Refuting BPD?

[Tiggie]

A couple months ago one of my psychiatrists said I was BPD. Thing is, this made me well angry because she was a new doc to me and didn't even know me that well so i figured how dare she make that assumption when she doesn't even know me well yet. (it was on the first consult).

What REALLY grates my nerve is that if we as VPD sufferers so much as DARE say we are angry and dissagree with the diagnosis, then they just use that as more bleeding proof that we are BPD! I mean, what happened to people being wrong and making mistakes? With 6 billion people on this planet, is she so certain that she and everyone else practicing medicine have never got it wrong before???

Sorry for the fume- I just am angry. I can see certain similarities from the DSM-IV, but I still get angry- maybe it's because the very idea of BPD sounds so, I dunno, loopy? Like I have some sort of screwed up personality or something... :o

 

[angelluv]

I totally know what you mean. I've felt the same way before. I've also figured out exactly what parts of my personality were so different. And I was angry about that. BPD isn't exactly fun to have. Thing is I've learned how to keep my personality a little less loopy. It happens with all life experiance that you learn something to fix it with. Wishing you luck, and yes they could be wrong.

 

[Tiggie]

I totally know what you mean. I've felt the same way before. I've also figured out exactly what parts of my personality were so different. And I was angry about that. BPD isn't exactly fun to have. Thing is I've learned how to keep my personality a little less loopy. It happens with all life experiance that you learn something to fix it with. Wishing you luck, and yes they could be wrong.

hiya...

yeah it's like they are not interested in thinking about any other possible scenarios. and i feel betrayed by the system - the very system that's supposed to protect me. i mean, take major depressive disorder- it ALSO has symptoms of hopelessness and dispair as their diagnostic criteria. so what gives? i feel labled and judged and i dont know how to shake it cos it feels like they dont take me seriously now that they think they've pinned me down. :0(

 

[madison1101]

A couple months ago one of my psychiatrists said I was BPD. Thing is, this made me well angry because she was a new doc to me and didn't even know me that well so i figured how dare she make that assumption when she doesn't even know me well yet. (it was on the first consult).

What REALLY grates my nerve is that if we as VPD sufferers so much as DARE say we are angry and dissagree with the diagnosis, then they just use that as more bleeding proof that we are BPD! I mean, what happened to people being wrong and making mistakes? With 6 billion people on this planet, is she so certain that she and everyone else practicing medicine have never got it wrong before???

Sorry for the fume- I just am angry. I can see certain similarities from the DSM-IV, but I still get angry- maybe it's because the very idea of BPD sounds so, I dunno, loopy? Like I have some sort of screwed up personality or something... :o

The problem with BPDers is not that they get angry, it is how they handle their anger. BPD patients do not handle anger well.

Have you read the diagnostic criterion? What do you disagree with? Go through the 9 criterion and tell the doc what you don't have, if you really do not have it.

By the way, most doctors can make a diagnosis in one visit, if they ask the right questions.

 

[Tiggie]

The problem with BPDers is not that they get angry, it is how they handle their anger. BPD patients do not handle anger well.

Have you read the diagnostic criterion? What do you disagree with? Go through the 9 criterion and tell the doc what you don't have, if you really do not have it.

By the way, most doctors can make a diagnosis in one visit, if they ask the right questions.

By the way, most doctors can make a diagnosis in one visit, if they ask the right questions

yeah but in 15 minutes? come on- they don't know jack in 15 mins! she asks questions about arb things and makes something so final?
i have looked at the dsm-IV and trolled teh net on it, but i am just sick of drs making rash decisions on really important stuff. before i landed in hospital with the anorexia, i was fine- and now suddenly there's all this stuff wrong with me! sometimes i wonder if we don't talk ourselves into being sick. psychiatrists can't handle patients that aren't sick, because then there's no point to them. they are trained to handle ppl with problems etc, not 100% happy normal ppl. i dunno- i just give up.

 

[madison1101]

By the way, most doctors can make a diagnosis in one visit, if they ask the right questions

yeah but in 15 minutes? come on- they don't know jack in 15 mins! she asks questions about arb things and makes something so final?
i have looked at the dsm-IV and trolled teh net on it, but i am just sick of drs making rash decisions on really important stuff. before i landed in hospital with the anorexia, i was fine- and now suddenly there's all this stuff wrong with me! sometimes i wonder if we don't talk ourselves into being sick. psychiatrists can't handle patients that aren't sick, because then there's no point to them. they are trained to handle ppl with problems etc, not 100% happy normal ppl. i dunno- i just give up.

It sounds like you are bitter and resentful of psychiatrists. Since I work with them at a psychiatric hospital, I find they are well trained and caring individuals.

So, if you have studied the criterion, what do you disagree with?

1. frantic efforts to avoid real or imagined abandonment. Note: Do not include suicidal or self-mutilating behavior covered in Criterion 5.
2. a pattern of unstable and intense interpersonal relationships characterized by alternating between extremes of idealization and devaluation.
3. identity disturbance: markedly and persistently unstable self-image or sense of self.
4. impulsivity in at least two areas that are potentially self-damaging (e.g., spending, sex, substance abuse, reckless driving, binge eating). Note: Do not include suicidal or self-mutilating behavior covered in Criterion 5.
5. recurrent suicidal behavior, gestures, or threats, or self-mutilating behavior
6. affective instability due to a marked reactivity of mood (e.g., intense episodic dysphoria, irritability, or anxiety usually lasting a few hours and only rarely more than a few days).
7. chronic feelings of emptiness
8. inappropriate, intense anger or difficulty controlling anger (e.g., frequent displays of temper, constant anger, recurrent physical fights)
9. transient, stress-related paranoid ideation or severe dissociative symptoms

You are angry at the docs for diagnosing you with BPD. How are they wrong? Be specific. Articulate what is upsetting you. You are being vague and not specific enough.

Hugs,
Trish

 

[Tiggie]

It sounds like you are bitter and resentful of psychiatrists. Since I work with them at a psychiatric hospital, I find they are well trained and caring individuals.

So, if you have studied the criterion, what do you disagree with?

1. frantic efforts to avoid real or imagined abandonment. Note: Do not include suicidal or self-mutilating behavior covered in Criterion 5.
2. a pattern of unstable and intense interpersonal relationships characterized by alternating between extremes of idealization and devaluation.
3. identity disturbance: markedly and persistently unstable self-image or sense of self.
4. impulsivity in at least two areas that are potentially self-damaging (e.g., spending, sex, substance abuse, reckless driving, binge eating). Note: Do not include suicidal or self-mutilating behavior covered in Criterion 5.
5. recurrent suicidal behavior, gestures, or threats, or self-mutilating behavior
6. affective instability due to a marked reactivity of mood (e.g., intense episodic dysphoria, irritability, or anxiety usually lasting a few hours and only rarely more than a few days).
7. chronic feelings of emptiness
8. inappropriate, intense anger or difficulty controlling anger (e.g., frequent displays of temper, constant anger, recurrent physical fights)
9. transient, stress-related paranoid ideation or severe dissociative symptoms

You are angry at the docs for diagnosing you with BPD. How are they wrong? Be specific. Articulate what is upsetting you. You are being vague and not specific enough.

Hugs,
Trish

It sounds like you are bitter and resentful of psychiatrists. Since I work with them at a psychiatric hospital, I find they are well trained and caring individuals.

no- just 2 in particular. my old ones were brilliant. and no- not bitter- just angry. there's a difference.

what do you disagree with?

I don't see why I should have to justify the way I feel. I made a comment on how I feel and that's it. I'm not going to get into an online analysis of my entire mental health life history. If you find psychiatrists wonderful- then good for you. Personally I've experience both sides of the coin. And since you are in a different country to me, you wouldn't have a clue what they are like here. I know they are different to the ones back in my home country.

 

[madison1101]

It sounds like you are bitter and resentful of psychiatrists. Since I work with them at a psychiatric hospital, I find they are well trained and caring individuals.

no- just 2 in particular. my old ones were brilliant. and no- not bitter- just angry. there's a difference.

what do you disagree with?

I don't see why I should have to justify the way I feel. I made a comment on how I feel and that's it. I'm not going to get into an online analysis of my entire mental health life history. If you find psychiatrists wonderful- then good for you. Personally I've experience both sides of the coin. And since you are in a different country to me, you wouldn't have a clue what they are like here. I know they are different to the ones back in my home country.

Your unwillingness or inability to articulate what is upsetting you indicates a lot of work needs to be done. I used to communicate the way you do, and my therapist did not tolerate it. He forced me to be specific and articulate what exactly was bothering me. I do not understand what you are trying to say about psychiatrists except that you are upset by some of them.

 

[thepotterisstillworking]

Your unwillingness or inability to articulate what is upsetting you indicates a lot of work needs to be done. I used to communicate the way you do, and my therapist did not tolerate it. He forced me to be specific and articulate what exactly was bothering me. I do not understand what you are trying to say about psychiatrists except that you are upset by some of them.

I understood what Tiggie was upset about perfectly. I don't think he/she didn't articulate what he/she was upset about.

However, I don't really have any advice, except that you do have to be comfortable with your doc/therapist in order to feel that it's worth it. And if you are unsure of a diagnosis, get other professional opinions. Many disorders have similar symptoms, so it is good to be certain for proper treatment, etc. Good luck to you, tiggie.

 

[madison1101]

I understood what Tiggie was upset about perfectly. I don't think he/she didn't articulate what he/she was upset about.

However, I don't really have any advice, except that you do have to be comfortable with your doc/therapist in order to feel that it's worth it. And if you are unsure of a diagnosis, get other professional opinions. Many disorders have similar symptoms, so it is good to be certain for proper treatment, etc. Good luck to you, tiggie.

I guess the problem is, I relate to the diagnosis of BPD from day one. I had no problem with the diagnosis, because I related to all but one of the criterion.

When it came time for me to get rid of the diagnosis, it took a lot of hard work for me to prove to my therapist I was no longer BPD. He would not get rid of it entirely, but instead gave me a diagnosis of Personality Disorder NOS, with borderline and histrionic features. When I started arguing about that diagnosis, my therapist gave me a good talking to about it.

I only wanted to know what Tiggie disagreed with in the diagnosis, because I know what I have overcome in my recovery from BPD. I no longer have the feelings of abandonment. I no longer act out with impulsive behavior of any type. My relationships are more stable since my divorce. I have a true sense of identity of who I am in Christ. I no longer have intense periods of anger. I no longer have a sense of emptiness. I no longer do any suicidal gestures or behaviors.

It is okay to be angry with a psychiatrist. I have no problem with that. The doctor may have something to say about how that anger is expressed. That could be the key to this whole thing.

Hope this makes sense.