Ptsd Or Personality Disorder?

[intrasearching]

How am I supposed to tell the difference? Psychologists say I just have PTSD and anxiety but when I research it I see I have essentially all the characteristics of a personality disorder. No personality disorder really fits me perfectly but the general issues all apply. Half the time I'm fine and seem normal and the other half I'm severely messed up and confused. I have extreme guilt and often have suicidal urges because of how evil I feel. I have irritability issues and am extremely negative, in that I routinely dump all my problems on my girlfriend to the extent that she has to stop conversing with me. I catastrophize everything; I do have a tricky living situation but it's not so bad to warrant my feeling that whenever something gets rough I'll see everything totally fall apart and either have to move back home or kill myself. I do not have a self harm problem and I don't even use drugs or alcohol so on the surface I'm OK but internally I'm a depressed, anxious, wretched mess and I feel constantly compelled to apply a label to myself... What would it be? I know I shouldn't care.

Anyone else relate/have issues telling if they have a personality disorder or just PTSD?

 

[LisawithPTSD]

Sounds like the way I am with PTSD. You may not realized you're being triggered by something. Took me along time to realize mine were based in being humiliated and ostracized.

 

[franciemarnie]

I'm so sorry you are feeling so wretched.

If it were me and my therapist diagnosed me with "just PTSD and anxiety" but I thought it was more, I would ask him or her why they think I don't have another disorder. I don't think they would hesitate to diagnose you with something else if your symptoms fit another disorder.

Having "just PTSD" can encompass a lot of symptoms and characteristics. You'll know more with more treatment.

I hope you feel better soon.

 

[intrasearching]

I will ask more directly next time I have the chance. I was also diagnosed with Tourette's when I was a child so there's a high probability I have OCD as well (they have a high comorbidity rate) which seems to be the case. However, if I did have OCD my symptoms would really just be constant negative, anxious thoughts. I have done some research that says OCDers have issues with guilt and fear of abandonment and having a serious illness, so maybe that accounts for a lot of my problems but the fact that I have so many "personality disorder" characteristics is troubling.

 

[radicalgratitude]

A lot of people get misdiagnosed with OCD when really its their way of processing the trauma. There is a difference between having symptoms of an illness and actually having the illness. For instance, a cough may be a symptom of tuberculosis but it doesn't mean you have it.

There is a lot of overlap between PTSD and personality disorders. I have thought the same thing myself about BPD, so I can relate. However I don't have it. I only have the PTSD symptoms that go with it. I actually had a therapist once who specialized in BPD and as we were ending our time together she admitted being a little disappointed that I don't have BPD because she likes the challenge. (She also said she was glad I didn't have it for my sake.)

If you haven't been diagnosed with a personality disorder, don't worry about it.

 

[Nebulustrix]

Everyone has some characteristics that could place them under a disorder. However, an official diagnosis will only be given if you fit enough of the qualifiers to get enough "points" on the scales and tests used by professionals to make the proper call. Granted, they don't always get it right. Giving someone a correct diagnosis can be very tricky, because so many of the characteristics for one diagnosis will be the same or similar to those for another. That's why the professionals actually giving the diagnoses have to go to school so long, and why the diagnosis process can sometimes be so very thorough.

Someone with PTSD, for example, might have many of the same characteristics for any number of other disorders such as depression, anxiety, OCD, bipolar, schizophrenia, autism, or narcissism, among other possibilities. The key for the one giving the diagnosis is gathering enough background information to determine which is the BEST fit, and it's also possible one might have more than one diagnosis. The best way to ensure your diagnosis is complete and accurate is to share as much detailed information as possible with your doctor/psychiatrist, and if you are still uncertain get a second opinion.

 

[Seasounds]

I agree with the above post.

From what know, the patient's history, testing, present complaints, and patterns-seen in therapeutic interactions, all play a part of diagnosis.

If you don't think a diagnosis is accurate, ask your Provider for a futher explanation, or seek a 2nd opinion.

 

[Jenfa]

I would make sure you have a current neuropsych every 3 or 4 years. The scales have changed a bit in the last 5 or so. My son was diagnosed as PDD with ADHD, but it didn't fit. I knew he was delayed socially, but the medication wasn't even touching the symptoms. I had the test redone 3 years later, and it turned up Bipolar with PDD. As for myself, I tested as Depresson with OCD. Years later, I retested as Bipolar with PTSD. Now that we know Bipolar runs in our family, it's easier to understand how to treat it, and why my cousins are so morbidly funny.

If something doesn't seem right, it probably isn't. Trust yourself. You know you better than anyone. Good luck!

 

[radicalgratitude]

I agree with Jenfa. One diagnosis by one person doesn't make it true.

One time I was seeing the same T as a friend of mine. This T started being really controlling and she would get very angry and just cancel appointments if she didn't feel like talking with me. The straw that broke the camel's back was when she told me that she didn't want me to spend any time with my friend (who also saw her). She said she didn't trust her and just diagnosed her with BPD. I told my friend about this. We fired her and went somewhere else (to the same new T). It actually was good that we did this, because then when my friend talked about how awful the old T treated her, it didn't come across as a BPD symptom because I was telling the new T the same things about the old T. I should also note that the person who diagnosed her with BPD had her master's degree in social work and that's it. It was not only a misdiagnosis but it was invalid.....and done out of anger. She also doesn't do much for the stigma of BPD.

Also, I was misdiagnosed with Asperger's in the eighth grade. When I tell people that, they laugh and hardly believe me. My mom has the papers somewhere. I had poor eye contact, I had unusual gestures (OCD-type- had to tap something an even amount of times or make a sound an even amount of times), bothered by certain noises, needed a fixed routine, had a hard time relating with others and had only a couple interests. I didn't trust adults until I became one so I never made any mention of being abused.

 

[intrasearching]

Well, I actually do agree with what my psychologists have said. I have PTSD with complex trauma which does cause many of the same "complexes" seen in personality disorders. However, in my day to day, I would say it's accurate that I simply have PTSD with some other anxiety/depression components.

I've been seeing my current psychologist since 2010 and over the summer I met briefly with another one. They both said essentially the same thing. Although, I don't doubt that I can't really make an accurate appraisal of my issues when looking from within, on a behavioral standpoint, the cluster of PTSD symptoms described in the DSM-5 covers essentially everything I struggle with.

I asked this question yesterday because I was having severe anxiety over "what could be wrong with me" because I was feeling depressed and irritable. I just felt hopeless and was grasping desperately for some explanation, some label...

I appreciate everyone's responses. Next time I see my psychologist I will do my best to explain my issues in comprehensive detail so that when he tells me what he thinks I won't be plagued with that anxiety that "he missed something."

Cheers!