I just had a long talk with my shrink. She’s intelligent and percecptive and knows how to ask me things.
She told my while my schizophrenia seems to be getting better, and my seasonal depression is nowhere near serious enough to warrant antidepressants yet, she suspects I might have a mild case of Borderline.
I told a friend who’s known me forever, and their response was “wait, that’s not your diagnosis? I kinda always assumed that’s what you had”
When asked why, they said “your mood, dude”
Can someone sum up Borderline for me? Like a Borderline for dummies?
I don’t know much abour borderline but I cannot suspect borderline from you. You are so friendly and manages relationships well from what I see. I was thought to have bpd for a while but I just have a bad case of psychotic depression and PTSD. That’s why I am really emotional. But I am not a doctor, so talk to a doctor about your concerns.
Does this describe you or describe someone you know ? " But… Why did he/she act like this ? " If you or someone you know regularly shows at least 5 of the following points, it is possible that he / she has this disorder ()
Relationship problems
Inability to manage their emotions
Sudden, intense rapid or frequent mood changes
Anxiety
Love - Hate relationships. Viewing others by extremes - All good / All bad without nuance, black and white thinking
Feeling " victimised ", unable to accept responsability for themselves
Feeling depressed, sad or empty
Frequent and or unpredictable outbursts of anger (whether acted-out or not)
Unstable self image
Fear of abandonment
Impulsive self destructive behaviors with addictions like Bulimia, Unsafe sex, Anorexia, Spending, Alcohol, Road rage, Drug or Medication abuse, …
Rage attacks
Suicide attempts or self-injury such as cutting, burning, scratching,…
I have been told by several pdocs that I have borderline personality (as well as the sza) - mostly due to my labile mood swings and cutting, and my unstable sense of self.
Borderline is a very controversial diagnosis in the US at least, because it is frequently used in a sexist way. A study showed that when two patients present with the same symptoms, men are more likely to be diagnosed with PTSD and women are more likely to be diagnosed with borderline. In addition, there is no accepted medical intervention for borderline, so patients with this diagnosis frequently get pushed off onto CBT therapy alone, and out of pdoc care. This leads to patients not getting adequate care, and having worse prognoses. I have personal feelings on the borderline diagnosis, which is that doctors use it when they want to absolve themselves of blame when a patient doesn’t get better.
Yeah it’s the same where I come from. With guys they’re like “you’re bipolar, have some pills” and with women they say “you have a personality disorder, learn to deal”
That’s why my initial reaction was to deny it. But the pdoc summed up what I’ve told her and told me the symptoms of Borderline, and, well, eh… If it quacks like a duck…
My first reaction to the sz diagnosis was “but I’m not crazy”
My therapist says she doesn’t diagnose anyone with a personality disorder unless it is a glaringly obvious one, like antisocial personality disorder. Because the symptoms of personality disorders can usually be explained by trauma, and then treated the same way PTSD is treated.
Im very skeptical of BPD. A couple of friends of mine were diagnosed with it when they couldnt firgure out what was wrong with them. Later on they both got different diagnosis from that. Im sure there are scenarios where it fits properly but anecdotally it seems like something that is very open ended and can be a huge red herring to someones road to recovery.
That said I would explore it and not just take my word for it.
