Newly Diagnosed

Hi,

I am newly diagnosed with borderline and avoidance personality disorder. I am so scared of what this means.

I am hoping it means I can get proper treatment. I am currently on 6 meds and waiting for therapy through a local psych hospital.

Does having a diagnosis help? It just makes me feel more crazy, like I am really crazy now. Like I can't pretend anymore.

Any advice or success stories of getting this disorder under control m?

Having a diagnosis means one thing......you've been evaluated. That'$ (no typo) really just a baseline to work from...nothing more.

Good luck, and keep your eyes open.

I think a proper diagnosis is necessary to know the right direction to go with treatment. So congrats on that first step, which can be a difficult one! Ask for evidence based treatment based on these diagnoses. They'll hopefully suggest Dialectical Behavior Therapy, which has been shown to be the most effective with bpd. Also read about Marsha Linehan. She is the founder of DBT and someone formerly diagnosed with BPD. She demonstrates that thereally are ways out of the darkness.

I found diagnosis comforting because it showed that I have a medical condition that is well-established, that it's not just me being a screwup or a jerk. I wouldn't say it was an excuse for my behaviors, but an explanation.

Kdoc wrote:They'll hopefully suggest Dialectical Behavior Therapy, which has been shown to be the most effective with bpd. Also read about Marsha Linehan. She is the founder of DBT and someone formerly diagnosed with BPD. She demonstrates that thereally are ways out of the darkness.

Agreed on this! I participated in one of Linehan's research studies at University of Washington and continued DBT off and on for years. It really was the most effective therapy for me. I encourage you to check it out.

Thank you for your kind words! I am on a waiting list to start DBT, we can not afford a private psychologist right now so I have to wait.

They also couldn't rule out bipolar because I have had a few episodes of hypomania. They are continuing to treat me medically like I have bipolar and said it will help the borderline? So I won't have as drastic highs and lows?

I really hope I can get better. My husband is the one person I love and he takes the grunt of this disorder. I need to get better for my family,

it may also be helpful for your husband to read up on BPD too - when i was first diagnosed and getting into treatment, i read the classic with the stupid-but-accurate title "I Hate You - Don't Leave Me". Then gave it to the girl I was dating. it helped her to understand a lot of my behavior, though it didn't excuse it. I think that allowed her to be more patient with me.

twelve years later, we are actually dating again. my mental issues are different, but she still takes the time to educate herself and thus understand me better. that means a lot.

there's a wealth of info out there on the disorder, but i found the aforementioned title to be a great start. good luck and hang in there!

Welcome BrokenOne86 - I was diagnosed at 17 and just found out last spring about having BPD. They didn't used to tell people they had it because it was like a life sentence with no cure or hope. They didn't even have medications that could help. I seemed to have learned all of the necessary skills with reading self help books and learning through my mistakes.

My 16 year old daughter has BPD now too and I am glad that they have really good and successful treatments now, so she won't have to go figure it out all on her own.

It is good you have been diagnosed and can get help with meds and proper treatment. You are really lucky to have your husband to help you through this time.

Oh yeah you wanted success stories - well I would be called a high functioning borderline because I raised by 3 children as a single mom for most of their lives - my twin girls are 16 and my son is 22 and we are very close. I have a fiance that I met 4.5 half years ago - I was not capable of having a good relationship until I was 39 because I had to learn the skills I needed to be happy in a relationship. I run a law office for a sole practitioner and get along with my boss and the other lawyers who work here - I have been working here for almost 10 years. I think the only things that still trigger me are if I am falsely blamed for something or if I feel abandoned or if my kids make me feel like i am a bad mom. My fiance is my rock and I am really happy to be in a warm and loving relationship.

So it took a long time to get to this point, but I made it and you will too. I never really had counselling for it because I quit my psychiatrist at 17 after about 10 sessions with him. I did see a psychologist short term when I was 19, but I am not sure how much I learned from him because I was still out drinking, sleeping around, in abusive relationships, hitch hiking, all sorts of BPD stuff.

I also find medication helpful - I only got prescribed Cymbalta 2.5 years ago and it helps most of the bouts of anxiety and depression i would get. If I get a bad week now, I know it will pass and this helps me get through it.

i've also just been diagnosed with BPD (and also body dysmorphic disorder lol).

i felt that the diagnosis took a load off my shoulders. i kind of know where to go from now.

i've been prescribed something for my anxiety from my psychiatrist which i feel is already helping me a lot.. and i have DBT sessions coming up with a psychologist.