Borderline Personality

[jen83]

My name is Jen, I'm 22. I was diagnosed with BPD over the summer and really confused about the whole thing. I have had this disorder since early teens and now I'm in my early 20s and just finding out! I'm trying to decide whether to take SSRIs and wonder if anyone else has or is taking them. I've thought about medication but I think I would be hysterical if I were to gain any more weight. I think its great there is a support group on here, otherwise I dont know who to turn to about this. ummm my symptoms range from cutting on occasion to eating to the extent I'm sick (anything I can justify as being self destructive to myself, I feel disconnected from the world, I am constantly depressed. etc. I look forward to chatting with everyone

 

[healthbound]

Welcome jen83!

My therapist spoke to me about BPD and "wondered" if I had it. To be honest, it scared the crap out of me when I began reading about it. Maybe because there were many things I related to (more so when I was a bit younger)? Anyway, I used to cut and I still over eat sometimes. I very much dislike the extra weight I'm carrying AND I'm on SSRI's!!

However, I did find that the medication helped A LOT. I don't feel as disconnected as often as I used to and I'm not constantly depressed. In fact, I've been coming out of my depression recently.

I am 34 and I have a 14 year son and I have especially found the meds to be helpful when it comes to parenting. I am able to organize my time better, think clearer and my emotions aren't as extreme (my extreme feelings would often lead to cutting and overeating). The meds have really worked well for me.

I'm also just starting to do some "self help" cognitive therapy as well (I'm going through the Feeling Good Handbook by David D Burns, MD). I was first introduced to cognitive therapy about a year after my sister died and believe that it actually saved my life back then. I found it extremely helpful for helping me jump out of the spiral of emotions and thoughts that I think largely contributed to me feeling so crappy about myself. The more I was able to get a handle on how I thought about myself, the more I got a handle on how I felt about myself. THEN I could implement changes in the areas I wanted to. I'll keep you posted on how it goes!

 

[SS8282]

Hi Jen. I have BPD too, and I'm on medications. I totally understand about gaining weight if you go on them. There are medications that might not cause you to gain weight that easily. I've been on several meds, and have found certain ones are ok for me, while others 'made' me gain weight. Talk to your doc, and see which meds would be good for you.

 

[ThatLady]

Are you speaking of Bipolar Disorder or Borderline Personality Disorder, Jen?

 

[David Baxter PhD]

I almost asked that question, too, ThatLady. <clears throat> Note the thread title.

 

[ThatLady]

Oh! Ahem...brain flatulism. Skuze me. :-D