[haleylaurel]

hi i just got diagnosed today. what is this. what do i do. help?

[manxcatwoman]

Hi, haleylaurel and welcome to pc! I have a borderline personality disorder too. There's a lot of misunderstanding about BPD so don't believe everything you read. Then there are the stereotypes.

Do you have a therapist you can see on a regular basis?

Here's a general overview on BPD from pc.

"The main feature of borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a pervasive pattern of instability in interpersonal relationships, self-image and emotions. People with borderline personality disorder are also usually very impulsive, oftentimes demonstrating self-injurious behaviors (risky sexual behaviors, cutting, suicide attempts).

Borderline personality disorder occurs in most by early adulthood. The unstable pattern of interacting with others has persisted for years and is usually closely related to the person’s self-image and early social interactions. The pattern is present in a variety of settings (e.g., not just at work or home) and often is accompanied by a similar lability (fluctuating back and forth, sometimes in a quick manner) in a person’s emotions and feelings. These individuals are very sensitive to environmental circumstances. The perception of impending separation or rejection, or the loss of external structure, can lead to profound changes in self-image, affect, cognition, and behavior. They experience intense abandonment fears and inappropriate anger even when faced with a realistic time-limited separation or when there are unavoidable changes in plans (e.g., sudden despair in reaction to a clinician’s announcing the end of the hour; panic or fury when someone important to them is just a few minutes late or must cancel an appointment). They may believe that this “abandonment” implies they are “bad.” These abandonment fears are related to an intolerance of being alone and a need to have other people with them. Relationships and the person’s emotion may often be characterized as being shallow. "

Borderline Personality Disorder Symptoms | Psych Central

All of this doesn't apply to every single person who has BPD. It can be very different from person to person like any other mental or physical health issue.

The best advice I can give is to be in therapy and or maybe even in group therapy. There are free groups in a lot of areas. Another piece of advice is to try and find family members who really understand. If they don't understand but love you, they need to be willing to educate themselves by at least reading material and listening to you.

I hope this helps.

[trying2survive]

Originally Posted by haleylaurel

hi i just got diagnosed today. what is this. what do i do. help?

haley it is hell, quite simply..sorry to be the bearer of bad news.
may as well give it to you straight.

try your best to manage your emotions, the intensity is the killer and tell yourself..it's just my BPD acting up.
this has been working quite well for me.(somewhat)

i also so recommend a therapist, which won't be easy..i quit seeing mine after 3 visits. he was digging too deep, too quickly..couldn't deal with it.

it's a lot like being on a roller-coaster and not being able to get off..if that makes any sense.

hope this helps

[haleylaurel]

Originally Posted by trying2survive

haley it is hell, quite simply..sorry to be the bearer of bad news.
may as well give it to you straight.

try your best to manage your emotions, the intensity is the killer and tell yourself..it's just my BPD acting up.
this has been working quite well for me.(somewhat)

i also so recommend a therapist, which won't be easy..i quit seeing mine after 3 visits. he was digging too deep, too quickly..couldn't deal with it.

it's a lot like being on a roller-coaster and not being able to get off..if that makes any sense.

hope this helps

i know it's hell. i've been living it for 10 years.
what meds help?
i cut for the first time last night in 5 years.

[Dewbot]

Different meds help for different people, and that's really going to be up to you and your doctor to figure out. Every case is different, especially if there are other factors (like me, for instance; I have this wonderful thing called CPTSD and Major Depressive Disorder as well as BPD, so I've had a virtual cornucopia of medications over the years before finding the cocktail that "works" for me).

Getting the diagnosis was sort of like having one weight lifted off of my shoulders while getting another one dropped on me at the same time, but that's mainly because I had never heard of BPD before. But... at least I was able to finally start getting the appropriate type of therapy, and for me, that was much better than the medication.

I'm sorry you hurt yourself last night. I did that to myself about a month or so ago after going a little over a year. I'm not here to judge, but let's hope we can both last at LEAST another 5 years before something like that ever happens again.

Anyhow, I'm glad you're here.

[Espresso]

I think medications for BPD are more symptom management (please correct me if I'm wrong). If you're excessively angry, you might get something for that. Or if you have issues with mood swings, you might get a mood stabilizer. Or if you have depression along with BPD, an antidepressant. I think there might be a medication that help with impulsivity, but I'm not sure there. As for me, I'm on a couple of antidepressants and I was offered something to temper my anger, but I declined that.

[trying2survive]

Originally Posted by haleylaurel

i know it's hell. i've been living it for 10 years.
what meds help?
i cut for the first time last night in 5 years.

i have found that adivan works pretty good for me, xanax probably could help too

[Lefty_Mac]

Originally Posted by haleylaurel

i know it's hell. i've been living it for 10 years.
what meds help?
i cut for the first time last night in 5 years.

It is hell indeed. About meds and these things, you should seek a good psychiatrist and most importantly a therapist. The rest...well, I'm messaging you.