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borderline personality
Former Member
Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
Okay - As some of you might have read in another thread I'm thinking I might have it. And I'm beginning to feel I can't cope with the mood swings any longer so I'm thinking of going to the doctors (course, I'll probably feel fine by the time I see him... :rolleyes: ) But I was wondering, I mean say if I go in and say 'I think I might have a borderline personality disorder' what's the doctor gonna do/say? I definitely wouldn't want to see a psychotherapist or anything and I'm not sure if I would want to take any drugs. Although if there's something I could take just for a short while then maybe. I just don't want to get addicted... or just be happy because of some drug. How would a doctor go about diagnosing me? I mean would I have to fill in a 'quiz' or what? 
I have difficulty talking about it and I'm afraid he would just think I was being silly/hypochondriac.
Anyway if anyone's got experience with this kind of thing then please help because I haven't a clue. And I'm scared of the doctor wanting me to do something I don't want to if I go
I have difficulty talking about it and I'm afraid he would just think I was being silly/hypochondriac.Anyway if anyone's got experience with this kind of thing then please help because I haven't a clue. And I'm scared of the doctor wanting me to do something I don't want to if I go
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What you need to do is go and see the doc, just tell him how you have been feeling. Dont be frightened to tell him everything its gonna make it a lot easier for him to find out exactly what is wrong with you if you just tell him the truth, tell him everything.
Its not up to you to tell him what you think is wrong with you, let him tell you what he thinks is wrong with you and go from there. The doctor will have dealt with this kind of problem before, he will probably have a good idea of how to treat you, he may refer you to someone who deals with this as their main medicine, which would be much better for you anyhow.
You may need therapy of some kind or medication but all this would be discussed before they gave you it. You aint gonna be forced to do something you dont want, unless of course you are a danger to yourself.
Really your half way there now, you know theres a problem so you have made the hardest step. Now you just need to take the next step which is see your doctor.
Good luck
You might find that you're just going through a rough few months/days etc, the majority of the time I think I have these problems but I get by. If you explain that you are having mood swings that you can't cope with he might just put it down to stress or anxiety. He may recommend counseling, which you might find is what you need... Someone to unload and discuss whats putting you in the moods.
I don't fully understand how bad your problem is but anti-depressants are common, having never took them I don't know how they work or affect you but I'm sure they work with counseling. I doubt you'll get addicted to them, some people abuse them, but I'm sure thats not your intention.
The doctor can't make you do anything you dont want to, and you can't be helped if you don't welcome it. People go to doctors just for advice, its their job. Don't be fooled into thinking that they're only there for people who have a broken arm. Nothing bad can come from going to see them and seeing their opinion, hypochondria is common so it's possible he will suspect it but you shouldn't be concerned about that. Much of the time people feel that they are wasting their time or being silly but if you have a concern they are the people who sort it out.
I'd suggest you ask yourself if you're just having a few bad days rather than having some serious mood swings, if you aren't have a talk with your doctor and he'll know what is best for you. That might help.
Tom.
Hope all works out fine.
Take care
Susie
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I was (kind of) diagnosed BPD at Claremont House in Newcastle, and I see a therapist three times a week in Durham. I was on Prozac, which helped stabilise my moods a lot, so dont write off drugs for the short-term if you really cant cope with the mood swings- it made me a lot less down and a lot less angry, but dont think its a "happy" drug, because it tends to turn all moods off rather than artifically making them high.
But always be aware that self-diagnoses are quite often pointless- depending on which five of the list you feel fits you, you could have any number of illnesses, its not restricted to BPD. But if you want to find out more ask for information from the NHS Direct website, I did have a load of useful websites but I have lost most of them now.
If you want to be treated well for this condition, then you will need to see a specialist. It really is as simple as, but be aware of the waiting lists- until I was found this place in Durham, I was toild it would be 18 months' wait at Claremont House.
you'd be amazed at how little some doctors know about mental illness though. one of my GPs told me and my mum that my eating disorder was just a 'teenage thing' and didn't seem too worried by an 18 year old weighing 6 stone something. but then when i casually mentioned i was a bit depressed at the time, he got all serious and immediately suggested i should be referred for psychiatric assessment to evalute the extent of my depression. he didn't seem to connect the two :yeees:
true. i have almost every symptom of BPD, but have never been diagnosed with it. the problem with mental illnesses is that (a) a lot of the symtoms are normal human behaviour, but someone who is mentally ill will have an extreme version of it (e.g. one of the symptoms of BPD is a fear of abandonment. i don't know many people who don't fear abandonment. the thing that makes it a mental illness is the extent to which you fear it, and the way in which you deal) and (b) a lot of symptoms of one condition will be very very similar to those of another condition, and without being a trained professional, it's very hard to know if you have a condition at all, and if you do, which one you have.
and even they get it wrong. they thought i had one thing, and now 6 years later they're like 'actually it could have been this all along'.
the best thing to do is have a chat to your GP, don't let him tell you to 'just get on with it' like some will. be firm and say you really can't cope with the way you life is at the moment, and you'd really appreciate some help. i'm not trying to scare you, cause the vast majority of GPs are very understanding. but i have had a few bad apples in my time.
of course, you might be lucky and get a doctor like my current one, who's quite savvy of the whole mentalness, and will know exactly what to do with you.
Awaits a shooting
you might be right.
i think it also makes a difference where they qualified, i think. my current GP is originally from Vienna, and she seems to know a lot more about psychiatry that anyone i've seen before. i'm just assuming that Austrian medical schools teach more about that.
kaffrins always right, so I can relax now
Dominatrix, if you think you have a problem go anyway. The trouble with BPD, as Im sure you are aware, is just how quickly the mood swings occur- my moods seldom last for more than a few hours at a time. Go to the doctors anyway, to be honest if youre not down you might find it easier:)