Anyone with PTSD and BPD?

Hi all,

I posted something about this in the BPD area but it was long and confusing and so Im going to be straight foward. I have both PTSD & BPD and BPD symptoms are somewhat being controled and then it sneaks up on me without warning and without me really knowing it until I just spun out hard. I have a DBT workbook but cant seem to "get it" though I practice several times a day and I also see a therapist weekly.

I need to figure out how to feel my BPD starting to come to the forefront and starting to act up or "flare up" before the hard spin out. Anyone have any ideas on cues or feelings to know that BPD is about to hit hard?

I have my therapist tomorrow whom I will talk about with but before then, and even with his thoughts, I thought Id also ask the ones that deal with both disorders too. Anyway way that you can tell you BPD is about to hit and hit hard?

Are you meaning bipolar? Or borderline personality disorder?

I think either could benefit from paying attention to triggers, and monitoring moods...

Borderline Personality Disorder. They are often confused. Bipolar is BD.

I only have 2 triggers identified where i know i have many more. Sigh, i suppose thats the only answer.

(I have lots of triggers too.. )

Sometimes it's hard to tell them apart. Did you have BPD before the PTSD? If not, then it's probably just PTSD.

No, I was very quickly diagnosed with BPD because it was ober obvious and have all but 1 symptom.

PTSD came a few yrs later.

I know when the BPD acts up, I start becoming very super emotional, quick to debate and then fight with people (speaking of another online community), have trouble disengaging from threads when triggered.

I think the answer is what I did when this last happened. Spend time here too. I got to the point where i was just on there and not here and i think it can become a sort of pressure cooker. Most especially when BPD "flars up" as thats when the emotional deregulation plays a big part.

I have c-PTSD and BPD, lostinsidemyself. You aren't alone.

Others have already alluded to triggers. That seems to the best best telltale sign of incoming BPD dys-regulation and spin-outs. Everyone is different, some people will numb out when they are triggered, others will become increasingly emotional until breaking point; it all depends on how you react to your particular triggers.

I know for myself, my Borderline traits don't ever really, go away. They are always present, though at times they are less prominent - especially when I have taken time to meditate and ground, etc. Stress obviously exacerbates the symptoms, perhaps that is something you can concentrate on as it has an impact on everything else. For myself, physical symptoms are what I notice first: typical fight / flight mode. Once I notice these physical symptoms I know something is wrong and I have to sit with the emotions to determine what is going on inside my head.

Keep in mind that having a flare-up of, "symptoms," isn't necessarily indicative of Borderline issues. We are human and and part of the human condition is to experience emotions. We Borderline sufferers experience emotions more intensely (at least, that is how the "professionals" explain things). Long-lasting symptoms after having experienced a trauma, is a very real and normal response. It simply means that we are human.

I think you have to determine what your triggers are. When things start to get hairy or feel uncomfortable, try to remain aware of them. Practicing mindfulness will allow you to discover what specific triggers you have and what they do to you. Once you have done this I believe you will answer your question by yourself.

Thanks,
HD

my best solution is to focus on the 'solution' rather than the 'problem',,
i never know when i will run into some situation that goads me... but i do know what to do about it: disengage IMMEDIATELY.

there are other skills,, mindful breathing, counting, reading; "distract, defer, delay", are my mantras.

as i practice my skillful responses more and more, they are becoming quicker and more effective. acceptance and not resistance seems to be a key component: i am like this, they are like that, here's what to do ~

best wishes~!

You are very correct, in all of this. I get overly emotional. I did ignore one sign that I was being triggered.

I think being aware of 'something's off' is a good thing. Truth is, I caused issues on another site due to BPD and what I stopped doing was bouncing to both sites. I was for a while which gave me a break from the one I just bounced off of and instead, for whatever reason, I stopped coming here and was very active there, i think for a few weeks I ignored a sign that BPD was about to explode; I stopped being able to disengage from a thread when I needed to; and weeks later I spun out. If I would of came here at that point, I think I could have stopped the spin out as there is a BPD area here and support in that direction where there isnt on the other site.

You are very wise!

I agree and disengaging is what i stopped being able to do getting thread banned everywhere (other site) and that should have been a clue as i was able to before and i did notice it but ignored it.

Check, wont do that again!

Yes, mindfulness/DBT/breathing all good. I have a DBT workbook but sort of have a mind block. Even if i skip over where i am stuck, I cant seem to comprehend what Im reading. So off to another book for the moment I think and then come back to it later.

I have Bipolar Bpd and Cptsd, So I can't tell you what helps, I just started therapy and I am hoping to learn some technics to help me, I have learned a couple on my own, I have learned when I am stressed out I will go lay down and visualize that I am in a safe place where no one can hurt me or enter its my own little paradise, And you can make it what ever and where ever you want in your mind, I am also learning to Act before I React, Like flipping out on some one for instance, I have also been going into another room and just sitting there doing deep breathing excersises until I calm down, I am getting better with my temper since I have learned these things, I have noticed something else, I play this game on my phone and it is very irritating when I can't beat a level, But when I am upset and on my game I seem to win, Sorry I wrote such a long story of my things I do, I hope you find some things that work for you

Hi lostinsidemyself, I have both BPD and PTSD, although BPD is definitely my main issue. I have other issues as well. Actually, I only found about the PTSD a few weeks ago – although it was clearly written in my file I had never noticed it, so for many months I didn't even know I was diagnosed with it.

I'm afraid I can't help with the flaring up of BPD, because I'm stuck myself. I haven't had good therapy/therapists so far so I was never really able to identify what my triggers are and, especially, how to work around them.

However, I just wanted to say you're not alone.

You're definitely not alone. I haven't had good therapy unfortunately grrrrrr (I won't say more here, I don't wanna write a book )
Safe and gentle hugs

I have an anxiety App on my phone thats free called What's Up and I learned breathing exersises and from the metaphors to imagine myself floating on my back on water. Also have a DBT workbook and Chapter 2 is about creating and imaginary safe place and i started to be able to when i had my worse tailspin to date that lasted 3 days and since have lost them both and cant seem to imagine anything.

I can feel when an explosion is coming on about a min or 2 to remove myself if i can but the two that love with me love to push my triggers hard and consitantly.

Learning good grounding techiniques is good as well as foing through DBT. Ask your therapist about it:

Amazon.com: The Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills Workbook: Practical DBT Exercises for Learning Mindfulness, Interpersonal Effectiveness, Emotion Regulation & ... Tolerance (New Harbinger Self-Help Workbook) (9781572245136): Matthew McKay, Jeffrey

What's Up android:

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sour...rf5e07eBKQoxyQ

What's Up iTunes:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/what...968251160?mt=8

My therapist told me last week, as I brought up these two threads (we normally dont talk labels), is he sees more PTSD than BPD symptoms in me. That shocked me. I have BPD and I know the symptoms overlap mainly in PTSD criteria F but I honestly thought I had more BPD then PTSD.

Reasons are I have VERY extremes of all emotions, no middle ground, I explode into blind rages, I cant regulate emotions or tolerate distress (which is why DBT is wonderful for me and BPDers in general) but I guess PTSD has those symptoms too.

It just shocked me because I was quickly diagnosed BPD even before my therapist knew why I was really there and then PTSD came a few years later and I have all but 1 BPD symptom but they do overlap so its possible, I just didnt realize it or see it.