[Annie13]

I found a new therapist that I've seen a few times so far. She has also referred me to a psychiatrist, bc she thinks I need medication. I have major issues with depression and anxiety.

During my last session, she mentioned that I am emotionally unstable. I don't really know what she meant by this.

Has anyone ever heard this before from their therapist? What does it mean?

What can I expect from the psychiatrist appt??

This is all new to me. I appreciate any insight.

[Skeezyks]

Hello Annie13: Well... the Skeezyks is certainly no expert with regard to these things. But I presume what your therapist meant by saying you're emotionally unstable is that you're currently in a place where you are not able to conduct your activities of daily living, & handle your emotions, reliably & consistently... presumably due to your depression & anxiety. You're "all-over-the-place" emotionally, so to speak. This is presumably why she is referring you to a psychiatrist for medication.

Therapy can take a while to work. And sometimes, in order to give it time to work, individuals need to be on medications to help them cope, at least over the short term. (At least this is the theory.) The med's help to stabilize you while you're continuing to work with your therapist to resolve whatever the issues are you're working on.

As far as what to expect from your appointment with the psychiatrist... this can vary depending on who you see & where you live. Typically I would say pdocs generally don't spend a lot of time with their patients. They primarily just prescribe & monitor psych med's. Since this is your first appointment, the pdoc you see may spend a bit more time with you just to get to know you a bit. But, at least my experience has been, it's not like seeing a therapist. It's more like what you would typically expect if you went to see your primary care doctor... say for something such as a rash or an infection, if that makes sense. However, there again, this can & does vary. So it's difficult to say exactly what your experience will be like. Good luck though!

[kecanoe]

I thing Skeezyjs is right that emotionally unstable means that a person is feeling something (anxiety, depression, dissociation, etc) so strongly that it is impairing their ability to cope. Probably your psychiatrist will ask questions so they can establish a working diagnosis and have some insight into what meds might be helpful for you. I have seen two pdocs. One did about a 10 minute interview and gave me two meds. The other spent over an hour with me and gave me two meds. I hope you find a way to feel better.

[Annie13]

Thanks for the reply! I guess what I'm confused about is that I'm functioning. I'm working, doing day to day activities, etc. I'm also scared bc when I did a Google search for emotionally unstable, borderline personality disorder popped up everywhere. I'm wondering if my therapist may be implying I have bad.

[kecanoe]

Yeah, I am high functioning also. I somehow managed to keep working thru the worst of my depression. Perhaps t said emotionally unstable to indicate to your dr that despite the fact that you are functioning, you are feeling pretty awful. The assessment of depression includes things like are you able to get up and get dressed, so being able to function could make a dr think you are doing better than you are.
Since there are not really any meds for borderline, I think I would take comfort in being referred for meds. It probably meds thatyour t thinks you have depression and anxiety, which can often be helped by meds.

[itisnt]

She could be "implying" that you have BPD, but the only way to know is to talk to her about what she's thinking. Being "mentally unstable" is a pretty broad brush stroke. It can be used to describe a lot of different issues a person deals with when faced with mental health issues.

Just so you know, BPD is one of the most common diagnoses of mental illness. It comes in a WIDE variety of characteristics and forms. It is NOT what was portrayed by Glenn Close in FATAL ATTRACTION where the woman boiled the bunny in a pot on the family stove or attacked her x boyfriend's wife with a knife. That was a pretty radical and exaggerated view of BPD. People with BPD can engage in very successful careers and have families and friends. Some individuals with BPD need a lot of support, medication intervention and mental health intervention, but others live successful lives with periods of intense anxiety, self-doubt, suicidal thoughts, eating disorders, relational struggles and perfectionism. It is a disorder with a LOT of variation.

Best thing to do is see the psychiatrist for an evaluation and talk to your therapist. I do feel that BPD can be a "dumping diagnosis" for some therapist who attach it to clients that they feel overwhelmed by, so question, question, question and do lots and lots of reading to increase your own education on the subject! Best of luck.

[DelusionsDaily]

Another reason BPD is coming up that way is because another name for the disorder was emotionally unstable personality disorder as well as emotion dysregulation disorder. So, BPD would almost certainly be a primary result but that certainly doesn't mean that's what she was trying to tell you.

[objectclient]

Emotionally unstable could also be another way of describing mood swings - from intense anger, to sadness, to anxiety for example. It's a bit of an ambiguous phrase and whatever you interpret it as your T might have meant something different. I would ask T to clarify by explaining what she meant by emotionally unstable.

BPD seems to be a "label" that therapists throw around all over the place in my part of the world. I was assessed using the diagnostic criteria as scoring slightly high but not enough to qualify a diagnosis of Avoidant PD. Next thing I know, I'm put in group therapy and told I have traits of BPD and the Avoidant traits were never mentioned again! What I'm trying to say is not to take too much notice of the BPD label. It might be being overused by therapists.

Good luck with your appointment!