bored-a-line Posted November 9, 2004 Report Share Posted November 9, 2004 some hope eh! .... Personality Disorders Change Over Time Thu 14 October, 2004 21:32 By Alison McCook NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Experts have long believed that personality disorders -- types of mental illness in which people have trouble functioning with others -- were relatively inflexible, and endured throughout a person's life. Now, new research contradicts that belief, showing that these disorders actually appear to shift over time, with many people improving at a steady rate. Each personality disorder typically has around 8 or 9 symptoms, lead author Dr. Mark F. Lenzenweger told Reuters Health. His team found that, on average, people lose 1.4 symptoms of their personality disorders each year, or more than 5 symptoms over 4 years. These changes occurred in both men and women, regardless of whether they were receiving treatment or had additional mental illnesses. Consequently, after a few years, some people diagnosed with a personality disorder may no longer have one, Lenzenweger noted. For example, one woman entered the study with borderline personality disorder, and finished the study disorder-free, he said. In an interview, Lenzenweger explained that people with personality disorders have "maladaptive personalities," and tend to have ongoing problems in every aspect of their lives. For instance, people with narcissistic personality disorder always see themselves as entitled, believe the world revolves around them, and apply this logic at home, work and everywhere they go. In contrast, people with depression or anxiety -- not considered personality disorders -- have episodes of extreme symptoms, he noted. Despite the fact that many people with personality disorders tend to improve gradually over time, treatment is still important, Lenzenweger stressed. Not everybody included in the study experienced a decrease in symptoms -- some even developed more symptoms -- and people with personality disorders often need help to deal with their life and relationships, he said. "The 'wait and see' attitude probably wouldn't be good for most people," he said. Personality disorders are surprisingly common, with one study placing the rate as high as 13 percent of certain populations. People with an obsessive-compulsive personality disorder, for example, may be overly rigid, tending to plan everything out and believing that everyone else should do the same. Paranoid personality disorders are ascribed to people who are generally suspicious of others and overly careful. Those with borderline personality problems, in contrast, can be excessively impulsive, and often uncertain about their decisions. Experts have long assumed that personality disorders do not change. To investigate this assumption, Lenzenweger and his team followed 250 people with a personality disorder for 4 years, noting if their symptoms shifted. Their findings appear in the Archives of General Psychiatry. The results show that personality disorders are "not necessarily engraved in stone, the way it's been taught for generations," concluded Lenzenweger, who is based at the State University of New York at Binghamton. He said he and his colleagues plan to continue to follow study participants, and investigate further why their disorders appear to change over time. SOURCE: Archives of General Psychiatry, October 2004. http://www.reuters.co.uk/newsArticle.jhtml...99§ion=news Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cooler Posted November 10, 2004 Report Share Posted November 10, 2004 Hi folks, You know, I think we just get better at dealing with all the crap our minds throw at us, and that seems to others like an improvement. It feels the same to us, but we just don't act it out as much. That's how I read it anyway. Cheers, Cooler, :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
verbena Posted November 10, 2004 Report Share Posted November 10, 2004 I agree Cooler. I wish I felt well enough to explain why I do, or what it has been like for me, but I just don't feel well enough tonight. Everyone take care. Ann Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lostsoul Posted November 11, 2004 Report Share Posted November 11, 2004 Cheers for the article bored-a-line. You were obviously not bored-on-line! tee hee. Hmmm, well, I am mindful as always not to believe everything I am told or that I read, but if it is a reliable result, then Whooopeee! is all i can think to say. I guess the human body has a remarkable ability to heal and change. So why not the brain, specifically...we all change a lot as we get get older anyway - i feel like a totally different person to who I was when i was ten or fifteen or even twenty, so i can accept that it is possible to get over bpd at some point in the future, with the rght help, of course. Gives me hope, cheers hone XX Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bored-a-line Posted November 11, 2004 Author Report Share Posted November 11, 2004 i guess what that article is saying is that theres a peak vulnerability age..which i read somewhere for bpd is 25, which is me..so i guess we just hang on in there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ginny Posted November 20, 2004 Report Share Posted November 20, 2004 it has been noted in certain research artices that BPD tends to improve over time - especially in women nearing middle age. I actually believe that the symptoms ( in terms of the ones that are obvious to other people ) , we learn to deal with (women are pretty strong!!)... We have grown older, wiser and maybe just a little bit more socially conscious. This doesn't, by any means, take away from the fact that extreme distress will waken and manifest BPD in a form that is ingrained and a highly active symptom of that individual's behaviour within BPD.. But, basically, I DO believe that the pain and distress of BPD becomes easier to deal with, especialy if you learn WHY you feel this way and teach yourself to look at that every time you react in an extreme or "inappropriate manner" . Pretty much, we've grown older and it's learned behaviour..... ???? Ginny Am I talking shit? PS. I am 38 and have been suffering symptoms of BPD since I was 5 - I have had a LOT of time to consider and re-consider the consequences of age and many other things to do with the understanding of, and the recovery from, BPD....But there again, I am a nutter and merely beg your considerance... :P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Betsy Posted November 20, 2004 Report Share Posted November 20, 2004 no i like your thinking ginny. i feel like the oldest living survivor of bpd at 56. had realitively volital years between15 and 30 then 30 -54 seemed to go along pretty well with accomplishments and acceptance and then the f*ing world crashed and symptoms all came back at once so maybe your theory of extream distress has something going for it! bets Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
verbena Posted November 20, 2004 Report Share Posted November 20, 2004 Word for word what Bets said, except that my crash began in the early 40's and has not been brought under control yet. Working on it though, and feeling a bit more enthusiastic and positive about it lately. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ginny Posted November 20, 2004 Report Share Posted November 20, 2004 Thanks guys - I wasn't quite sure if it all made sense but it looks like it did - maybe there's hope for us all yet eh?? (Even if it means we have to get old first!!! ) Ginny :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Betsy Posted November 21, 2004 Report Share Posted November 21, 2004 hey ginny... WE ARE NOT OLD! :wub: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ginny Posted November 21, 2004 Report Share Posted November 21, 2004 OOOPS !!!!!!!! Sorry - I meant mature, beautiful people...... That okay Bets? .... heheheh Ginny Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Betsy Posted November 21, 2004 Report Share Posted November 21, 2004 works for me!!!!!!! (( hugs )) bets Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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