Psychosis in BPD

out of curiosity... my pdoc thinks I have "difficult borderline personality disorder" and I read online that it can include psychotic episodes and all kinds of fun stuff. At the loony ward I was told my hallucinations were atypical.

I tried to write more but I realised it was stupid. Sorry. I'm just curious if anyone knows about this or has links to share. I've only heard about it in a finnish support group.

It's never stupid to write how you feel or what you're worried about. I think we've all been there.

That said, there is no "difficult Borderline Personality Disorder" in my DSM-IV so either it's coming out in the V or it's just something your doctor is using. Borderline patients can have hallucinations, but it's not in the diagnostic criteria.

I just had a thought - the DSM-IV is made by the American Psychiatric Association so if you are in Finland it could very well be a legit diagnosis there. I'd be interested in getting links if you have any?

How often do you hallucinate? Do you also have delusions?

it's probably just something the doctors are using. i have heard, however it from others that they have been told their bpd is "difficult". both dsm and icd are in use in finland... i have not studied them very closely yet. except icd-10 a bit but not the personality disorders part. it came as a real surprise i didn't expect a personality disorder at all. and i was a bit confused with the difficult part as it wasn't mentioned in any official documents.

lately i've been having hallucinations weekly (which don't bother much) and last night i started having auditory hallucinations. for a good three or four months i was free of them. i think i have some delusions, but they are mostly because of the bpd, like "everyone will leave me", "everybody wants to hurt me/is after me"... and for ages i haven't been able to listen to the radio because i fear spies or agents can see where i am if i put it on. etc... most of the time i don't believe in spirits but whenever i read about them they freak me out and i start feeling their presence. or demons or something. i don't know what t think of them right now.

sorry about rambling so much.. i'm v confused right now because i really can't afford to be psychotic right now whether it is because of the bpd or psychotic disorder or whatever.

thanks for taking your taking to reply, girlbassplayer. it is very mch apprecited!

Are you under more stress than usual? In persons with BPD stress can cause the psychotic symptoms you mentioned.

What kind of therapy are you receiving? Just medication from your pdoc?

I guess - I am trying to get some school stuff sorted out, v important stuff, but the school isn't helping much. And I guess if you're under the threat of ending up homeless, that means stress. So yes, I would think I'm under more steress than usual.

The BPD isn´t an official diagnosis yet, but it read on some paper that they sent to some bureaucrats (hehe) because of my sick leave that "patient exhibits signs of difficult borderline personality disorder". Next time I can ask questions about it so I will ask about that since there is very little information (and mostly speculaiton) about "difficult" bpd.

I'm not in therapy, because the psych nurse I'm seeing think s I'm too "vulnerable" to do go to psychotherapy. Though I think it's the pdoc's job to decide how I am. Pdoc just takes care of the meds and the hospitalization stuff. Which I fear is near if I don't start improving

Thanks for reading PsyChris.

BPD might be difficult to deal with but there is no DSM or ICD-9 classification for "difficult" Borderline Personality Disorder.

I am afraid I have to detract from the psych nurse's opinion. You must be active in your own treatment. If you just agree with everything the pdoc and psych nurse say you will probably not get pleasing results.

Therapy is the kind of place vulnerable people should go. It provides a secure and trusting environment where you can share your thoughts and feelings with someone who has dedicated their lives to providing healing.

I think you should talk to your pdoc and ask for a referral. The therapist should preferably be skilled in providing therapy to clients with BPD as their are several specialized approaches that should benefit you the most.

Going to a therapist does not mean you have to stop visiting your pdoc. In fact most people choose to create a care team scenario in which each provider is utilized for their speciality. The therapist may provide you the support you need when you are feeling down, the psychiatrist may manage your medications and your primary doctor can help with medical problems.

You must be active in your own treatment. If you just agree with everything the pdoc and psych nurse say you will probably not get pleasing results.

i know. most of the time i do well on this, but on the bad days i don't know who to believe and don't know how to judge their opinions so the easiest way is to push the responsibility to them. i seem to have had bad days a lot lately.

i've been thinking of asking for a referral from my pdoc for a while now, despite of the discussions i've had with the psych nurse. i've done a lot of research on this, and ended up thinking the psych nurse takes me for an idiot. but when i confront her she says i misunderstood things though she obviously said you can't go to therapy and work/study at the same time. found it weird because most people i know go to therapy & work. anyway... ended up rambling.

i'm not sure when i'm going to see my pdoc but i sure hope she can help me, getting the referral can get problematic and even getting treatment may get problematic because i'm going to study out of country this september.

haha, i chose the best time for it.

I have schizo affective disorder . I will go in for a psych evaluation on Tuesday for meds and possible different treatment for this. I see now that this is a hard illness to treat due to so many different things involved.

splinter i hope you get the right kind oftreatment. i'm still looking for it, unfortunately.,

good luck!