Can someone explain this to me please?

transient, stress-related paranoid ideation or severe dissociative symptoms

I have been trying to research but I get a lot of different answers, can someone explain this to me? or give me examples?

thanks

my issue is generally with paranoia which when I am in crisis gets quite disturbing. I think that pretty much no-one can be trusted, no-one likes me, I think my family just want to be rid of me. I hear hidden meanings in what people say and think that there is a hidden insult or that I'm being controlled for others gain. It got bad enough this time that I was convinced God was going to send me to hell, like it was pretty much guaranteed!
I don't get severe dissociative symptoms but I have had them, like I will feel like I am in a dream and that things are not real and I can also zone out like I'm in a trance.

It means that borderlines can, under emotional / environmental stress, have paranoid ideas - i.e. believe weird things to be true that aren't. For example, someone might believe their girlfriend or boyfriend wants to kill them when there is no evidence for that; or that the police are monitoring them without evidence. The "paranoid" aspect implies something that is out of contact with reality, but only partially. In that way it's slightly related to paranoid schizophrenia, which is a much bigger, complete break with reality.

The dissociative symptoms describe how a borderline can divide up their emotional/perceptual experience so they don't experience the world as one person. For example, someone can create a "child self" that contains the pain of their past abuse. Or, when meeting an attractive woman, a borderline man might be threatened by the emotional closeness and dissociate emotionally - i.e. cut off his feelings and seem emotionally deadened and uninterested. Dissociation is a clever defense of splitting the mind in pieces in terms of how one experiences it, usually to avoid expected harm.

I don't know about "severe", but I was asked if I was dissociating when I was spacing out. So I guess it's like spacing out? I like bpdtransformation's description.

Good question,

First, it is important to note that there IS a difference (according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual) between paranoia in Borderline Personality Disorder, compared to psychotic illnesses like Schizophrenia, Bipolar Disorder, etc. I do not know word for word what the difference is, however, I do know that there is a spectrum - just like all things - where on one side psychosis can be considered "Borderline psychosis," whereas on the other side psychosis can be considered, "Schizophrenia level psychosis."

This is what you wrote: "transient, stress-related paranoid ideation or severe dissociative symptoms"

To simplify, breaking this series of words into smaller constituent parts may help put sense into the phrase as a whole - in relation to Borderline Personality Disorder.

To clarify: (These are my own educated definitions, NOT FACTUAL, nor directly from DSM)

1.) ((Transient)) = means temporary

2.) ((Stress-related)) = means correlated to stress levels
EX: When stress increases, our level of resilience decreases - and thus, we can and do believe the negative thoughts that can and do arise with Borderline Personality Disorder.

3.) ((Paranoid ideation)) = means paranoid thoughts can and do arise
EX: Typically one thought leads to another, and our anxiety leads us to think more and more about that which troubles us most, (fears of abandonment) and then we conclude something is FACT when really: our anxiety only leads us to believe our worst fears are coming true... (That which we fear the most comes true: to us, despite (in most cases, but not all) all evidence for the contrary)

4.) ((Severe Dissociative Symptoms)) = means potential for loss of reality, out of body experiences, severe anxiety induced spiral, loss of identity, etc

In terms of Borderline Personality Disorder, psychosis is not fully recognized as a primary symptom in and of itself. (Being that psychosis is typically considered a "Loss with Reality.") Typically, any psychotic symptoms experienced by a Borderline - pertain specifically to the (ROOTS) of all Borderline issues: Abandonment, Relationship issues, imagined loneliness, etc. Whereas, with strictly psychotic illnesses, such as Bipolar Disorder or Schizoaffective Disorder - the psychotic symptoms experienced pertain to anything and everything, and can happen without any external situation or motivation. It can have themes of any subject, with or without any correlation to deep-rooted psychological issues, whereas with Borderline - any or all psychotic symptoms that may arise - almost always will have Borderline themes and roots.

That being said, it is fair to say that any form of Borderline "psychosis," is purely logical - given that they almost always correlate to their worst fears... Which brings into light the difference between Psychotic illnesses, vs Borderline psychosis: in that - Borderline psychosis is in line with logical fears, whether they are real or imagined, whereas, with Psychotic illnesses: psychosis is purely illogical and typically themed randomly and without logical consequence / justification.

That is not to say that Borderline Personality Disorder is no worse. One could in fact say the opposite - that Borderline psychosis is worse because it is quite literally their worst fear coming true. Borderline psychotic symptoms, (such as intensified fears of abandonment and relationship anxieties) - can and do become real to those with Borderline. Sometimes these thoughts are truly justified, but most times they are not. We with Borderline come to realize that all our paranoid thoughts stem from fears of abandonment, and almost always - those fears are only exacerbated by our increasing stress levels and decreased levels of emotional regulation and ability to remain resilient while in times of stress. (Hence: "transient, stress-related paranoid ideation or severe dissociative symptoms")

Almost always, those fears of abandonment, no matter how real they are - are actually false, but our fears are driven from our past experience of actually having been abandoned in some way, (conscious or unconscious) and thus we logically come to the conclusion that we are being abandoned again. This is ultimately the scar that us Borderline's share with one another, however, we (unlike fully psychotic individuals) are typically, able to regain quick awareness of our tendency to over-think things, and attribute our worst fears to everyday happenstance. Thus, learning to remain present, aware of our thoughts, aware of our patterns inside our mind and in our relating with the outside world and in relationships with others - we can truly learn to take control of our lives and prevent ourselves from reaching any kind of paranoid ideation.

Just because someone doesn't reply to our texts or phone calls when we expect them to, doesn't necessarily mean they don't like us. Just because someone doesn't want to see or talk to you for a few days doesn't mean they don't like you. Just because someone you know did not take time to look you in the eye while passing in the hallway, does not mean they hate you. Just because you can't find a partner who will stay with you longer than a week, doesn't mean they don't like you. BUT - it is easy to see why we with Borderline would come to think so... It is logical to us... This is arguably the difference between Borderline psychosis, and full on psychotic episodes, and I hope it has helped you to understand more about it.

Thanks,
HD7970GHz

I wanted to add that psychotic disorders usually develop over a long period of time (months or even years) before the psychotic symptoms become obvious to others. In the early stages of the illness the person (usually but not always) knows something isn't right and will question their perceptual experiences. As the illness progresses insight becomes impaired and eventually the person has to decide whether to believe all the information that is coming in. Stress triggers this but it is different from BPD.

In psychotic disorders the psychotic symptoms are usually bizarre such as one believing communists are going to take over the world with the help of an alien race who is communicating secrets to the person via television and magazines.

The dissociation stuff means that the faculties of your mind are pulling back a little to disconnect you from potential pain. For me, it has manifested in four ways:

a) Out of body experience. You only remember or see things as if you were looking down on yourself from the ceiling. I experienced this when I cut myself.
b) Spacing out. Having trouble connecting with others because you're stuck in your head.
c) Extreme spacing out. This happens a lot to me during sex. I'll be having sex and then I don't know where I go, but my body does all the work still. It's like blacking out.
d) The Bell Jar (thanks Plath!). You literally feel that there is an invisible boundary between you and everyone else. I tend to feel this way if people don't understand me or invalidate my feelings, esp when they say something like "we don't want to talk about that."

I can't speak for everyone, but I hope this helps.