AmyP Posted April 23, 2012 Report Share Posted April 23, 2012 saw an article debating this and it made me think. i personally only think of things like schizophrenia as 'severe' mental illnesses, but some people class borderline personality disorder as a severe mental illness. i guess it depends on what you think of as severe. maybe its because to me it feels normal, so i wouldn't class it as 'severe', whereas others may look at it and think it is. it's hard to put all mental issues on a scale. personally i dont think you can measure something like psychosis against bpd as the symptoms are different. psychosis is severe as the person isn't aware of reality and can't really control their actions, but on the other hand, they don't sh or want to die from what i've seen. so really it should be on two different scales. maybe like other disorders there is a 'severe' end and a 'not-as-severe' end, rather than bpd in general being severe. what's your view? am interested to hear whether people would class it as 'severe' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anabas Posted April 23, 2012 Report Share Posted April 23, 2012 I'm with you, I personally don't think it's "severe" I'm not taking anything away from bpd at all, I live it (as many of us here do) and it's no picnic. I also appreciate that some people with it suffer more than others. My CPN gave me a card with a website: www.choiceandmedication.org.uk/combined/ (I'm sorry I don't know how to make the address a link) Anyway, I was surprised that I could not find bpd listed. I spoke with my CPN about it and she informed me that bpd is not a illness but a "disorder." I thought this was interesting seeing as when I've been really bad and need hospitalisation I've always been told I'm "ill" or "not well." xx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
berenger Posted April 23, 2012 Report Share Posted April 23, 2012 I think its severe, in many cases (including mine) its lead to spells in hospital and a psych unit. I've self harmed and attempted suicide many times. I know what you mean about schizophrenia being a severe mental illness but i think in some or many cases bpd is too. one in ten sufferers commit suicide, which i class as serious and severe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abster Posted April 23, 2012 Report Share Posted April 23, 2012 Like you I've never thought of bpd as severe but maybe that's cos its just 'normal' to me. I wonder what the definition of 'severe' is. I guess some would consider the sh or suicide risk as making it severe and I have worked with a therapist in the past who thought like that. Interested in what others think. That's just my two penneth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Data Posted April 23, 2012 Report Share Posted April 23, 2012 Well I have several things to say on this. Firstly, to be picky, I agree with what Anabas's nurse says... a personality disorder is not really an "illness". Its like a form of developmental disorder. Your personality has not developed into one that makes you a fully-functioning adult. I am not saying that PDs are trivial, but for example learning difficulties and autism can be quite disabling but you would not call them an "illness" as such. Secondly, (and Anabas says this as well) there are different severities of PD. Some people may have it worse than others. I know that BPD is associated with suicide, but I don't quite believe the statistics. I've heard that 2% of the population have BPD, and 10% of BPD sufferers commit suicide, but this doesn't add up, because it would mean that 0,2% of the population commits suicide due to BPD alone... that is 1 in 500 people. The suicide rate isn't nearly as high as that AND there are many that commit suicide that don't have BPD. Its quite hard to compare the suffering of two different people, so "severe" is a very subjective term.. I think sometimes its not about how bad things are, its how good your coping skills are. I do think that schizophrenia, bipolar and depression are better understood than PDs, and there is more help for them (although things may be changing). Also, BPD sufferers have a lot of co-morbidity: a lot of them have bipolar, PTSD, eating disorders, depression, anxiety, OCD, substance abuse and other personality disorders. So, the picture is complex. To sum it up, I'd say that BPD can be a very severe disorder to have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lily-Bee Posted April 23, 2012 Report Share Posted April 23, 2012 BPD like many other disorders is on a sliding scale,for some the symptoms are more severe then for others,so I wuld say it partly depends on how severe your symptoms are. In general I think its severe,10% commit suicide! Many cant work,suffer greatly,self harm,need hospital stays etc For me personally I dont like it when my suffering is seen as not so bad,I dont complain but my life is hard.And at times sheer hell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abster Posted April 23, 2012 Report Share Posted April 23, 2012 Now that has got me thinking data. I really need to stop seeing things in black or white!!! Food for thought. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
addy2 Posted April 23, 2012 Report Share Posted April 23, 2012 I don't know, to me its not severe but maybe some of the things we do are, when i was dx i asked would i be told its just my personality so just get on with it, but the psychologist said thats like saying to a diabetic oh your a diabetic so just go home and get on with it, she said its a serious disorder and needs treated. I have alot of other problems as well as bpd its hard to know what makes my life the hardest the bpd or my other disorders. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmyP Posted April 23, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 23, 2012 i think the way to look at it maybe, is if someone described to me the things that they go through, and i didn't experience them, i think i can say that i would see it as very severe, things like sh, od, hospitalization, moods etc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Data Posted April 23, 2012 Report Share Posted April 23, 2012 Now that has got me thinking data. I really need to stop seeing things in black or white!!! Food for thought. Now that has got me thinking data. I really need to stop seeing things in black or white!!! Food for thought. i think the way to look at it maybe, is if someone described to me the things that they go through, and i didn't experience them, i think i can say that i would see it as very severe, things like sh, od, hospitalization, moods etc I think if you are asking "is BPD severe or not" then you are over-simplifying it. You are practising black-and-white thinking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmyP Posted April 23, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 23, 2012 Now that has got me thinking data. I really need to stop seeing things in black or white!!! Food for thought. Now that has got me thinking data. I really need to stop seeing things in black or white!!! Food for thought. i think the way to look at it maybe, is if someone described to me the things that they go through, and i didn't experience them, i think i can say that i would see it as very severe, things like sh, od, hospitalization, moods etc I think if you are asking "is BPD severe or not" then you are over-simplifying it. You are practising black-and-white thinking. well we could go into the ins and outs of it, but i was more asking for the simplified version rather than a dissertation on the topic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abster Posted April 23, 2012 Report Share Posted April 23, 2012 Have I said something wrong? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmyP Posted April 23, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 23, 2012 i think the wrong post was quoted abster Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasmineRose Posted April 23, 2012 Report Share Posted April 23, 2012 Surely it is more inclusive to class things as what can be 'severe distress' rather than compartmentalise into illness or disorder or whatever? That's my take on it. But then I kind of 'despise' the DSM for it's putting people into boxes when in reality we are all individual. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Data Posted April 23, 2012 Report Share Posted April 23, 2012 Have I said something wrong? well we could go into the ins and outs of it, but i was more asking for the simplified version rather than a dissertation on the topic Well that just makes me feel embarrased now... I was trying to be helpful . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abster Posted April 23, 2012 Report Share Posted April 23, 2012 I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmyP Posted April 23, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 23, 2012 sorry if you felt attacked data Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imdebbiem Posted April 23, 2012 Report Share Posted April 23, 2012 Yes in my opinion BPD can be a severe mental illness the symptoms can be very serious, life threatening at its worst. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasmineRose Posted April 23, 2012 Report Share Posted April 23, 2012 In case it got lost on the previous page. Surely it is more inclusive to class things as what can be 'severe distress' rather than compartmentalise into illness or disorder or whatever? That's my take on it. But then I kind of 'despise' the DSM for it's putting people into boxes when in reality we are all individual. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmyP Posted April 23, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 23, 2012 when put as 'life-threatening', which can often be true, then i guess that would class as severe. perhaps its more judged on how the person can cope in society. many people with bpd can live fairly 'normal' lives and people don't know there is anything different about them unless they tell them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lily-Bee Posted April 23, 2012 Report Share Posted April 23, 2012 If someone asked this about cancer wed all say its severe right?Eventhough many heal from it? How is mental suffering so different? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmyP Posted April 23, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 23, 2012 If someone asked this about cancer wed all say its severe right?Eventhough many heal from it? How is mental suffering so different? probably because throughout my life, im sure many are the same, i was taught that everything i do is my own fault and my own responsibility, therefore i see everything that results from my 'illness' as my fault. whereas cancer is a fault of the body rather than the mind Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lily-Bee Posted April 23, 2012 Report Share Posted April 23, 2012 Science has proven the brain of those with BPD has certain abnormaities causing symptoms...........these abnormalities are created in development of brain,youth due to genetics and often trauma. So not your fault. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasmineRose Posted April 23, 2012 Report Share Posted April 23, 2012 There can be a psychosomatic element in any physical illness. Yes, even the life threatening ones. I don't see it as anything related to 'fault', more as a result of trauma. I too was blamed for everything at home, along with my Mum. But I know it wasn't anyone's fault, more of a complex interplay of troubled personalities trying to find their ways in the world with others and find a place to fit in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bereft Posted April 23, 2012 Report Share Posted April 23, 2012 In my opinion, bpd is "severe", because of how painful it is, and because how messed up our lives are. But, my opinion may be a little skewed because I have bpd. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.