Could Your Loved One With Borderline Have These?
Published: Tue, 02/10/09
Hi ,
How's it going?
I hope you're having a good day today.
I was thinking about my mom today.
About before she was stable with her mental
illness.
She used to have awful mood swings.
She used to fly into these rages where she
would rant and rave, yell and scream at me,
say hurtful things, and even throw things
sometimes.
One time she even told me, "I hate you! I
can't believe you're my son!"
Another time she was really paranoid, and
said, "I know you just want to lock me up
in the hospital and throw away the key!"
Well, of course these things weren't true.
Sometimes she would go on shopping sprees
where she would buy like $600 worth of
groceries and let half of them rot.
Sometimes she would like clean all day.
Eventually, she was diagnosed with bipolar
disorder.
But later on, she had another therapist, who
thought she had symptoms of borderline
personality disorder, even though she was
never formally diagnosed with it.
So that's what made me think of your
loved one.
About how maybe they might have more
than just borderline personality disorder.
It does happen.
It IS possible, and in some cases, probable,
to have more than one disorder at a time.
Like I was saying with my mom.
Both borderline personality disorder and
bipolar disorder have mood swings.
Both borderline personality disorder and
bipolar disorder have episodes, where the
person can be normal for periods of time,
and then exhibit periods of acting out
behavior.
My mom screamed and yelled and called
me names, and even threw things while she
was in a bipolar episode.
She could also be very depressed in other
episodes.
She didn't come out of her bedroom for a
long time.
Does your loved one rage or get depressed?
Could it be that they have more than just
borderline personality disorder?
There's something called Post-Traumatic
Stress Disorder (PTSD), which you may
be familiar with.
Many people have heard of it in association
with men who have fought in the war.
But it has been associated with borderline
personality disorder as well, because of the
childhood trauma many of these people
suffered.
With PTSD, whenever they remember
what happened, it's like they're there again,
experiencing the event(s) all over again, like
it's happening right now, and it's traumatic
to them all over again.
They might get scared, anxious, stressed,
angry, full of rage (or just the opposite).
Does this sound like your loved one?
In my main course and resource, I discuss
the possibility that borderline personality
disorder can be associated with other
disorders:
SUPPORTING A LOVED ONE WITH BORDERLINE?
http://www.borderlinecentral.com/report/
NEED HELP EXPLAINING BORDERLINE PERSONALITY?
http://www.borderlinecentral.com/explainingborderline/
Is your loved one a perfectionist?
Many people with borderline personality
disorder are.
Some supporters call their loved ones
"controlling," or "control freaks."
Others say that they feel like they're
being manipulated.
When talking to people who have
borderline personality disorder, most
of them say that they don't believe that
they're manipulating the people they
care about - that they're not aware
of it consciously.
One of the biggest misunderstandings in
mental diagnoses is between OCD
(Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder) and
OCPD (Obsessive-Compulsive Personality
Disorder).
OCD is what is usually referred to, the
one where people wash their hands, or
check locks, or count numbers, or make
sure the stove is turned off, are clean
fanatics, and the like. Some of them are
perfectionists.
People with OCPD aren't obsessive in
the same way. But they still may be
perfectionists. These people tend to keep
lists. They expect a lot from other people,
as they expect a lot from themselves.
They want things a certain way. They may
even notice when things are out of place
or not like they normally are, the way
they expect them to be, in their ordered
little world.
Does any of this sound like your loved one?
Some people with borderline personality
disorder suffer anxiety and stress to such a
great degree that they have what's called
"panic attacks."
These attacks can actually "freeze up" a
person to the point that they can't even
move or go anywhere, because the feeling
of fear is so intense.
They may start by breathing very hard, or
complaining that they can't breathe. Then
they may start hyperventilating. Some believe
that they're having a heart attack. Some
even pass out.
This is called Anxiety/Panic Disorder.
Does this sound like your loved one?
Now, I'm not a doctor, psychiatrist, or
therapist, so I cannot diagnose your loved
one, but if any of these other disorders
sound like your loved one, you may want
to encourage them to talk to their therapist
and/or psychiatrist about it.
Your Friend,
Dave
===>> Great Resources For You <===
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Get More Help On Borderline Personality Disorder Don't forget to take a look
through the different programs I've put together... each one is designed to
help you with a different area of borderline personality disorder whether
you have it or you are supporting someone with it.
You can see them all and get the details by visiting:
http://www.borderlinecentral.com/offers.shtml