[gow13]

I took the quiz on my mental status, and I already know I'm bi-polar, PTSD, and have an Anxiety disorder. Now I read that I most likely am borderline personality disorder. Isn't that the same as bi-polar? Your up, you're down, then you fly off the handle for no reason? Hell, why do I even take these pills if they are not working? I've been on most med u can name and I see a therapist who is like talking to a friend, none of it helps!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I want to see color again, I want to taste food, I want to enjoy something, anything!

[blueoctober]

Hi gow13; glad you decided to post. A member posted a thread Bipolar vs Borderline with a link to an article about the differences/similarities between BPD and BP. Here is the link:

link

Hi gow! (I've just been catching up at the forums here in a scattered way and just read your posts... sorry for the delay.) Anyhow...

Bipolar and Borderline are NOT the same thing. Many people do confuse them. Without going into symptoms (because that is probably where it gets most confusing), the thing to remember is that bipolar is chemical in nature and it is cyclical. Borderline is a response mechanism and is a constant state of affairs (ie. not cyclical, not chemical -which is why it falls under axis II personality stuff).

Incidently, the abbreviations are BP for bipolar, BPD for borderline. (Because a lot of people mix this up, it can make for very confusing reading(!))

(And don't worry too much about the test. Short tests like that are covering so much psych ground they are really can't get down finer points that can make a big difference. As in "do you have mood swings" yes or no? It doesn't differentiate whether they are cyclical or not. Therefore, a check mark will go down for both conditions. See the problem there? That said, some people do have them both. Some don't. It's simply not within the scope of such a test to determine. Check with your professionals and, like blueoctober suggests, read up. They truly *are* different.)

[madisgram]

the tests here are not diagnostic in the purest sense. you would benefit more by discussing your dx's with a pdoc. by the way, have you expressed your frustrations re your meds not seeming to work with your pdoc? often times it is a trial and error procedure to see what meds give you the best results. another option is to seek out another pdoc if you don't feel you're getting anywhere.
as for your T, our therapy success depends on how greatly we immerse ourselves into our own therapy. in other words, the therapist works on the notion that we "own" our therapy. what we put into it is what we get out of it. jme, but that was what i was told by my therapist and it helped me get more serious about changing the way i perceived things and worked harder in my own therapy rather than a discussion that went nowhere. course the other option is changing your T as well.