How do you feel about how you have seen BPD depicted in the media?
On certain shows I've seen (Deadly Women comes to mind but there are a few others), BPD is brought up and talked about very negatively. Also, I feel details may have been left out in some of these cases, because I know some of the actions the people depicted have taken (such as killing others) is something I would never do even on my worst day.
One of the rare instances where I've seen it portrayed a bit more accurately is on Dr. Phil. On the episode I saw he made it clear it is treatable and does not make someone a monster.
I didn't even know what BPD was until I was 20 (I'm currently about to turn 23) and had I learned about it from some of the media outlets I've seen it talked about on since being diagnosed, I would have been scared to seek professional help due to the stigma, or not even realized the diagnosis applies to me because of the brutal nature in which it was described. Thankfully I was diagnosed and learned about BPD before ever seeing it talked about in the media.
It makes me sad and a bit sick to my stomach that more awareness regarding the subject isn't out there and that a lot of the public awareness that is out there is a bit inaccurate and pretty scary.

Well it annoys me when it is mentioned in the media that people with BPD are killers
I wouldn't hurt a fly, I hadn't heard of BPD myself until I was diagnosed with it 5 years a go, If you watch any programmes on mental health they seem to mention bipolar a lot but not BPD and it quite annoys me.

[technigal]

Originally Posted by Liverbird

Well it annoys me when it is mentioned in the media that people with BPD are killers

That one hurts a lot! Media generalizations bother me. XYZ has BPD and is a murderer so therefore everyone with BPD are murderers. The media does it with so many things and it drives me crazy.

The only way I could see myself killing someone is by accident. As in, I pushed someone in a fit of rage and they fell down hitting their head and died as a result or something. and I could never live with myself if something like that did happen, even knowing it wasn't on purpose.
Well I suppose I would also kill to protect my children if I had too, but even then the guilt of taking a life would be bad. but when it comes to my kids I would both die and kill for them. They are my everything.
Deadly women is one of my favorite shows, so it broke my heart to see the handful of episodes featuring brutal killers, and then blaming their actions on the BPD. One girl even tried to use BPD as a legal defence for killing her mom in a fit of rage, made me f*cking sick to my stomach.
You're right, everyone knows what Bipolar is and that it's manageable. All most people in the general public who see BPD depicted in the media really have to go off of is examples set by monsters, and people who were never diagnosed so never had it under control.
I hope by the time my kids are adults more is known about BPD not only by the general public, but by psychiatric professionals as well.

[Angel of Bedlam]

I totally get what you mean. I honestly think they make it seem so awful because the name (BORDERLINE personality disorder) sounds scary. There is an NFL player who plays for the Bears (and who's name I can't remember) who in an interview admits he has BPD and talks about how treatable it is. That's about all I've seen where it's portrayed as what it is- a very treatable disorder.

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[Truth in Ruin]

**** the media

[Truth in Ruin]

Originally Posted by Angel of Bedlam

I totally get what you mean. I honestly think they make it seem so awful because the name (BORDERLINE personality disorder) sounds scary. There is an NFL player who plays for the Bears (and who's name I can't remember) who in an interview admits he has BPD and talks about how treatable it is. That's about all I've seen where it's portrayed as what it is- a very treatable disorder.

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Brandon Marshall.

Originally Posted by ThroughBeingCool

How do you feel about how you have seen BPD depicted in the media?
On certain shows I've seen (Deadly Women comes to mind but there are a few others), BPD is brought up and talked about very negatively. Also, I feel details may have been left out in some of these cases, because I know some of the actions the people depicted have taken (such as killing others) is something I would never do even on my worst day.
One of the rare instances where I've seen it portrayed a bit more accurately is on Dr. Phil. On the episode I saw he made it clear it is treatable and does not make someone a monster.
I didn't even know what BPD was until I was 20 (I'm currently about to turn 23) and had I learned about it from some of the media outlets I've seen it talked about on since being diagnosed, I would have been scared to seek professional help due to the stigma, or not even realized the diagnosis applies to me because of the brutal nature in which it was described. Thankfully I was diagnosed and learned about BPD before ever seeing it talked about in the media.
It makes me sad and a bit sick to my stomach that more awareness regarding the subject isn't out there and that a lot of the public awareness that is out there is a bit inaccurate and pretty scary.

Well the media is notorious for depicting everything in a light that raises their ratings, makes people alarmed or simply put, they just exaggerate everything, by highlighting the parts that will get more of a rise out of the audience. BPD has it's share of negatives but no, the people with it are not all bad but how boring people would find the subject if all they talked about was the better points of it, and that's not isolated to this disorder. bipolar is shown as pretty awful too, along with most every other disorder.

This, is why I do not watch tv that relates to news, and such. Just too many inaccuracies in their reporting.

[cboxpalace]

Originally Posted by s4ndm4n2006

This, is why I do not watch tv that relates to news, and such. Just too many inaccuracies in their reporting.

I agree and I'm the same way in regards to the news.

[atomicc]

For all the documentaries I watch on mental health, I haven't really seen anything about BPD. I have watched shows like deadly women and Snapped but I guess I've never seen an episode with BPD. I actually don't think most people I know are even aware what BPD is. If they are, it seems most of them think it's not a real illness. It's just for "attention". I'm glad I haven't seen much negative press (though I don't doubt it's out there) I know it would upset me.

I'm aware that the DSM used to state something along the lines of that iit was called Borderline Personality Disorder, because psychiatric professionals believed people suffering the symptoms were borderline psychotic. We know now that this is not true, and the most recent DSM actually calls it what they call it in the UK already, "Emotion Regulation Disorder" if I'm not mistaken.
I haven't seen BPD portrayed in news brawdcasts. I never wanna watch those though, too depressing.

[technigal]

The last big media thing I remember is the Jodi Arias trial, that was not a great portrayal of BPD.

Originally Posted by technigal

The last big media thing I remember is the Jodi Arias trial, that was not a great portrayal of BPD.

Didn't she have a whole host of Dx's though?
Glad that case isn't being talked about as much in the media, gross.

[technigal]

Originally Posted by ThroughBeingCool

Didn't she have a whole host of Dx's though?
Glad that case isn't being talked about as much in the media, gross.

I don't think any 2 pdocs agreed on any diagnosis. Due to that trial I had a couple of coworkers who I really got along with say a lot of bad things about BPD. I wanted to say something but I was too scared of rejection.

Originally Posted by technigal

I don't think any 2 pdocs agreed on any diagnosis. Due to that trial I had a couple of coworkers who I really got along with say a lot of bad things about BPD. I wanted to say something but I was too scared of rejection.

I feel ya on the scared of rejection after something like that factor.
Being that I am visually impaired, I can't see the looks on other people's faces in any great detail, so sometimes I'll just go for explaining it to someone despite my fear. I'm sure if I could see facial expression better I wouldn't be as outspoken on the subject

Originally Posted by s4ndm4n2006

Well the media is notorious for depicting everything in a light that raises their ratings, makes people alarmed or simply put, they just exaggerate everything, by highlighting the parts that will get more of a rise out of the audience. BPD has it's share of negatives but no, the people with it are not all bad but how boring people would find the subject if all they talked about was the better points of it, and that's not isolated to this disorder. bipolar is shown as pretty awful too, along with most every other disorder.

This, is why I do not watch tv that relates to news, and such. Just too many inaccuracies in their reporting.

Good points, all.
but I feel like along with the negative getting a rise factor, there is also more frequently resources provided to look into it further with things like Bipolar.
I suppose BPD hasn't been known about or delt with as long as other mental health disorders, and I'm pretty lucky being that I am only 22 years old to have been diagnosed before I was 21, and be given the chance to get help that others didn't have or got later in life.
I'm also not a big news watcher because the reality (as you described it) is pretty stomach turning to me. I'm not saying they should only talk about the good side of BPD (is there even one?) but ya know, I know I'm not a monster and neither are others I've been friends with who have BPD.

Originally Posted by ThroughBeingCool

I'm not saying they should only talk about the good side of BPD (is there even one?)

I'm of the thinking that a lot less people are completely free of any disorders or mental challenges than the world leads us to believe. With every negative aspect of our personalities, minds, traits.. there are always positive ones. I won't get into it too detailed but one very prominent one for me would be that yes I am emotional at times, but that also leads to the level of passion I have for various things whether other people or activities. Being an artist, that makes for some seriously driven periods of inspiration for me. So yes, there are positives!

Originally Posted by s4ndm4n2006

I'm of the thinking that a lot less people are completely free of any disorders or mental challenges than the world leads us to believe. With every negative aspect of our personalities, minds, traits.. there are always positive ones. I won't get into it too detailed but one very prominent one for me would be that yes I am emotional at times, but that also leads to the level of passion I have for various things whether other people or activities. Being an artist, that makes for some seriously driven periods of inspiration for me. So yes, there are positives!

You are absolutely right about that. I needed that reminder, thank you.
For me yes I can be an emotionally unstable person, but I am also very determined. I accomplish goals and even exceed them like receiving a 4.0 GPA in college while 9 months pregnant.
I make things happen, I would definatly describe myself as a goal-getter. Which is why my difaculty finding DBT again is rather frustrating (but that's a whole other topic).