Posted by sar on August 30, 2001, at 18:52:26
In reply to Relationship with someone with BPD, posted by NoTaPrEttyGirL on August 30, 2001, at 15:57:39
i used to post alot on my hovering diagnosis of BPD, and if you go through the archives on PB, you'll find that someone named Elizabeth discusses BPD quite eloquently. so i'll leave the scientific aspect out of my post and just tell you my own experience.
my last psych and i discovered that i fit 5 or 6 of the criteria for BPD, so that would, i guess, officially qualify me for BPD. however, i lack the classic vitriolic anger of the borderline, i don't "split" (see things/people as purely good or bad, no in-between), and i'm pretty good with people (now that meds have assauged my social phobia).
i work in a bookstore, and we sell insane numbers of this book called *I Hate You, Don't Leave Me* and another called *Stop Walking on Eggshells,* both on BPD. i've read (and own) both of these books (i stole my copies--classic impulsivity!) so i feel weird when someone buys them or asks me to help them locate them. i always feel like i want to sit down and talk with them but of course i don't, there's no way i'm gonna say "hey, *i* have BPD too! wanna talk about it?" anyway, other posters and my psych think that BPD is a "trashcan" diagnosis, what some docs might call you if they don't like you or can't figure you out, that it is overdiagnosed, etc.
for awhile i did believe that i had BPD and read as much about it as i could. reading about the classic thoughts/behaviors/backgrounds of people with BPD helped me understand myself more, but now i'd no longer call myself "borderline." hell, that's not information i'm giving anyone...
the posters on babble often say that it's not the diagnosis that matters so much, but figuring out the best way to treat your symptoms. the more psychs i see, the more diagnoses i get heaped on top of me. my most recent: borderline, histrionic, bipolar II. it may have been because i showed up at the pdoc's office drunk in a skimpy shirt. it was just an off day... :)
there's a lot of information on the internet. many of them push the books i mentioned previously, and i think research helps, but i would read all of it with a very wary eye, especially the eggshells book.
i hope this helps. if you have any more questions, please ask, and i'm sure you'll get plenty of good answers.
sar
poster:sar
thread:10513
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20010825/msgs/10525.html