HELP! Therapist is hinting at BPD!

Hey guys, so I have been bipolar since I can remember and I have been diagnosed by a PDOC as bipolar. I know that I am bipolar because I experience full on MANIA! I get the euphoria, my mind plays tricks on me, i get a case of the giggles, I get racing thoughts, and impusivity, and hyper sexuality, and the list goes on. I have been manic for a couple weeks now.

I have been seeing a therapist and he has brought up themes to me like abandonment and he says that I have issues finding my identity and etc... I only feel these themes slightly when I am depressed. In our last session he asked me to fill out a form and it asked me if I have ever had Dialectical therapy and I had no clue what that is.

Ironically, I was talking to my friend and she was telling me about this person and I immediately recognized the person as having Borderline Personality Disorder (I know alot) and then that is where it hit me that my therapist thinks that i have BPD and not bipolar but I know for sure that I dont. I mena I keep seeing this dialectical therapy stuff having to do with BPD.

Like I stated above, my mood swings last for weeks and they arn't always affected by people in my life. As for abandonment its not a common theme in my life. In fact looking back i don't feel abandoned at all. My identity is weird because I am gay. I feel like i have to hide the fact that I am gay from certain people.

I just dont like that my therapist kinda brings up these themes that every one faces at some point in their life and now hes thinking I have BPD.I almost feel like he manipulated me into agreeing that these themes are curretn in my life. When it comes to relationships, I am not clingy at all and I just don't like when the person turns out to be a total psycho. Its wierd now too becasue I was seeing this guy for a few weeks and HE IS DEF BORDERLINE. I know for sure that I dont have BPD, I just feel like hes going to say that me reacting this way is BPD or that I am in denial or he is going to be mad at me. I didnt want to start any drama or make him belive that there I was feeling stuff that I wasnt.

It's so messed up.

Has anyone else had to deal with stuff like this?

Thanks.

DBT can help people with bipolar too so he may not be directing you toward a borderline dx. From there my knowledge of DBT gets thin so I'll leave that to the experts but I know that it is a popular therapy right now for both bipolar and BPD.

Thanks beyondtherainbow!

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I'm in a DBT group as my T thought it would help my BP and BPD. We're certainly not just a bunch of borderlines.... In fact, there's only 1 other BPD member. The rest are BP, Depression, PTSD, and Schizophrenia sufferers.


The course isn't BPD 101, it covers such a wide range of skills building in order to improve day to day functioning, yea, including interpersonal relationships (with oneself too) that I strongly believe everyone who's open to it can benefit from completing at least one round. Dxd or not.


In fact whenever I tell my friends which topics and skills we are covering they express their desire to have access to the group. And none of them suffer from MH issues.


So please don't jump the gun and assume your T is trying to convince you of anything.


I'm starting my second round next month, because practice makes perfect after all.

I agree with DBT helping with more than BPD. Even though I also have BPD I have found it helps with general living as well.

I'm doing dbt at my request for ptsd. I really like it. It helps with feeling unsafe and is just more tools in the toolbox that meds don't help with. I would just have a frank and open discussion with your therapist instead of jumping to conclusions. Good luck!

They taught DBT skills when I was in PHP and there weren't any BPD individuals there. Wait there was one, but she left shortly after I got there, but those skills continued to be taught.

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My talk therapist once asked why I kept going to her. I was already diagnosed with bipolar, and taking meds with another Dr. why did I need a talk therapist.

A few months later she talked to me about borderline personality disorder. She decided after awhile I had that, even though I wasn't really abused and didn't cut.

I wonder if insurance companies are questioning why people need talk therapists? Because since bipolar technically can be treated with a med, but borderline personality disorder needs a talk therapist - maybe the therapist (or insurance company) feels that there is some tangible road to better mental health if they are on the road of borderline personality disorder?

Anyway, BPD is still on my record. But at this time I feel I am on a plateau and do not need a talk therapist. I am doing fine with my meds.

Thanks guys I think the manic paranoia set in haha gotta love it!

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Its a myth that the bold parts is a must for a BPD dx. Its just very common is all....

DBT helps people with all kinds of issues, I wouldn't get hung up on it. Diagnoses aren't clear cut and we aren't clear cut, either.

Also talk therapy helps with other things besides BPD.

I am Bipolar and have other issues. Therapy also can help with bipolar behavior so that a patient can recognize when feeling manic or depressed.

Not everyone who sees a therapist is BPD.

About a year ago, my new therapist hinted that I had BPD rather than bipolar. I was devastated. I felt like I had lost a part of me, which made me feel more upset, because if my identity was that shaky that it hinged on a bipolar diagnosis, didn't that make it more likely that I had BPD?

A few months later, my therapist decided that I was bipolar and didn't have any personality disorder. The period when my bipolar dx was being questioned, however, was an era of intense growth for me. I learned that there were things I could do to aid my recovery beyond taking meds. I learned a lot about who I really am. I learned to take an active role in my recovery.

And I am so much better for it. Thinking that I may be borderline was intensely scary and upsetting, but it was worth it, because I learned so much. I am more stable now than I have been since my onset, and it is truly a wonderful thing.

Try to learn from this experience!