I understand your anger and anxiety about this news, but I have to admit that I was actually uplifted by the recent studies of brain functioning of people with BPD. I have always felt that labeling this disorder a "personality disorder" was wrong. I have felt that it is much more in line with Bipolar Disorder, physiologically/neurologically based. I do think that trauma can make the disorder more intense, but we also see many people without a "trauma history" suffering from BPD. We also see it in families, so the genetic component is probably strong.

The reason I was initially so devastated by the diagnosis is that BPD carries such a stigma both in the general population and in the mental health professional community. I've even seen the bias on Psych. Central forums when people post about being relieved that they don't have the diagnosis of BPD or that they might "manipulate" sometimes but at least they aren't as bad as someone with BPD. I've heard professionals talk about: "I'll only have one or two BPD's on my caseload at a time. " Or "I don't accept clients with BPD. They're too intense and time consuming and they don't get better! I just refer them out!" I've talked with people who have BPD who go to their primary doctor due to a physical problem but because the doctor knows that he/she has BPD, they are pooh poohed and their physical complaints/issues are pushed aside and they feel discounted.The stigma against our disorder is intense and painful!

I think the research showing that this disorder is actually brain based will allow the mental health profession to stop stigmatizing it and dismissing the clients as "manipulative" and malingers who never make any progress or who don't want to change. Currently, they view it as a personality disorder that develops during childhood, rather than seeing the behaviors people with BPD exhibit as adaptations that people develop to SURVIVE the pain and anguish of the brain's dysfunction in regulating emotions. I don't think medication in my lifetime will ever "cure" BPD, but I can't help wishing that at some point scientific research will allow researchers to find the gene that causes this disorder and they'll find a way to test and manipulate things to prevent it from ever occurring!