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In 2005, I joined the board as an officer in a state mood disorder patients group. There, I came across behavior I could not ascribe to bipolar disorder – extremely abusive verbal attacks, explosive meltdowns, public outbursts, poison pen emails, delusional self-centeredness, love and light one minute-on their shit list the next.
Yes, bipolars can behave badly, but this was different. It was like being back in high school again, only worse. ...
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Tuesday, January 6, 2009
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Hi John,
ReplyDeleteIt is my experience, like most Mental Health Conditions, those who have Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), and readily reveal it, and work on their coping skills do really well. For those friends and family surrounding the BPD person the accommodations, when understood, are very easy.
Simple things like not taking the BPD person out of their comfort zone. How? An example would be simply letting the BPD make the decision whether to eat out, or stay in. No unsettling for the BPD makes the accommodation work like a snap.
The greater the comfort level, the easier it becomes. When a mistake in the accommodations is made, a polite woops, sorry about that should suffice.
Unfortunately the illness, and its accompanying accommodations are so poorly understood it is sometimes referred to as the Axxhole disease. It need not be.
Now along with CBT, we have DBT, which is an even better therapeutic tool for Borderlines.
I'd like it if BPD wasn't so feared. That therapists would stop avoiding them, and denying services.
When untreated, or denied, this disorder causes so much damage for the person and their surrounding friends, family and co-workers that could be classified as the worst outcome for mental health issues.
Denying care is not the solution.
This is a great topic, thanks for the article.
Hey, Paul. Definitely agree. The unrecognition of this illness and the unwillingness of clinicians to take on patients or clients with borderline is responsible for untold suffering all around.
ReplyDeleteHopefully, attitudes will change.
I was dx'd with Borderline Personality Disorder years ago. Of course, I had to suffer through all of the prejudices of my therapists who thought I was hopeless. And this kept me from getting the treatment and help that I needed.
ReplyDeleteFinally, I was dx'd with Bipolar disorder several years ago, started taking the medication and most of the symptoms of what made them think I was borderline went away.
So first I would like to know, will medication for Bipolar disorder (Lamictal and Seroquel) have an effect on Borderlines?
Another thing I would like to point out; they say Borderline Disorder is caused by the person having difficulty forming attachments to others and a poor sense of self.
Couldn't the Bipolar itself cause this to happen? If you start having symptoms at a young age, like I did; going from manic and feeling strong pro-active and capable, to a depression in which I hardly recognized the positive person I was not to long ago.....if this happens to you over and over....wouldn't that in itself cause a poor sense of self?
And if the symptoms of Bipolar disorder have caused you to have constant conflicts with other, has caused you to be shunned and made fun of, has caused people to get really mad at you and stop being your friend, has caused your family to give up on you....wouldn't that in itself cause attachment issues?
And if you realize on some level that you are not consistently able to take care of yourself and must depend on others wouldn't that cause lots of fear and mixed feeling, which could be misconstrued as the instability of Borderline?
I wonder if sometimes borderline personality can be a sane reaction to an insane situation. Looked at within the framework of my life, any person would develop these feelings I think.
"To Know Them is to HATE them".
ReplyDeleteIsn't that kind of strong language, to say the least?
Hi, Anonymous. Yes, definitely strong language. But if the language did not apply, it would not be borderline. That's the point - people with borderline have a way of alienating others. In turn they become alienated. Serious illness, strong language.
ReplyDeleteMisdiagnosed as BD. Sorry docs,I may be emotional, but a wrong diagnosis to fit into your need little cubbyhole of a brain does the patient more harm than anything. (And I am the good little girl who always - till two days ago - followed psydocs orders: finally -25th suicide attempt - realized something may be wrong with them, as well as me.)
ReplyDeleteIf the hallmark of BPD vs bipolar is reaction to stress, as you indicate, how do you explain your own stress reaction to the hate messages in your Wikipedia inbox that led to a significant shift in your mood? There is some inconsistency in your presentation of the defining difference between BPD and bipolar.
ReplyDeleteTo Anonymous: Check out my article on stress: http://www.mcmanweb.com/stress.html
ReplyDeleteStress figures in all illnesses and conditions, from heart disease to anxiety. I have to be very careful, as stress can spin me into depression or mania or anxiety. Those with borderline are dealing with a world they perceive as frightening and hostile, which is extremely stressful to them. Then, they wind up losing it.
There is no inconsistency. Stress affects us all, even the chronically normal.