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BPD Ptsd & borderline personality disorder

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JustEB

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When I was first diagnosed with PTSD, I was also diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder. Something I never heard of before being diagnosed. I had a hard time finding a therapist after leaving my first one because of that diagnosis.

I recently took a survey that asked if I had ever been discriminated against because of my PTSD. Not so much but a big yes when it comes to my BPD diagnosis. It seems like every TV lawyer show and in many movies they refer to these awful serial killers as having Borderline Personality Disorder. Then when someone finds out that I have it they sometimes shy away from me. I hate that they do that on TV and in the movies.

I just wish that people were better educated about it and that it was explained better and not just lumped in with every serial killer in the world. I hate violence and I would never hurt a fly but as soon as they hear BPD then they look at me funny or I never hear from them again. People think because of TV that it makes you a homicidal maniac, what they don't know is that it causes you to be void of all feelings but they can be learned and I've learned so many so far but it doesn't make you a bad person. I guess I'm just venting here but I wish they'd stop using that diagnosis on TV and in movies!! I'm done!
 
My first therapist wanted to diagnose me with both of those, then for scheduling reasons I had to be switched to a different therapist within my college's counseling service, and she diagnosed me with CPTSD. She said my old therapist gave me that diagnosis because CPTSD isn't fully recognized yet, and the symptoms of it can present as "break through" BPD (apparently meaning sometimes I'll display the symptoms and sometimes I'll be ok, aka having a PTSD "epsiode")

And I completely agree with you, the way any mental illness is protrayed in movies/tv can be horrible. It's really frustrating when I hear people (especially one's I know!) talk about a disorder that they hear about on tv, and make misinformed statements about it. I wish society as a whole was more informed about these things. Maybe it's just because one of my majors is in psychology, and I've taken so many classes about it and I am usually around others who are informed about these disorders but it really bugs me when other people in society say dumb things because they don't know any better.
 
Maybe it's just because one of my majors is in psychology, and I've taken so many classes about it and I am usually around others who are informed about these disorders but it really bugs me when other people in society say dumb things because they don't know any better.
Yeah, it's annoying. I'm not in college or anything, but I've studied psychology a good bit because it's, ya know, relevant to me. :p Because people are so ignorant I don't tell hardly anyone that I have PTSD. But my friend who's bipolar is very open about it and people never fail to say something stupid (hint: hearing voices is NOT a symptom of bipolar disorder).

I'm still confused about where people would get the idea that Borderlines kill people, though. Like I said, the having no empathy and becoming a serial killer cliche is Anti-Social Personality Disorder--and even then most anti-socials are law-abiding citizens. Unless people are just too stupid to remember the name of the disorder correctly. :rolleyes:
 
JustEB, correct me if I'm mistaking what you were refering to, but I think the association between BPD and serial killers is more along the lines that BPD patients are "psycho bitchy people" who end up killing. That's the reference I seem to come across when a person with BPD is portrayed. I've seen a few (mostly lifetime network) movies that portray BPD as such.

And I won't get started with why I tend to dislike 95% of lifetime network's movie plot lines.:rolleyes:
 
Oh. I avoid Lifetime Movie Network like the plague it is, lol. I was thinking of shows like Criminal Minds which are always talking about Anti-Social Personality Disorder. Makes me feel sorry for the people who have been diagnosed with it, most of whom I'm quite certain are not serial killers!

People ask if I'm Borderline a lot (I don't think I am). Are they trying to say I'm a 'psycho bitch who will end up killing people'? :D
 
My complete diagnosis is CPTSD, BPD, and acute agoraphobia. I don't think I put that in my first post. I've watched several Law & Order episodes when they've labeled the killer with BPD. I can practically predict it now. I don't think that its ever come up on Criminal Minds (which I love). I once, briefly, belonged to an online PTSD support group and they talked about other disorders associated to PTSD but they REFUSED to let anyone with BPD speak about it. I quickly dropped out of the group when I found this out.

My first therapist was a real winner. She had me purchase a work book and that's all we did. It was like being in school. At the end of every session as she was opening the door and walking me out she would always say, "Now you have my number if you need me...anytime." The one time I did need her and I called the number she gave me she answered and just said that she was eating dinner and that she would call me back in about an hour and that if I hadn't heard from her in two hours that I should call her back. I needed her right then and there. She really did no good anyway and her fees were outrageous. That's when I decided I needed to see someone else. Like I mentioned earlier, I had a hard time finding someone who would take me when I mentioned the BPD. When I found the group where I go now, they had me in for an evaluation first. After the evaluation, every single therapist in the group wanted me for a patient. When I asked why, they told me that they had no patients who truly had BPD. I was told that they had patients who had some BPD tendencies but never anyone who was truly a Borderline. I interviewed with all of them and then I picked the one I wanted. She was ok but then she had to move out of state due to family issues and she referred me to a therapist there who had taken a break from the practice to get his Phd but had just recently returned. I interviewed with him and I loved him. He's very down to earth and I've been seeing him faithfully ever since.

He doesn't really like the BPD label. When I told him what had happened when I first came there he said he had heard a little about that and I told him that it actually made me feel worse knowing what they told me because I felt like I was even more abnormal than I already thought I was. He told me that we would just drop the labels and just work on me as me and not the CPTSD, Borderline, agoraphobic person. Its been going really well.

Has anyone every had anyone ask them when they are going to get "better" or ask when the PTSD is going to go away? I have and I always laugh at those kinds of questions. I just simply tell them the truth and I (most of the time) don't care if they understand it or not. I tell them that the PTSD will always be a part of me, but its how I react to the triggers from it that have and will change.
 
Aw, my brother has said the same thing. But I thought it was really sweet. . . . Um, what does that say about me?

LOL, Turtle. I think your people skills are great!

:D
Maybe it means you have a better sense of humor than I do? I guess it's sweet to recieve his unconditional love...but still...WTF?:rolleyes:
 
Are you SURE you are truly BPD? CPTSD and borderline symptoms overlap a lot, but are actually quite different. I was Dx as borderline when in a psych hospital for self-injury three years ago. They slapped the "borderline" Dx on all of us, simply because we hurt ourselves. I have been in and out of therapy since I was 10. NO other doctor or therapist (both inpatient & out) has EVER Dx me as borderline. It is CPTSD all the way. Have you gotten a second opinion from someone who hasn't seen your past medical records? I know that the borderline Dx "taints" you as a patient, and this is why I never release my medical records from that hospital stay to anyone. It's not worth having that label follow me through life, knowing that I am not now, nor have I ever been borderline.
 
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