Borderline PD symptoms description

Hi,
Does anyone understand how physical trauma is dealt with in the borderline personality?
I'm to see my T next week....it has been about one month since the incident and hospitalization....everything is different....i can see through people, their kindness or
their greed....I'm planning to move, not to erase the past but to seek a new and hopeful
future. As I see this, if too many bad things happen to one in a certain area, it's a sign
to move....I would app insight if any of you experienced trauma and BPD......

Even though it is scarey, it is sort of a relief to have a name for it at last! I've always been one to feel I could cope if I just knew what I was dealing with.

I was told I had this when I was 19, my life has been a living hell. Most of it. Where does this come from. I wouldnt wish it on my worst enemy. Do other people lead normal lives, work and so forth

I like this description of BPD because it is more than just a list, and I suppose because I relate to it very much. Learning more about BPD has helped me slow down the processes and find words for what is going on.

When this diagnosis is offered, it isn't always offered as an explanation for how we relate to ourselves and others and the intense emotions that result.
It is a complex way of being, as one thing affects another..affects another. It is no wonder we often feel overwhelmed.
I feel so fortunate to have a psychotherapist who understands, accepts, and is kind and patient.

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from the site: http://www.borderlinedisorders.com/public.php

The symptoms of borderline patients are similar to those for which most people seek psychiatric help: depression, mood swings, the use and abuse of drugs, alcohol, or food as a means of trying to feel better; obsessions, phobias, feelings of emptiness and loneliness, inability to tolerate being alone.

In addition, these patients displayed great difficulties in controlling ragefulness; they were unusually impulsive, they fell in and out of love suddenly; they tended to idealize other people and then abruptly despise them. A consequence of all this was that they typically looked for help from a therapist and then suddenly quit in terrible disappointment and anger.

Underneath all these symptoms, therapists began to see in borderline people an inability to tolerate the levels of anxiety, frustration, rejection and loss that most people are able to put up with, an inability to soothe and comfort themselves when they become upset, and an inability to control the impulses toward the expression, through action, of love and hate that most people are able to hold in check. What seems to be of central importance in the symptoms and difficulties mentioned above is that the hallmark of the "borderline" personality is great difficulty in holding on to a stable, consistent sense of one's self: "What am I?" these people ask. "My life is in chaos; sometimes I feel like I can do anything—other times I want to die because I feel so incompetent, helpless and loathsome. I'm a lot of different people instead of being just one person."

The one word that best characterizes borderline personality is "instability." Emotions are unstable, fluctuating wildly, often for no discernible reason. Thought processes are unstable—rational and clear at times, quite extreme and distorted at other times. Behavior is unstable—often with periods of excellent conduct, high efficiency and trustworthiness alternating with outbreaks of regression to childlike states of helplessness and anger, suddenly quitting a job, withdrawing into isolation, failing.

Self control is unstable leading to impulsive behaviors and chaotic relationships. A person with borderline personality disorder may sacrifice themselves for others, only to reach their limit and suddenly fly into rageful reproaches, or they may curry favor through obedient submission only to rebel, out of the blue, in a tantrum.

Associated with this instability is terrible anxiety, guilt and self-loathing for which relief is sought at any cost—medicine, drugs, alcohol, overeating, suicide. Sadly, oddly, self-injury is discovered by many borderline people to provide faster relief than anything else—cutting or burning themselves stops the anxiety temporarily.

The effect upon others of all this trouble is profound: family members never know what to expect from their volatile child, siblings, or spouse, except they know they can expect trouble: suicide threats and attempts, self-inflicted injuries, outbursts of rage and recrimination, impulsive marriages, divorces, pregnancies and abortions; repeated starting and stopping of jobs and school careers, and a pervasive sense, on the part of the family, of being unable to help.

I was told I had this when I was 19, my life has been a living hell. Most of it. Where does this come from. I wouldnt wish it on my worst enemy. Do other people lead normal lives, work and so forth

thank you for supply this helpful understanding of this condition , acrosstheborderline

This is all great, but what are we supposed to do about it?

Good point. The more I read about borderline behaviors in relationships, I understand some of my reactions to others' flaws or immaturities.

Do about it? As I learn, I think I find more mercy and forgiveness...almost
detachment from toxic personalities because as I dig deeper into myself,
I learn I am not accountable for their flaws, nor am I interesting in fixing anyone. Nor am I interested in identifying wrongs hurled my way.

I'm more content in my strength, less demanding, but happy when I meet
people I can enjoy hanging with.

Peace,

".....help....a.......friend"

You have come much farther than I have. I need to learn to depend on my own strength and feel content being alone if necessary. The longer I am alone, the better I get with depending on myself and my inner strength. I can even get to the point where I don't even feel alone. I am always liable, however, to fall in with a toxic personality or just someone who appears to be genuine. I don't know how to get close, how to have fun, how to trust, and once I get too close and get past some invisible barrier known only to my mind, I do get clingy, manipulative and possessive, and, of course, the relationship doesn't last and all the BPD stuff comes out full-force. I need to depend on myself and my own self-worth no matter what...and I'm not there yet.

Helpafriend, I understand you're not accountable to other people's flaws and that you can't fix them, but don't become cynical towards others either. I admire your strength and hope I can eventually get there.