Is Bpd A Mental Illness?

[peaches2185]

I just wanted to know if BPD was actually a mental illness?

I was in hospital over the weekend as i took an overdose and my CPN came to see me and he said that BPD is not a mental illness, this really upset me as i think i have had it since i was a teenager and i have hated myself for that. Anyways i just dont understand. I have had depression since 2005 but it seems like the bpd symptoms have taken over. When i get depressed, it only lasts a little while and that makes it hard to understand what is actually wrong with me.

Also, i once took an overdose on the pshychiatric ward and when i went to A&E they told me that my blood was normal and that i was lying about overdosing. I wasnt of course and i didnt have to be treated. It seems as though the people that work on the psychiatric ward are not educated enough because the reason why my blood was normal is because 20 paracetamol was not enough to be over the limit and show up in my blood? Maybe i am confused because over the weekend i only managed to take around 15 and i felt as bad as when i had taken over 50. It doesnt make sense, obviously now i regret it and i think i have a problem with my liver as i have taken so many large overdoses over the last few months.

To be honest im really confused!

[Warrior Princess]

I just wanted to know if BPD was actually a mental illness?

I was in hospital over the weekend as i took an overdose and my CPN came to see me and he said that BPD is not a mental illness, this really upset me as i think i have had it since i was a teenager and i have hated myself for that. Anyways i just dont understand. I have had depression since 2005 but it seems like the bpd symptoms have taken over. When i get depressed, it only lasts a little while and that makes it hard to understand what is actually wrong with me.

Also, i once took an overdose on the pshychiatric ward and when i went to A&E they told me that my blood was normal and that i was lying about overdosing. I wasnt of course and i didnt have to be treated. It seems as though the people that work on the psychiatric ward are not educated enough because the reason why my blood was normal is because 20 paracetamol was not enough to be over the limit and show up in my blood? Maybe i am confused because over the weekend i only managed to take around 15 and i felt as bad as when i had taken over 50. It doesnt make sense, obviously now i regret it and i think i have a problem with my liver as i have taken so many large overdoses over the last few months.

To be honest im really confused!

BPD is a mental illness. It's listed in the DSM as one! What's the DSM?... oh just some big book doctors use to diagnose people with. it stands for diagnostic satistic manual. it's really just a big book of "all answers" for pychiatrists to read. Trust me... BPD is in there so that doctor was wrong. Just becasue it's an axis 2 diagnosis doesnt' make it any less of a diagnosis. Many consider it a "behavioral diagnosis" rather than a chemical one but I disagree as do many others. emotions cause chemicals... we know that for sure! for the BPD I believe that those chemicals just come out in larger amounts than they are suppose to when we experience them. i also read somewhere that there is a part of the brain that is suppose to inhibit or stop the emotional chemicals from going to far and that for the borderline this part of the brain is disfunctional. Wish I could find that article again... I know I posted it somewhere on this forum at one point.

As for over doses, I've taken my fair share of mine too. I have no idea if it showed up in my blood or not and frankly I don't care. The pain I feel doesn't show up in my blood either but it's still there.

I hope this helps you to feel less confused. Not fair of them to confuse you like that.

Paine.

[Warrior Princess]

Here's a link to a really silly video of a sock puppet reading from the DSM about BPD symptoms. it's good for a laugh and also might clear up what BPD actually is

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBrYLMgrmbE

Paine.

[peaches2185]

Thanks alot paine, right now i dont feel much better than i did and feel very iscolated. I still feel like i wanna s/h or o/d but im trying not to.

I just feel that many health proffessionals and those dealing with sufferes are not educated enough on these illnesses and that really upsets me because i hate the way they treat you in hospital. They left me in A&E for 8 hours and i felt very much alone during that time. I HATE IT WHEN I FEEL LIKE THIS

[peaches2185]

By the way, i have been a member of this site for a week now but i dont really know anyone and the forums are really good but its like im relying on replies and the people that reply i dont really know. I find it really hard to get to know people.

[Warrior Princess]

Thanks alot paine, right now i dont feel much better than i did and feel very iscolated. I still feel like i wanna s/h or o/d but im trying not to.

I just feel that many health proffessionals and those dealing with sufferes are not educated enough on these illnesses and that really upsets me because i hate the way they treat you in hospital. They left me in A&E for 8 hours and i felt very much alone during that time. I HATE IT WHEN I FEEL LIKE THIS

Trust me I understand! I was left for 17 hours in a cold little room with only a mattress on the floor and one thin blanket with no pillow until I was seen only to be turned away because "you're just a borderline". I was suicidal at the time and over dosed and SH'ed very shortly after. I was then admitted. Better late than never I suppose but it could have been a fatal mistake on thier part. It's just not fair is it?

Change takes time. Change is certainly needed in mental health. It takes people being a voice to make those changes. You can be that voice! Keep complaining to the hospitals and health care professionals about thier lack of understanding. Just look what Joshua cole has done. he wrote a book about his experiences and opened this forum. he also trained to become a therapist. he took all that energy and anger and put it to use. We can do the same. Maybe we can't do all the things that Josh did but in some small way just speaking out can and will make a difference. It will also make you feel much better yourself. It's kind of like a therapy of it's own.

Don't ever give up. Just keep on fighting.

I'm with you all the way.

Paine Warrior.

[Silkworm]

Wanted to say more Peaches, but have to go soon. Will write some more tomorrow...but just wanted to say ~ please, please, please don't O/D on paracetamol!! It is one of the most toxic drugs in overdose to the liver. I'm not sure how old you are, but you really don't want to be on the waiting list for a liver transplant. If this scares you, it should. I've nursed a young girl (only 17) who overdosed on so much paracetamol, she crapped out her liver completely. She was a very, very sick young woman and it was so heart-breaking to see.

Tc,

Sw

[peaches2185]

I guess you are right. It is such a releif to be here to be honest. As nobody outside of this forum seems to understand me or what im going through and when i was in hospital i felt like i was the one who wasnt really ill and didnt need to be there. I guess i just gotta try not to give up but thats not easy as everything i do effects the next thing and i really do want my son to come back home and live with me.

Thanks for the youtube link.

[peaches2185]

I hope you will send me a message when you return

[Lily-Bee]

This is the second time in two days that I find someone posting about BPD not being a mental illness.

As Paine already explained it is. I find it so weird that people even mental health workers say it isnt.

As for getting to know people here, it takes a bit of time my dear. Its a big board with a lot of people on it and it just takes some time to get to know people. Give yourself that time and don´t stress about it, it will come.

Are you stil feeling bad? Are there things you can do that have helped you in the past?

Lilly

[peaches2185]

Im just feeling really frustrated and i cant figure out what to do about it, i been feeling like i just wanna go back to hospital, the paramedics left the exess pills on my bed and when i returned from hospital they were staring me in the face, im scared and im supposed to go out but i dont want to leave the house as im feeling really insecure about myself. Trying not to feel this way is a chore and i just want to hide away.

I dont feel suicidal right now but i do feel like doing something drastic.

[Lily-Bee]

Maybe you could go into the fun and games section of this board its quite entertaining and some fun posts and games to reply to there. This might if anything distrackt you for a while.

Are there any other things you like doing that you could do now. I know its hard when you don´t feel like it but sometimes you have to do it anyway, like paint or write or watch a movie whatever is your thing and then you might find it distrackts you.

Lilly

[peaches2185]

I was trying to listen to music but that nor tv helps, i suppose cleaning sometimes is quite therapeutic for me when im in the mood to do it so i may give it a go. Also having a shower helps too as i have not yet gotten up properly so i will do that too.

Thanks for the concern though. I do know what you mean about doin it anyway regardless of how you feel.

Im gonna give it a go but im still here online!!!

[fredy]

Thanks alot paine, right now i dont feel much better than i did and feel very iscolated. I still feel like i wanna s/h or o/d but im trying not to.

I just feel that many health proffessionals and those dealing with sufferes are not educated enough on these illnesses and that really upsets me because i hate the way they treat you in hospital. They left me in A&E for 8 hours and i felt very much alone during that time. I HATE IT WHEN I FEEL LIKE THIS

I fully understand how you feel. I od'd in January and was left for over 9 hours waiting to see the psych before they would discharge me. When the psych came, he told me that he had only just been paged. Bastards!!!!!!

I've recently just been in a psychiatric ward for 6 weeks, and some of the staff in there hadn's a clue. One even asked me what my diagnosis was and when I said BPD, they said Oh what's that!!!!!!!!!. I was told that if i was stupid enough to sh, then it was my own problem. I asked one of the nurses to look at some burns that i had done, and was asked does it hurt as much as when you did it? no, so what are you complaining for. I really feel that they should educate people better, even my psych said that it wasn't clinical, it was just my maladjusted way of coping with things. Thanks for that, I internalized it to make it all now my fault.

the only people who really understand are those that suffer with bpd, or those that are open minded enough to actually listen, and they are few and far between.

I know that this is a case of do as i say and not as i do, but try and look after yourself and not sh. I find looking for really obscure things on ebay helps. did you know that someone is selling a pair of holey slippers on there, and someone is actually bidding on them!!!!!!!

[peaches2185]

Lol LOl Lol holey slippers that is hillarious and it has made me smile for the first time today!

Thanks alot ;)

[emmylou_1985]

i have also been told that i have bpd by one doctor and then another psych said you dont need to be seen by a psych just the primary care team as you dont have a mental illness and every psych i have seen has agreed with this - i hate these professionals who have no time for bpd sufferers at all and pass us off from pillar to poast. It aint fair I agree and all bpd sufferers should make a stand!

[Silkworm]

Hi Peaches,

It's sad and frustrating that personality disorders are so under-treated...so many of us have experiences like you've described. Psychiatry works from the premise of the medical model...it's mainly geared toward treating disorders that are purely organic and biological in nature (such as bipolar, schizophrenia, clinical depression). Disorders like borderline (or any personality disorder) are seen as behavioural/psychological in origin, thus not true biological disorders and thus beyond their scope. Many psychiatrist's see that psychology is the area that can help people with Bpd the most. Which is probably true...learning new skills and ways of thinking take time and psychologists are trained in talk therapy of many varieties.

Whether or not Bpd is actually a mental illness is a matter of opinion I think. It seems ironic that the DSM IV (the manual shrinks use for diagnosis of mental disorders) has reams of information about personality disorders and the criteria used to diagnose them, but many shrinks don't see that their role is the treat them.

What is really really cruel about how you were treated is the invalidation. Being told that you don't have a mental illness, yet you're obviously having many difficulties in functioning and having a normal life ~ it's crushes hope for treatment and recovery. No health professional has the right to take that away.

You do have an illness Peaches, a mental/behavioural/psychological illness that you need help to manage. If you aren't seeing a psychologist, maybe you could think about seeing your GP for a referral? Sometimes having the support of a good psychologist can make it much easier to cope with the rigors of the mental health system.

Tc ,

Sw

[becsnoamp]

Hiya

From my understanding what I've heard and read from MIND and my psych centre is that bpd is a personality disorder, not a serious mental illness. Therefore the chemicals and neurotransmitters etc in the brain are all normal with bpd, but its the emotions and psychological problems that are awry. Serious mental illness means there's a chemical problem in the brain. Although we with bpd may feel we have a serious mental illness, we don't. We have personality disorders and the treatment for it is different than it is for SMI.

However, it is possible to have a personality disorder and a serious mental illness such as clinical depression, bipolar, schiz etc.

I think different people have different ideas on whether bpd is a mental illness or not. Bit of a hazy, controversial subject I think.

[fredy]

I've just copied this from the information on this website;

Is borderline personality disorder a mental illness?

Yes! A mental illness is an illness that affects a person’s behaviour primarily rather than their physical well-being. BPD is considered by medical practitioners to be a severe psychiatric disorder. It is recognised as such by the DSM IV.

So YES BPD is a mental illness

[stuart-g]

Hmmm BPD is is with out a doubt a Serious mental Illness! Its hard to treat and its name has been used to shelve awkward patients because many used to say it was untreatable in a word this is bullshit!.....

It can be treated but can not always be cured completely it is recognised by the World Health Authority as a serius mental Illness and if you need this reinforcing Check out Borderline Personality Disorder, No longer a diagnosis of exclusion, and the follow up document the Borderline Personality Disorder Capabilities Framework both have been produced by the UK government by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)...

There are many great areas where you can get clear infomation on this site! The members are both friendly and supportive. I would sugest you pop in an say hello in chat some time ! After 8pm is best. Im sure you will meet lots of friends in there!

All the Best, Stuart-G

[Silkworm]

Life is one big grey area, which is difficult when we see it in B&W. Sometimes there are no clear answers. Currently, regarding BPD being a mental illness, there is nothing definitive. There is emerging research and a few Dr's who disagree with the prevailing model. Those who live it, experience it as a serious mental illness, but not all health professionals see it that way (in fact most don't). But it is changing, as the study you mentioned seems to point out. Could you post the link for that study Stu? Thanks

Sw

[Warrior Princess]

I guess you are right. It is such a releif to be here to be honest. As nobody outside of this forum seems to understand me or what im going through and when i was in hospital i felt like i was the one who wasnt really ill and didnt need to be there. I guess i just gotta try not to give up but thats not easy as everything i do effects the next thing and i really do want my son to come back home and live with me.

Thanks for the youtube link.

Hi peaches, I know this post was a reply to mine. it might help though if you mentioned who you were replying to as it can be confusing when the messages arn't quoted with your reply or you don't mention the persons name. Just a suggestion to help with communication here.

You will get to know people here as you continue to post so don't worry too much about that. I know that when I first joined this forum It took me a while to get use to the rules and regs and how things worked but I have found it to be the best support I have and I've been on MANY other forums. This one has been the best because it allowes us to be so open and honest to an extent. I can even swear here!

I just wanted to comment on something you said.

"everything i do effects the next thing"

You are right! emotions feed other emotions. You get a primary response to a given situation and it is then followed by several secondary emotions. When you get angry, that anger can feed more anger until you're in a fury! Today in DBT our psychologist said "emotions love themselves" in other words... when they fire off they re ignite themselves over and over again. The trick is, recognizing when you're having an emotion. Accept it no matter what and give yourself room to have it. Even if it's somethign you feel is negative such as hate, rage, jealousy. If you don't give yourself room to have that emotion you end up supressing it and that only makes it get bigger and bigger and bigger until it just explodes.

I know that has gone way off topic, but I suppose cuz I just got back from DBT it was in my head and your comment made me think of it. You can actually learn to stop the chain of emotions. the first step is just recognizing the primary and secondary emotions. You'd be amazed how this can help so much in learning to control them.

Take care,

Paine.

[peaches2185]

Sorry Paine im still trying to get used to this site, i have noticed that you reply to a lot of my posts and i just want to say thanks as you seem to be one of the most consistent repliers lol.

Anyway hope you are ok today!

Peach

[becsnoamp]

Hi

Just seems to be your luck then whether your people recognize it as an illness or not. My psychiatric centre don't see it as a serious mental illness. In fact, to prove the point, 2 people I know of who have a diagnosis of borderline PD got sent down to prison for arson as opposed to being able to plea insanity and get treatment in a psychiatric hospital. I've heard of someone else in the country too who has gone down for arson and they have a diagnosis of borderline PD. Its coz its still seen as not being a mental illness, therefore the person "deserves" prison and not hospital.

Its all wrong I know, but sadly that seems to still be the fact. It probably will change eventually, but at the moment that is the way the land lies. Its terrible to be seen as nothing but an "attention seeker" when all along people with bpd do these things coz they're in dire distress and feel like they're losing their minds. Sadly some / (most) of the psychiatric profession disagree with this patient's viewpoint though. One mental health pro I know says that he lets PD people go to prison to "teach them they can't behave in this way". He maintains that if the psych people tried to get them off with insanity, then the PD person would not learn and would just continue to do these things.

System is mad it really is.

[stuart-g]

SW! would be happy to add link but not sure how to! Just google either and you can find them usualy in a PDF File!

Regards Stuart-G