Borderline Personality Disorder

[gman]

Any one here got this?

 

[floweravalanche]

Are you talking like bi-polar? Stuff a long those lines?

A doc though I was and put me on meds etc, then I went off them on my own and I'm a lot better then I was well on them. Now I've had one doc go yes you have an emotional disorder and I've had one that has said no you're fine. So Who knows. Nor does it matter.

Its a touchy subject for some it was for me but now dont really care

 

[yolland]

No, it's a personality disorder and has nothing to do with being manic-depressive (although one could certainly have both). From what little I know about it, people with this condition have an abnormally extreme need to feel cared for and can become very volatile when they don't.

I've never known anyone with this disorder myself though so I'd have nothing useful to offer from experience.

 

[gman]

Actually, BPD is considered as being very close in nature to Bi -Polar. There is quite a bit more to it than the need to be cared for thing.
To be blunt...its a fucking nightmare to live with, and has basically left my life in tatters. Anyhoo....i was just curious to know if there was anyone opn here with it...coz i have only met 3 others with this condition in my life.

 

[Angela Harlem]

I have a good friend with bi-polar, but not borderline personality. It's been an epic battle for her, and has been there through the destruction of many aspects of her life.

Have you sought groups out there? While it isn't common, there should be some form of community and support out there, as it isn't rare, either.

 

[yolland]

Actually, BPD is considered as being very close in nature to Bi -Polar. There is quite a bit more to it than the need to be cared for thing.
To be blunt...its a fucking nightmare to live with, and has basically left my life in tatters. Anyhoo....i was just curious to know if there was anyone opn here with it...coz i have only met 3 others with this condition in my life.

Sorry, I may have worded that more strongly than intended...all I meant to convey was that the two conditions are definitely not one and the same, so that people with the one condition wouldn't necessarily understand the experiences of people with the other very well at all. (I have seasonal-pattern bipolar-I, which, while unpleasant and increasingly requiring medication as I get older, hasn't caused me anything like the chronic, drastic upheavals in life that many people with personality disorders--and indeed many with other forms of bipolar disorder--have experienced, so the distinction isn't merely academic to me.)

I'm sorry to hear about your experiences with this condition. It sounds from your rather brief comments so far like you're really wanting a support network of some sort. I realize this is a rare enough condition that organized support groups for it are probably few and far between, but have you talked with a therapist about strategies for finding more people you can turn to for support, perhaps even organized Internet support groups specific to this condition? (Granted those can be notoriously hit-or-miss, and I suppose sometimes even do more harm than good, but a professional might at least be able to tell you if that avenue's worth a try, and what some reasonably well-run sites might be.)

If you don't mind elaborating a little, what are some of the other features generally associated with the condition? As I mentioned ealier, all the (brief) references to it I've ever heard or read really had to offer by way of characterization was that an intense need to feel cared for, and resulting serious instabilities if that need doesn't feel met, tends to be typical. No problem if you don't feel like explaining, I know from personal experience how invasive some kinds of curiosity can feel.

 

[gman]

Hey Yolland....no need to be sorry about anything. Am not touchy about my illness or that. My mates call me Hank, after the movie Me Myself and Irene. Its only their way of dealing with it and dont mean any offense by it
Im not really after any sort of support really. Was just curious to meet people. and maybe find out how life is for them and maybe share coping startagies etc.
I have just finished an 8 month course of therapy specially tailored for BPD, and will be doing another 8 months after summer.

I cut and pasted the following for ya:
Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a psychiatric diagnosis in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV Personality Disorders 301.83)[1] that describes a prolonged disturbance of personality function characterized by depth and variability of moods.[2] The disorder typically involves unusual levels of instability in mood; "black and white" thinking, or "splitting"; chaotic and unstable interpersonal relationships, self-image, identity, and behavior; as well as a disturbance in the individual's sense of self. In extreme cases, this disturbance in the sense of self can lead to periods of dissociation.

1. Frantic efforts to avoid real or imagined abandonment. [Not including suicidal or self-injuring behavior covered in Criterion 5]
2. A pattern of unstable and intense interpersonal relationships characterized by alternating between extremes of idealization and devaluation.
3. Identity disturbance: markedly and persistently unstable self-image or sense of self.
4. Impulsivity in at least two areas that are potentially self-damaging (e.g., promiscuous sex, eating disorders, binge eating, substance abuse, reckless driving). [Again, not including suicidal or self-injuring behavior covered in Criterion 5]
5. Recurrent suicidal behavior, gestures, threats or self-injuring behavior such as cutting, interfering with the healing of scars (excoriation) or picking at oneself.
6. Affective instability due to a marked reactivity of mood (e.g., intense episodic dysphoria, irritability or anxiety usually lasting a few hours and only rarely more than a few days).
7. Chronic feelings of emptiness, worthlessness.
8. Inappropriate anger or difficulty controlling anger (e.g., frequent displays of temper, constant anger, recurrent physical fights).
9. Transient, stress-related paranoid ideation, delusions or severe dissociative symptoms

 

[love_u2_adam]

Isn't it like you see your self out of your own body?
Or am i getting that mixed up with split personality?
When i get out of college i really want to help people with personality disorders.

 

[VintagePunk]

^I think you're talking about a class of disorders called dissociative disorders. Specifically, it includes dissociative identity disorder, the clinical term for "split personality."

Gman, glad to hear you're in treatment. How has it helped you to cope with your illness?

I have a relative that I'd bet money is suffering from BPD (eta - borderline pd, I mean), but she hasn't been properly diagnosed, and the few attempts at counselling she's made have ended after a session or two.

 

[gman]

Thanx VP. Being honest, I started a course of Dialectical behaviour Therapy. But...found it very hard to get to grips with. BUT...the good thing is, the professionals running the course recognise that its a lot to take in, so they allow you to do the course twice.
Which is just as well, as i dont think i got much from it the first time round. The people i was in with, were doing it for the second time and they sed its makes more sense second time round. I live in hope!

 

[last unicorn]

In recent years, I got to know some people who are suffering from this disorder and I have experienced the distress it brings to them and to others in their lives. People suffering from this illness are usually difficult to handle because of their emotional extremes and often their aggression. It's really challenging to deal with those affected by this disorder, you cannot judge them because they're ill, on the other hand it's sometimes really hard to be around them and to be exposed to their emotional ups and downs. It's not easy to accept that they're not doing it on purpose and don't mean it personally but, instead, simply cannot act in any different way because of their condition. I'm really learning to see both sides, which isn't easy.

One person who's affected is my brother. He isn't diagnosed but from all I know about this illness, there is a very high possibility he's having this. Since he's my brother, I've experiences many things that I think may be part of such an disorder. We have a history of mental illness in our family, but we don't talk about it. His behaviour is getting worse and it's almost impossible for me to handle. Being around him makes me angry and sad at the same time. He also has a child, my 11 year old nephew, and because of his condition he's unable to handle the kid who is very lively. They almost never leave the house and the child isn't allowed to stay with friends or go on excursions with his classmates which is very sad. When I try to talk with my brother he's totally shutting down, being hypersensitive and aggressive, telling me I should keep out of his family business. There were times we didn't have contact for months because of one thing I said to him that might have been considered "critical". He doesn't want to go and see a psychologist, but he has taken medication for some time because of his anxiety attacks. It's hard to deal with my emotions towards him, but at the same time I feel so sorry for him and don't know what to do or how to help him.

Other people I know have been diagnosed, are on medication and in therapy, their pattern of behaviour is very similar to my brother's, still different in different phases.


And gman I hope you find some good therapy or support group where you can also speak with people who suffer from the same illness. Have you tried to do some research via internet? We have a lot of forums here where people affected by different diseases meet and discuss their issues.