Low functioning?

Hey, im a newbie here... and this would happen to be my first post... Im still unsure what exactly to say, as I have a tendency to "open the flood gates" and turn what should be a nice short post into something that requires section headers and chapter breaks.... lol

so basicly, im wondering,,,,, low functioning, what does it look like? I understand the term, and its counterpart, "high functioning", (I have a 7 year old son with autism, so im familiar with the terms) however, im having a hard time relating it to bpd and what it would appear like....

any insight for me?

thanks.
Kassie

These would probably be a few qualifiers. Failure of any would likely cause the individual to be considered low functioning.

• Ability to earn money to sustain themselves
• Not at risk of severe harm or death of themselves
• Not deemed a danger to others, or repeated actions that cause them to be arrested

The big one is earning money. Unfortunately, a lot of people have a severe difficulty holding onto a job.

thanks. That seems to be me... not all days of course.. (except the earning money part. I too cannot seem to hold a job to save my life) its been bad as of lately.

here's the proper def of low-functioning. do you fit into any of these??

+self-mutilation (self-injury, cutting, etc.)
+excessive risk taking, such as:
+numerous and near-fatal traffic accidents
+extreme addictions (gambling, sex, danger, etc.)
+substance abuse and misuse
+sexual promiscuity and risky sexual practices
+frequent hospitalizations
+successive and frequent non-completed suicide attempts
+inability to maintain employment
+extreme instability in interpersonal relationships
+extreme anger, rage and violent behavior beginning in adolescence (or earlier)
+prolonged involvement with criminal justice system and prison

I'm sorry, that's really difficult

When I was younger I was low functioning. I had absolutely no idea what was wrong with me, I just knew I was completely and utterly unreliable. The biggest step I had to take was accept that I am unreliable (I'm still unreliable <sigh>), I had to accept that I have limitations and I can't just do what everyone else does. Ugh, that sucked.

I then tracked my functioning capabilities and got an idea of how often I am capable of doing work and under what conditions. I realized I had to be able to make my own hours. If I needed to take time off, I needed to be able to take that time off or else I could lose a week. I went into contracting, getting real $#%^ jobs for $#%^ pay so that if for some random reason I could suddenly work at midnight I could finally get some work done and earn some money.

I got a #######5 apartment and spent no money whatsoever and skimped on food to the nth degree all so I could live on the #######5 pay. Eventually I lowered my stress levels enough that I could take a part time job. I could come in for a couple hours every day, a little longer every other day, or whatever combination. That gave me a steady baseline of pay. It was still a $#%^ job with a $#%^ employer. heh.

It took quite a long time, but eventually I crawled my way up the ladder and am now a respected consultant. I still struggle every. single. day. to get the required work done. But I'd be considered high functioning. Well. Maybe medium functioning. heh.