There is a lot of stigma associated with BPD. I've heard comments that peole with BPD are mean and difficult, etc. so that thread doesn't surprise me at all. It's a disorder with a bad reputation and that has sometimes been used as a catchall for any clients who are difficult or unpleasant. That's really sad, but it's what a lot of people think. BPD sufferers can be frustrating and difficult, but we are not always, and everybody is different. A diagnosis doesn't define who we are.

None of my therapists have diagnosed me with BPD, but whe I ask them about it they don't really argue. I think they just try to spare me the stigma, but I still can recognize the methods my T uses as ways to treat BPD. Some people (not therapists) when I tell them that I am sure I have BPD will argue with me and say that I'm not like that, because I'm not out of control and mean, etc. It's all there though. Usually I turn the rage against myself, not other people. I'm sad when someone else is hurt in the process. I have not always recognized that my rage does hurt other people. I don't mean for it to, but it does. And I'm a difficult client. I like people with BPD, and I'm fascinated with the disorder, but I still wouldn't want very many BPD clients at once. That would be a challenge. I feel sorry for my T for having to deal with me sometimes. She has to take a break from me sometimes too.

And I don't only have BPD. I've been diagnosed with dependent and avoidant personality disorders, generalized anxiety disorder, social anxiety, dysthymic disorder, several major depressive episodes - I might be forgetting something else too. I think that most people with BPD could meet the criteria for any number of other things, but a lot of times the other stuff probably stems from the BPD, which can manifest itself in lots of ways.

And I've known plenty of nice people with BPD. But they usually are not very nice to themselves, and sometimes that makes it hard to be nice to others, even if we have good intentions.

Rap