Borderline Personality Disorder & Bipolar

Borderline personality disorder is a long-term pattern of abnormal behavior characterized by unstable relationships with other people, unstable sense of self, and unstable emotions.

Bipolar disorder causes periods of depression and periods of abnormally elevated mood. The elevated mood is significant and is known as mania or hypomania, depending on its severity.

I scored really high on a test for BPD and also one for Bipolar. I was advised to go see my GP and get referred for a psyche evaluation, which I have done. It will be happening in a couple of weeks. I'm a bit nervous and thought perhaps there might be some peeps on here who have gone through the same thing.

Did getting help and/or medicated make you feel more stable? Does having BPD set you up for any kind of discrimination? Has your life improved or gotten worse since therapy/treatment commenced? Same questions apply to Bipolar.

Thanks in advance for joining this group discussion.

 

Hey, I don't have bipolar, but I've recently tested high for anxiety and depression and I'm going for a psyche evaluation soon too. It is nerve wracking, but it will definitely help you in the long run.

 

Good luck with your evaluation. I hope you get the answers you need.

 

You too

 

I think good counsel is always beneficial — seeing yourself from a different perspective, and gaining new insight into challenges facing you can be wonderful tools for building happiness, health and in personal growth. All the very best in your progress.  

~Alice

 

I havd BPD and bipolar and have had 5 admissions to psychiatric hospitals due to psychosis caused by BPD flare ups.

I find some medications helpful and I also found DBT (dialectial behavioural therapy) very very helpful. It was specifically developed for BPD and is used to teach you skills to help with it. It is usually done in a group setting along with one to one sessions with a psychologist.

Hope this helped!  

 

I have (had) many psychological issues, including some to many typical Borderline traits (not enough to actually diagnose it). Still I got some more harmless diagnoses in my life which really helped me understand myself better. From depression to eating disorder ... I will also name the example ADHD here, please know that I DON'T want to compare these two things!!! All I want to say is, in conclusion, that for me personally it has always been a relief to get a diagnose which I knew fit me, because you get a professional explanation for all your crazyness and you learn it's actually treatable  
Whatever your result will be, I wish you the best of luck. Know (and don't forget) that you are a lovely and very brave person!!! Hugs

 

Living with any long term mental health condition is tough, but BPD can be especially difficult because of how it can affect people around you. In the long run, having strong social relationships and people who care for us is a big part of surviving all the crap that life can throw at us and BPD can make having and retaining a close friend group really hard at times.
While scary, seeking counseling and, if recommended, medication, will go a long way toward helping you to understand your situation and needs better in the long run. Without understanding yourself and how your condition disposes you toward certain reactions, its very difficult to slow things down and intervene before a difficult situation develops. Therapy and medication - provided your psych is good - can really help with this so that you're able to identify how you're tracking and therefore how you can short-circuit a bad reaction before it gets out of hand.
Be brave Melancholia, it's a long journey, but getting help for a mental health condition can make a world of difference *hugs*

 

Just wow. Totally blown away by your supportive and helpful responses. It's really nice to know I'm not alone, but it makes me sad that you guys have struggled.

I'm really looking forward to a diagnosis even if it isn't BPD or Bipolar. Whatever is up with me, it needs to be identified and dealt with. I've known since childhood that something wasn't quite right but I've always tried to keep a lid on it and just be 'normal' ...whatever that is.

But after a life time of switching jobs, never completing tasks, exploding and then running away from emotionally difficult situations, a string of failed relationships, a roller coaster marriage, a manic yet often depressed mind etc, it's time to stop blaming the world for my 'bad luck' and really get to the source of the problem. I know it's me.

I'm glad meds and therapy have helped you. You shouldn't have to suffer through it silently and it's great that there is treatment available for our messy heads. I really I hope I get to say meds and therapy helped me too.  

Big hugs to you. So sorry to hear you've had to go through all those admissions. I can't imagine how scary that must be. You sound like you're tough and well versed in the treatments. I hope things continue to improve for you. Thanks for the tip about dialectial behavioural therapy. If my diagnosis is BPD I'll make sure to mention it.  

Wow you sound like a mixed bag! LOL! But a very positive one! I'm glad you're at a place of higher self awareness and understanding, and that you've been able to receive positive lessons from your experiences. I too hope a diagnosis will ease some of this awful pressure of not knowing so that I can start to heal whatever needs healing. Hugs to you too!

"how you can short-circuit a bad reaction before it gets out of hand"

My way of doing that has always been to walk away. I'm tired of getting angry and leaving people/jobs/good opportunities behind, because I don't have the skills to just be a normal person and say you hurt/angered/offended me let's deal with this. I make people pay for their crap with my absence, but in the long run I hurt myself just as much by not dealing with it. I definitely want to reprogram myself in that area. Thanks for your amazing response! You've given me a few things to consider and I feel like I might even be a little better prepared for my evaluation.

You guys are too awesome for words. I very much appreciate the time you took to reply and wish you all the best with your struggles and triumphs.

 

There's a double emphasis here that I always feel it is important to remind people about. On the one hand, yes, taking responsibility for your wellbeing - body and mind - is vital, worthwhile, and an important step forward in long-term mental health care. On the other hand, never lose sight of the fact that sometimes the world is actually just really shit and you're not crazy for feeling stressed and fucked off with everything!

From what I've seen in my handful of swings around the sun, a lot of people believe that everyone is somehow supposed to be able to pull themselves up by their bootstraps and magic their way to happy "normal" productivity. They constantly want to blame an individual for their circumstances and absolve society of any responsibility for the malaise and misery we commonly experience. But more often that not, the world is just shit and the solution to the problem isn't to find a way to make it hurt less: Sometimes we have to get angry and find ways to change the world so that it sucks a bit less for everybody.

In a nutshell, just remember, in whatever happens going forward: Be kind to yourself, healing takes time, and as long as you're doing your best, that's all you can ask of yourself.

*hugs*

 

AudryLeigh Wow what a story. Sounds like you've been through hell and back a couple of times or so. Good to see you keeping positive about it, learning from your experiences, and helping others!

I totally relate to what you said about not being lazy it's just that you can't seem to get through the final stages of completion. I too hope to change that. And I really hope I can deal with these issues with therapy rather than medication.

A relative of mine is on Seroquel and I really hope they don't find a reason to prescribe that in my case. I've known other people who are on it and they all say they hate living in Zombie Land. Tired and numb and doped out all the time.

Good luck with the neuro-psych testing and I hope you continue to have success with your endocrinologist. Thanks for the tip about that too btw. If I feel I'm not having much luck with whatever treatments they want me to try you've given me a good idea for a back up plan. Hugs to you too!

 

Today is the big day. Just grabbing a coffee and heading to the appointment. Nervous haha!

 

My First Time At Therapy Story:

I know it's wrong to assume what someone's sexual/romantic preferences are without asking them, but sometimes people present themselves in a certain way that screams "I'm one of the tribe!"

So I'm sitting in the waiting room and I hear my name called. It sounds... kinda posh. I look up. There's the sickest undercut on a chick I've ever seen staring back at me. And Doc Martens. I have to say as a child of the 80's... I was impressed.

I follow her into her little office. She's got a rainbow flag hanging in there. She starts talking, and omg she's from London *dies* and she has pretty blue eyes. Very kind and sweet eyes.

WTF, man? Seriously? I'm alone in a room with someone I'm pretty sure is a lesbian. I want to pretend to be semi normal so I can hit on her. Instead I gotta sit here and tell her how messed up I am, and she has to be here cos she's getting paid. Ugh! Therapy sucks! LOL.

Seriously though, that aside. I get the feeling she's awesome with people and great at her job. So I'm thinking I lucked out. She's easy to talk to, and easy to look at. She laughed at me a couple of times, and made me feel at ease. So I think this will work.

 

I'm sorry to hear you're suffering from those issues.

I think I have symptoms of narcissistic personality disorder and Obsessive-Compulsive personality disorder on top of the other mental illness' I have, if that helps, so you're not alone in the personality disorder or mental health department, but that's not to take away from the severity of what you're facing. Just wanted to show my empathy.