the perfect diagnosis doesn't fit

hello i am new i am 17 years old and my name is kathryn. anyway i had an appointment with my psych this week and i told her what i thought about this whole borderline thing, if i had it ot not.

let me let you know some things about me before i continue...

1. i hate being alone, very dependant
2. very paranoid always assume it's about me
3. i'm one mood one minute another the next (opposites)
4. either you are my friend or i hate you (i forget what this is called)
5. impulsive
6. i have si'ed for over 2 years
7. feel like there is a void inside of me/don't know how 2 fill it
8. dramatic/over emotional
9. manipulative/self centered...
10. had relationship problems all my life

there is more but these are the main points. i guess what i'm trying to say is that i really thought borderline disorder was what i had perfectly but when i asked her about it she said she can't diagnose me because i was an adolensent so now does this mean i don't have it? she said i had a lot of the "borderline features" what ever that means. i know it sounds like i want to have this.. i don't i just was disappointed because i thought it and still think it describes me perfectly!

so how old do you have to be in order to have this??!?!?

Hi,

18 is the age you have to be before you can d'x with most personality disorders.

I am not qualified to make a diagnosis, but I would agree you do show lots of the symptons, yes.

Good luck.

A lot of BPD symptoms are considered normal teenage behaviour. These professionals might just need the money. Watch them!

Most psychiatrists won't diagnose an adolescent with BPD because the personality is still growing and developing, and like isis mentioned a lot of the symptoms (in mild form) are considered normal teenage behavior. Once you get labeled that will follow you throughout your life in your medical history, whether you outgrow the symtoms or now.

It's better, I think, to focus on getting the right treatment vs. getting the "label". I am pushing hard right now to make sure my daughter gets the medications she needs and the therapy she needs. I'm running into roadblocks with the therapy, because cognitive psychotherapy is very common in our area (Cincinnati, Ohio), but it hasn't proven entirely successful for BPD. I am trying to find someone that does a modified DBT for adolescents or to push her therapist more into that style of psychotherapy.

We are really lucky with her team, though, and I am confindent in the treatment she's getting.

Good luck!
Tina