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Borderline Personality Disorder
Former Member
Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
Hey :wave:
So I braved my appointment with the Psychiatrist, but he told me I had a personality disorder. Although I can't figure out how, or why I have it, and still can't make sense of it.
Has anyone else been diagnosed with this? Or had experiences with it? How did you accept and handle it?
So I braved my appointment with the Psychiatrist, but he told me I had a personality disorder. Although I can't figure out how, or why I have it, and still can't make sense of it.
Has anyone else been diagnosed with this? Or had experiences with it? How did you accept and handle it?
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i have a shaky diagnosis of bpd amongst other things and i know a lot of others who do too, and i do recognise many 'borderline' traits in my thoughts and behaviour but equally i don't think that i am that way because of i have a certain label, i think i am that way because i am me. a lot of it depends on your view of psychiatry really. it is worth remembering that there is a lot of overlap between different conditions in terms of their diagnostic criteria, so a lot of the time people are given different diagnoses depending on the clinician they see. what i would say is that there are lots of really intense, overwhelming feelings that people who may fit the criteria for bpd have (i'm wording it like that because i think a lot of people meet the criteria for all kinds of psychiatric problems but that doesn't mean that they do or should have a diagnosis) and the key skills to master involve emotional regulation and self-soothing, to help you manage your emotions. things like crisis planning and distraction lists are useful if you experience a lot of suicidal urges. sometimes the feelings you have can seem completely logically irrational yet can be really painful, and that's why really basic things like self-care are important.
i remember when i first heard the phrase 'personality disorder' used about me and i was probably about your age. i felt really upset and attacked, as if they were saying that my personality was faulty or broken. i think that's a natural thing to think but it doesn't mean anything like that, it's because the things you think and do are considered to be due to personality traits, hence the name. that doesn't mean that those things can't improve or change. lots of the things we do are down to things we have learned or experiences we have had, and are not pre-determined, so we can unlearn them and find different ways to cope. try not to let the diagnosis get you down too much because as i said at the start, you are still you, and the label is just the doctor's way of describing some of your symptoms.
Yeah I have a crisis plan somewhere in my room, which sometimes helps.
Appreciate your replies.
Want you to know we are here and we care at least you now have a diagnosis, and i hope eventually you have a better understanding
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There is an element of truth to this. Most people I know who have complex needs have ended up with a BPD diagnosis, and the range of symptoms sometimes feels a bit 'catch-all'. Having said that, I have found that I have been offered better support since diagnosis. The flip side is that a lot of people believe the myth that people with BPD are all manipulative, all the time.
The hurdle for me to get over, in my own mind, was "personality disorder". I have had to programme myself to realise that my personality is not disordered. Sounds silly, but words have power and if you don't like yourself much it's easy to make that just another stick.
You're lucky to have Becki, she sounds excellent.
Yeah, I agree, words really do have power, when he said 'personality disorder' I was like o.O and was like that all the way home, then figured I needed to sit by the canal and process everything.
Oh she is, she's more nuts than me! Didn't think that would be possible! Haha
Thanks Picc
anyway, just thought i'd mention it, i certainly don't think you're alone, seems like a lot of people have the 'disorder'.
Personally I have found the diagonosis useful to help me understand and also I have been in 2 specialist units for bpd and they have been far more helpful to me than more general treatments I have had.