Where Does The Stigma Come From?

[CaTsEyEs]

Any pictures of her?

[sundries]

I dont think that you are the same person after a BPD diagnosis as before, in the same way that you are not the same person before and after you qualify as a GP. Labels are not just labels, They affect who we are and can be within society and relationships.

I also think that quite often BPD is a label given to people who are horrible (for whatever reason) and I don't think it is 'stupid' to want to avoid people with such a label even if it is unkind. Just because something has a label doesn't mean the label is an excuse....'oh you shouldn't be angry that I spent an hour raging at you because I have bpd so you should understand I am the real victim here' etc...It is not ignorant to want to avoid people who create bad relationships, are chaotic, miserable and all the other things that mean they get the diagnosis. Most people wouldn't want to spend time with someone like that who didn't have the diagnosis so I don't see why getting the diagnosis should suddenly mean others are expected to tolerate such behaviour and even be sympathetic.

However, I do think that the stigma is assuming that all of the behaviours are the bpd - which can end up, like other posters have said, in making you 'live up' to the diagnosis. If you are behaving fine and you get treated like shit because of stigma and then 'rage' then that rage is warranted and shouldn't be dismissed as the illness. I think many psyh professionals behave in a way towards peopel with bpd that would drive people without bpd to behave in the 'classic' ways - ie being angry, writing complaints. And while suicide attempts cant be consdiered 'normal' I think that many depressed people, if treated as though they had bpd, would end up with many more suicide attempts. So to some extent it is chicken and egg.

[Saharah Blue]

That's why I always advise never let your employer know about your mental health issues. The minute you do you have a target on your forehead.

get ya point there andy, but i have to disagree, and say that people should tell their employers, or rather each case is individual, not telling, and then going into a crisis could lead you down the path of no support and losing your job.

There is no such support like that in the US, you would eventually lose your job or resign if you are not stable enough, I have to agree with Andy (working in the US). However, I know it is different in the UK.

[AndyL]

get ya point there andy, but i have to disagree, and say that people should tell their employers, or rather each case is individual, not telling, and then going into a crisis could lead you down the path of no support and losing your job.

I gotta say honesty is the best policy in most everything in life.

It isn't about honesty or dishonesty. That implies black and white thinking when there is a definite gray area here. It's about disclosure of personal information that could lead to termination of employment. In this country there are no laws protecting anyone from their employers should a mental illness be disclosed, especially one like a personality disorder that affects job performance. There is also a tendency by some who have been diagnosed with BPD to use that as an excuse: "this is who I am, deal with it."

The thing is, BPD is not an excuse, it's an explanation. This explains why you're doing what you’re doing, but it's up to you to change your behavior. For those reasons, telling your employer that you have a personality disorder probably won't be grounds for special treatment or consideration. And frankly, showing the kinds of raging aggression and/or depressed malaise people with BPD often do isn't acceptable to anyone for very long. No one wants to be treated badly. People will pick up slack for only so long before they begin to resent it.

When you give them the diagnosis, you give them the label, which gives them power. And that's what a stigma is: the power to put you in a negative category that defines how you are treated by other people. You have to be careful to whom you hand over that power.