance and take little responsibility for themselves or their problems.>>
http://your-mental-health.weebly.com/x.h…

These criteria just define the personality traits that are valid for everyone in the world depending on the situational reasons and every single behaviour, thought, emotion and feeling can be interpreted as one of the traits of BPD. The author actually has the opinion that to be a human being by itself is a personality disorder.

We can talk about BPD under these circumstances below:

1. When psychiatrists or counselors do not understand what the problem is in their clients they automatically write off this diagnosis in health insurance documents as they need to mention a legitimate psychiatric disease for the insurance companies in order to be able to get their check. BPD is really like a joker in card game for them.

2. When people committed to hospitals for various reasons they experience absolute powerlessness at the hands of hospital staff with their usual coercive approaches which aim to make you believe that you've a legitimate medical problem in order to facilitate the brain washing which is wrongly called "treatment" in you. In this situation some of those people who are subjected to these coercive approaches threaten to commit suicide or to harm themselves with the intention of resisting this authoritarian approach they experience at the hands of hospital staff and in order to be able to gain some sort of respect and dignity (by frightening them) and even to get revenge from them. When they do this they're automatically labeled as BPD as well. It's not wrong to say that this state of mind emerges due to the totally flawed treatment philosophies based on profit making with the minimum possible effort (which create or give way to all sorts of professional abuses) rather than helping people.

Be sure that all these traits you may tell about yourself which make you think that you probably have BPD have all situational reasons and you can find solutions to them if you honestly analyse yourself. You don't need anyone to achieve this. Just trust yourself and make a sincere effort. You'll see that achieving this is much easier than you might think if you're determined enough.

I'm a journalist who has made a very extensive journalistic research on psychiatry and mental health systems in various countries in the world for more than a decade. Therefore I can confidently tell you by depending on my vast observations in that field that as a rule any help is better than professional help with respect to mental health problems as unfortunately mental health industry is built upon profit making by exploiting suffering, vulnerable individuals rather than helping them. It has become a very real threat to public and individual health and civil liberties over the years, and I can see no sincere effort in correcting this obvious problem in professionals or public health officials.

My advice to you is to trust yourself. Just stay away from these so-called professionals if you don't want to risk your physical as well as mental health and much of your civil rights.

EDIT: To lila

Your claims about the link between childhood trauma (or traumas) and BPD are merely an unfounded speculation which doesn't have any kind of scientific value. It's the personal ethics systems that individuals shape up all according to their personal experiences in life and their social, cultural and religious upbringings which determine their behaviours not the childhood traumas . I regard the "therapies" you mention here which focus on the sad events happened in childhood a real arrogance and a very outrageous attempt to create a source of income for psychiatrists by exploiting the personal weaknesses of individuals. Those so-called experts should first of all accept their own roles in occurance of such mental health problems. They can start doing this first of all by ending these archaic coercive psychiatric practices which only harm the mental health of individuals and thus cause the psychological traumas (and ensuing physical suffering due to the psychoactive substances their bodies are exposed to) in them. This is exactly what they should do instead of offering unfounded therapies based on cheeky, wrong, hypocritical (albeit politically correct) speculations.

As a knowledgeble Muslim journalist who has a very extensive research in that field I regard such "therapies" developed by these clueless western psychiatrists as outrageous attempts which aim to assimilate the religious and ethnic minorities living in western countries.

 

[B.k.]

usually computers are offered in lock ups when they want you to find a job. so go get a job.