Posted by hyperfocus on February 13, 2013, at 19:45:41
In reply to need help with new friend, posted by lindsey75 on January 24, 2013, at 9:16:33
I think you could tell her with certainty that there is no med treatment for adult ADD -- only behavioral and cognitive strategies work long-term. Meds for ADD carry a ton of side-effects and consequences and risks with limited effectiveness, and it's not surprising that her doctor isn't going to do it, given her history and current condition. She __should__ be proud that she's able to hold down a full-time job; a lot of people here including myself can't. Psych meds aren't really like cold meds or insulin -- you can't load up the dosage and expect to see increased effectiveness. She sounds like she needs to have a lot of therapeutic support or counseling for whatever mini-crisis she's facing right now. It's nothing you don't know already though.
You can't help everybody it's true and you have to see about yourself first. But borderline people are people inside too. My mother many times acts like this and it causes a lot of people who get to know her to distance themselves from her. But you just have to try if you are able to be patient and extra-caring and try to bite through the irrational front they put up. Dealing with multiple psych conditions and very limited and imperfect treatment is extremely frustrating and engenders hopelessness and anger in most people, borderline or no. I can't really tell you what to do or say in your situation but whatever you do I think at least you shouldn't leave her feeling like you're judging her or abandoning her -- it just reinforces her behavior. If you sense she's ever putting down her defenses you could just re-tell her what you both probably already know. She might just be going through a bad circumstance and really need and want support more than anything else.
C-PTSD: social phobia, major depression, dissociation. 20 yrs duration.
Asperger's Syndrome.
Currently: 150mg amitriptyline single dose at night. 75mg Lyrica occasionally.
Significantly improving.
poster:hyperfocus
thread:1036332
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20130205/msgs/1038026.html