Who Thinks Bpd Is A Lifelong Illness

[Ruth24]

Hi, i know this question is very debatable. i am of the opinion that if i no longer have the criteria for BPD I can view it as in remission:therefore I don't have it anymore. Once in remission it is unlikely to come back because of the skills taught to control it. Emotionally we are stunted, but i believe that we can continue to grow if given the right help. Because it is a personality disorder it is always going to be there? i believe our personalities change over time, therefore why should the personality disorder not change over time too?

What do you think?

[les66]

I agree with you Ruth to an extent as I feel I am way to controlling things much better but not all, all thanks to coping techniques taught to me. As we are all individuals, we react/act in different ways to things, so what is good for 1 does not mean say is good for another.

Many people argue and debate about this so often I do not think there will ever be a truthful answer to it. Also because we all have different parts of BPD to deal with and other probelms that come with it, such as depression, anxiety etc. So you may recover form 1 thing but never from another.

I remember my psychiatrisy saying to me 'Leslie you will always have this BPD but we can teach you coping skills' so she is 1 of those who think we never fully recover, so there the debate will always go on in my opinion, sorry.

Think i am even starting to confuse myself so I will stop here LOL. Hope someone may get what I am trying to say.

Take Care

Leslie x

[Roses]

I don't have BPD but my Grandma has a personality disorder. She is 92 now and has gone through good phases and bad patches but it has always seemed to return in some form or another and her general misunderstanding of the world around her is always prevalent. I don't know if this is of any help at all. Sorry if it has offended anyone.

[myrmidon]

not according to the consultant psychiatrist i saw recently. she has stated that i have a personality disorder(not nailed down exactly which one yet but BPD is one of the three). you also said that i should take this as a positive diagnosis as personality disorders are something that can be rectified unlike depression which is managed.

[Roses]

Not me.

[toaster]

I think it's different for all. I meet all 9 criteria for BPD and then some, putting me in the emotionally unstable pd category (according to t). If there is a chance of remission/recovery, then surely I would take longer to reach this than a person who meets 5 of the criteria?

I admit, I get frustrated with people when they tell me it'll get easier. Maybe it will. But it's not easy now. I get more frustrated when the people who are telling me this are fellow BPD sufferers - it's like they forget how hard it was for them! I want to scream 'would someone telling you 'it gets easier' have helped you at the time?!'.

Just because we have the same diagosis doesn't mean we are all the same. There are different degrees of personality disorders.

I believe I will always struggle. I have been in some type of therapy for 12 years. I may recognise my BPD feelings for what they are, am able to handle them in a more 'appropriate' manner, but that doesn't take away the feeling. Those feelings are what is BPD, to me, not the way I manage them.

[aurorablues]

I voted no, only through my own experience. I believe it's something that can be overcame with a lot of hardwork, the right medication and the right therapy.

Some may take less time, some more time, and some may never recover fully, everyones different.

Aurora

[AndyL]

I also voted no, just based upon my own experience. It's possible. Not easy, but possible.

[Ruth24]

I voted no, only through my own experience. I believe it's something that can be overcame with a lot of hardwork, the right medication and the right therapy.

Some may take less time, some more time, and some may never recover fully, everyones different.

Aurora

Very well put! I agree with you totally. I worry because of the stigma attached to personality disorders people automatically turn to despair and feel it is hopeless. There is such negative attutude regarding BPD amongst physicians and patients, its no wonder we find it a hard diagnosis to accept!

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[catspiracy]

I couldn't vote, because I think that it's a combination of grace and choice. Grace comes to enlighten us that we CAN choose to get well if we put in the hard effort. Choice comes because we must exert every shred of our free will to receive and implement this grace.

So if grace comes, but we don't recognize/accept it, we don't step into peace. If grace hasn't come yet-- we can't see that "It does get better"--it's hard to expect us to chase after that silly dream of someday. And if grace comes but we don't choose to step into it because we've decided we are incurable or some other self-defeating ideology, we are setting ourselves up for some severe reminders from the Universe, and we'll get worse not better.

When grace and choice align, we can use all the techniques of psychology, medicine, and transcendental meditation to uproot the crabgrass at its core. I've experienced the beginnings of this. Every day is still an effort for me to be well. I am very grateful for this initiation rite! Because you know my theory: we are the Gifted. We all have special talents that touch into higher dimensions and we've been squashed down, degraded, invalidated out of them. Only by becoming our Highest Selves, only by trusting that "baseless Grace" can we step out across the chasm and feel the bridge assemble beneath our footfall. And then we draw ourselves up to our full spiritual height.

BPD is a collection of symptoms, it's a description not a definition. As soon as the symptoms fall away, my personality is free to be its own.

Symptoms are coping strategies that we can choose or we can let fall away (with a supreme effort, anyone who tells you it's easy or happens in time by itself is lying.)

So my answer to the poll is "Whichever you vote for is true for YOU."

[Marchmadness]

Hey -

I voted yes -

Yes it can be a lifelong illness but one that comes and goes. Also depends on how much

effort you put into getting stronger. The more tools you have and the more you work on

them the easier it becomes. But to go away- its part of your personality and how can that

go away? Change yes, go away no.

Thats my 2 cents worth.

March

[Ocean Wolf]

Personally, I think I'll always have aspects although that could be because I like having strong emotions. But I don't feel like it is a disorder anymore. I'm not struggling like I was before and the things I do still have I either like or deal with relatively easily. So I'd say no.

[icu_baby]

They say bpd gets better with age.

There is new therapies such as DBT that is supposed to be good for BPD.

[myrmidon]

not according to the consultant psychiatrist i saw recently. she has stated that i have a personality disorder(not nailed down exactly which one yet but BPD is one of the three). you also said that i should take this as a positive diagnosis as personality disorders are something that can be rectified unlike depression which is managed.

sorry that was a typo, meant to say she(as in consultant) also said i should take the diagnosis as positive. apologies.

[Missfit]

I don't think of BPD as an illness, just a set of character traits that have a negative affect on me, if I was always happy I wouldn't be called ill. I think it can cause illness like depression & eating issues but it itself isn't one as such. I think yes it can get better & I think as we learn to cope with things it gets to a point it's ok. Not that I believe anything I just said when it comes on!

[placebo69a]

I must believe BPD can be treated because if I don't I'd rather be dead.

[Suicidal Smily]

I must believe BPD can be treated because if I don't I'd rather be dead.

I so agree with you.

[janey_girl]

I think it's nurture and nature both at work and do believe it is a lifelong illness, however, with the right support and a lot of hard work I think it can be beaten into remission...

I think of it like the chicken pox virus - it's always with you but as long as you keep well and don't encounter excessive stress it will be dormant. With the right conditions though it shows itself as shingles and you realise it's still there with you...

I am in a good phase at the moment - this time last week though I was in an awful place and won't re-read my posts as I don't want to be reminded of the dark places BPD can take me when it has a hold over me...

[walker]

i agree with janey

although i would like to add

that

when it is 'dormant' it is not 'absent'

Ok i have had it for years and years (but only known about it for 1 yr)

in that time i have had v good times and v v v bad times

but

even when things were going well

- now i know about bpd - i can see how it was influencing my behaviour and causing me difficulties - ALL the time - just to lesser extremes

it is WHO I AM - and although i can see how it changes in intensity - it permeates my whole existence - especially the negativity, obsessive worrying, planning and predicting of triggers

but then I am not very clear on accepting it all atm so perhaps i am not in a good place to express my opinion

i will shut up now

[catspiracy]

dear walker,

I appreciate your opinion and hope you don't shut yourself up.

love,

cat

[Silverwolf]

I had to vote yes.

I fell that while it can be dormant - we still get the thoughts and feelings (which are the symptoms) we just choose to react differently. That doesn't necessarily make it easier to deal with, i guess it just makes our illness more socially acceptable to others -because we aren't playing up- for lack of a better word, but we still feel screwed up and tormented inside.

But then I'm of the mind that the term pd is outdated anyway as if that was the case surely everyone with BPD should have had some trauma or dysfunctional upbringing to have caused it which I've noticed doesn't seem to be the case.

I remember thinking this same way when I was 4yrs old and even wanting to SH then but was to scared what my parents would do if I did.

Therefore I think of it more like an illness like depression that can run in family's and therfore something born with. Medications and therapy can help with the symptoms but if you took them all away the underying thoughts and feelings are still there.

anway my 2p's worth

s

[Shelley]

I must believe BPD can be treated because if I don't I'd rather be dead.

Agreed!

Still on the waiting list for DBT.

[Ocean Wolf]

What if we don't feel tormented inside? I mean, I still have issues (obviously) from being abused, but I feel pretty good a lot of the time. I'm not playing up. I actually do feel a lot better. It's not as if anyone is happy 24/7 and completely issue-free.

I am positive that my upbringing did cause mine (although I'm sure there were biological factors to begin with).

What if the underlying thoughts and feelings aren't there anymore or are barely there? Like, to a manageable point.

Edit: Sorry. I like debates. They make me think. :P

[Truelove89]

I hope it isn't a lifelong illness. If I can't hope then I really will lose the plot completely. :unsure:

[Ruth24]

I was discussing this with my social worker today asked her what she thought. Said there is no right or wrong answer to this. it is all down to the individual. Some people who have been successfully teated like to say they no longer have it, wheras others like to say they do have it but controlled. Some who no longer 'suffer' with BPD still like to keep the terminology as a kind of mechanism to determine who they are. Others who no longer 'suffer' with it like to dismiss it totally, and say it is an illness that they used to have.

On the bus on the way home i was thinking...BPD has very little substance. it is not like cancer that can be cut out. I suppose it is just part of me. I get extreme emotions, but that is not always a bad thing. If i can control my reaction to these emotions, then perhaps i can view it in a more positive light. What if i am able to feel extreme happiness and learn to control the bump when i come down? Would that not be a great thing? Being over sensitive is not a bad thing as long as I control my reaction to that emotion? In some ways i like being over sensitive. I feel as though i have more compassion than the average person. however, it also makes me feel weak. What if i were to take all the positives from BPD and control the negatives? I would be a very emotive sensitive person but not struggle with the highs and lows that go with emotions and sensitivity.

Hmmmm, just a thought...

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