The diagnosis is self fulfilling

Am I the only one who feels "crazier" after getting an official diagnosis of BPD? I thought that it would be reassuring to know but I feel like I have a terminal illness. Especially after reading what some nonBPDs say about us. The only good thing to come out of an official diagnosis is finding DBT.

This is partly why I say that people shouldn't be seeking out a label. Sometimes I feel that once people are labeled with something they start to lose a part of themselves to try to validate the label that they have been given. They not only see themselves as nothing but this label, but the world around them tells them that they are nothing but this label as well. This is part of the disabling power of receiving a psychiatric diagnosis. It happens will all psychiatric diagnoses not just BPD.

Cheze2 wrote:This is partly why I say that people shouldn't be seeking out a label. Sometimes I feel that once people are labeled with something they start to lose a part of themselves to try to validate the label that they have been given. They not only see themselves as nothing but this label, but the world around them tells them that they are nothing but this label as well. This is part of the disabling power of receiving a psychiatric diagnosis. It happens will all psychiatric diagnoses not just BPD.

this.

Yep-I think it's better to focus on the actual symptoms as opposed to the label or any mental health label. I felt the same way about depression-that I'd always be depressed.

In DBT terms, we could actually use "non-judgmental" attitude-to focus on the facts in the situation as opposed to judging them. To say "okay I have these symptoms and I will work on it" as opposed to "I'm doomed because I have these symptoms" or "I'm a bad person because I have these symptoms".

Also, I think it's good to use "reasonable mind" here-to say "hey wait, look at the statistics-people who practice DBT skills do recover so that's all the more reason why I need to practice DBT over and over again each day".

For emotional mind, I think it's good to know that someone no longer meets criteria for BPD and that they achieved this through DBT..that it's good to know that it can be done..that someone has done it and to be inspired by their example. I read this website a lot http://www.my-borderline-personality-di ... ombpd.html and I find that it really helps me with learning how to apply DBT skills to various situations-that it definitely motivates me...sort of an attitude of "if she can do it, so can I".

Labelling is also a cognitive distortion because we're more than just a label..that a label is what you would apply to an object like a car or a bar of soap-i.e. does the car run well or does the soap clean my hands? With those objects, it's purely about functionality-whether it works or not whereas being a human being, we have thoughts and emotions, hopes and aspirations etc...basically we have an "emotional mind" that needs to be soothed too. Basically that DBT idea of reasonable mind, emotional mind and wise mind. Maybe it would be a good idea to look at "wise mind" too-to maybe say "hey I know this feels tough right now..maybe I should do some self-soothing right now..maybe use some cheer leading statements to encourage myself along" etc.

I think it's also important to point out that each person is an individual and that their bpd symptoms manifest themselves in different ways. For example, some borderlines engage in cutting whereas others do not. That is just one difference so it's important to keep your own individual symptoms in mind-to work on the symptoms that are affecting you personally. I think that everyone is an individual but the problem is that borderlines don't know who they are so maybe perhaps initially cling to the diagnosis because it gives them a sense of identity but I think DBT is very helpful for identity issues! I've found the FAST acronym really helpful because of the "stick to your values" part-I was like "what are my values?" I had to sit down and work them out-I've been doing this for a few months now, jotting down anything that comes to me so I have a fairly good idea of what my values and priorities in life now. It just makes it easier for me to set goals because I know what I want in life whereas before I didn't.

Oooh I just had a brainwave there-you could also use willingness as opposed to willfulness. Willfulness is giving up whereas willingness is doing what's required in the situation. I think this is extremely pertinent for this issue. I'm really trying to work on DBT and trying to think of how many DBT skills I can apply to any given situation, hence why I'm writing about the different DBT skills

I also think that radical acceptance is required too-that you may not like the diagnosis but that's it.

I think that opposite action could also be used-that you may want to give up and throw in the towel whereas opposite action would be to do the opposite-to work really hard at DBT.

I think with DBT, there are several skills that one could use however it really depends on what skills you find most comfortable using. I find the mindfulness skills to be particularly effective-I resisted them at the start but now I'm realising why they're so beneficial..that they're very helpful for dealing with feelings of ambivalence-those days when we're not particularly motivated to do DBT.

To sum all of this up, I think that the non-judgmental skill would be the most suitable skill for this particular issue. I think that the non-judgmental skill reduces the number of self-judgments that we may experience on a given day and that can only be a good thing. I think that self-compassion is a good thing too-to observe our suffering, to be kind to ourselves-to treat ourselves like we would a friend and to realise that suffering is part of the human condition-that everyone experiences it at some point. However I think that the non-judgmental skill is a lot easier to do than self-compassion as we may not feel we deserve compassion so perhaps self-compassion is a more advanced skill.

I know being dx recently I was HORRIFIED to realize how others perceive my behavior which I felt was completely normal. Educate yourself and avoid triggers. This is the most fragile time. Bpd loves labels. It helps us with our identity issues. Lol. I hate the way my family treats me now. Like I should just snap out if it. Which makes me feel even more rejected abandoned etc.

Cheze2 wrote:This is partly why I say that people shouldn't be seeking out a label. Sometimes I feel that once people are labeled with something they start to lose a part of themselves to try to validate the label that they have been given. They not only see themselves as nothing but this label, but the world around them tells them that they are nothing but this label as well. This is part of the disabling power of receiving a psychiatric diagnosis. It happens will all psychiatric diagnoses not just BPD.

I was just talking about this with someone. My personal feelings are locked on both sides. I don't like labels, I don't like any label for that matter regardless of what it is. I did not experience loosing myself in the label but I can grasp the thought of it happening. On the other hand for me it was the beginning of the process pending I choose to go through the process. That's in part my struggle right now. In a way now that I have been given the "official" names of what I deal with like any other physical disease, the treatment/healing can start.

Once you get the diagnosis and learn the symptoms, you also notice them more in yourself. I wondered if I was acting more BPD when I found out, but a friend told me I act less BPD now that I'm getting treatment, then when he first met me. He said that I really was scary when you got on my bad side.

minotauros wrote:Once you get the diagnosis and learn the symptoms, you also notice them more in yourself.

Very True

I'm going to try to refer to myself as having borderline like symptoms, not borderline PD. I hope it helps at least a little.

Thanks for the responses.

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goddamnit I guess I should be avoiding these topics I get chest pains from it, not that I really mind if I got a heartattack my life is worthless anyway