Please Help Me!!

[NecroticTuna]

Hello, I require help with finding information or professional help.

I have received a diagnosis from my doctor and psychiatrist for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and Borderline Personality Disorder.

Now, I have obviously searched the internet multiple times. Although anxiety is common with BPD (due to the overwhelming emotional in/output) I have not discovered any studies or trusted information on the coexistence of BPD and OCD.

I have extreme difficulty dealing with the two of these illnesses because they constantly butt heads. I have done Cognitive Behaviour Therapy as well as Dialectical Behaviour Therapy, to no avail.

DBT, though considered most helpful for BPD, triggers great amounts of distress linked with my OCD. And comparatively, CBT being considered most helpful for OCD, causes great distress linked to my BPD.

What I need is help to find one of the following:

A) Trusted, official information on the four bolded terms -- preferably information that touches on their interaction.
B) A professional psychologist who studies OCD or BPD (or both) and is willing to help me discover how in the world I can hope to recover.

PLEASE.

I really need help with this.

I just don't know how to do it anymore.

Thank you to anyone who reads this and is willing to help me...

 

[forgetmenot]

Where do you live hun that information would help us in perhaps leading you to some help

 

[NecroticTuna]

I am already seeing a psychiatrist and doctor about it. I just want to find out as much as I can. I'm in Ontario, Canada.

 

[forgetmenot]

Ok i know that CAMH run a program for Borderline Personality and they are one of the leading hospitals in Toronto area to help The programs are free but you have to sign up for them in advance. if you type in CAMH on your computer you will be able to see all the programs they have to offer and they also do research into many mental health issues
Another place that gives great treatment programs would be in Homewood Guelph Ontario again there programs are covered by OHIP but you have to be referred there by your doctor

 

[Timber]

"Although anxiety is common with BPD (due to the overwhelming emotional in/output) I have not discovered any studies or trusted information on the coexistence of BPD and OCD"

These two disorders can be comorbid. OCD is an Axis I disorder and BPD is an Axis II disorder. They can manifest within the same individual. A therapist will perform assessments to develop a report of multiaxial diagnosis. There are 5 axes the therapist considers when diagnosing.

From AllPsych (2012):
Axis I: Clinical Syndromes

• This is what we typically think of as the diagnosis (e.g., depression, schizophrenia, social phobia)

Axis II: Developmental Disorders and Personality Disorders

• Developmental disorders include autism and mental retardation, disorders which are typically first evident in childhood
  
• Personality disorders are clinical syndromes which have a more long lasting symptoms and encompass the individual's way of interacting with the world. They include Paranoid, Antisocial, and Borderline Personality Disorders.

Axis III: Physical Conditions which play a role in the development, continuance, or exacerbation of Axis I and II Disorders

• Physical conditions such as brain injury or HIV/AIDS that can result in symptoms of mental illness are included here.

Axis IV: Severity of Psychosocial Stressors

• Events in a persons life, such as death of a loved one, starting a new job, college, unemployment, and even marriage can impact the disorders listed in Axis I and II. These events are both listed and rated for this axis.

Axis V: Highest Level of Functioning

• On the final axis, the clinician rates the person's level of functioning both at the present time and the highest level within the previous year. This helps the clinician understand how the above four axes are affecting the person and what type of changes could be expected.
  
  Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM IV)
  

Here is one study (I feel it is somewhat outdated because the researchers used DSM-III criteria):
Bipolar Disord. 2010 Mar;12(2):185-95. doi: 10.1111/j.1399-5618.2010.00795.x.

[h=1]Clinical characteristics of comorbid obsessive-compulsive disorder and bipolar disorder in children and adolescents.[/h]Joshi G, Wozniak J, Petty C, Vivas F, Yorks D, Biederman J, Geller D.
[h=3]Source[/h]Pediatric Psychopharmacology Research Program, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02114, USA. joshi.gagan@mgh.harvard.edu


[h=4]OBJECTIVE:[/h]To explore bidirectional comorbidity between bipolar disorder (BPD) and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) in youth and to examine the symptom profile and clinical correlates of both disorders in the context of reciprocal comorbidity and ascertainment status.
[h=4]METHODS:[/h]Two samples of consecutively referred youth (ages 6-17 years) ascertained contemporaneously for respective studies of BPD and OCD were compared using clinical and scalar assessment and structured diagnostic interviews.
[h=4]RESULTS:[/h]A total of 21% (17/82) of the BPD subjects and 15% (19/125) of the OCD subjects met DSM-III-R diagnostic criteria for both disorders. In the presence of BPD, youth with OCD more frequently experienced hoarding/saving obsessions and compulsions along with a clinical profile of greater comorbidity, poorer global functioning, and higher rate of hospitalization that is characteristic of BPD. Multiple anxiety disorders (> or = 3), especially generalized anxiety disorder and social phobia, were present at a higher frequency when OCD and BPD were comorbid than otherwise. In subjects with comorbid OCD and BPD, the primary disorder of ascertainment was associated with an earlier onset and more severe impairment.
[h=4]CONCLUSIONS:[/h]An unexpectedly high rate of comorbidity between BPD and OCD was observed in youth irrespective of primary ascertainment diagnosis. In youth with comorbid OCD and BPD, the clinical characteristics of each disorder run true and are analogues to their clinical presentation in youth without reciprocal comorbidity, with the exception of increased risk for obsessions and compulsions of hoarding/saving and comorbidity with other anxiety disorders.

Clinical characteristics of comorbid obsessiv... [Bipolar Disord. 2010] - PubMed - NCBI




In the search bar, type "ocd bpd comorbidity". Peer reviewed research is commonly found in Psychiatric journals and .edu sites as well as .gov.

As far as treatment, treatment can take a while if not life-long. Personality Disorders are enduring and pervasive within an individual's life. Personality characteristics are those that tend to be stable over the lifespan and can be traced back to childhood. One example is temperment. Personality disorders can be difficult because many characteristics are impulsive. Emotional functioning can be difficult because of intensity and range of functioning, which research suggests is genetically based. Determining how the environment has influenced personality isn't always easy. Faulty thinking is introduced and reinforced in ways we may not realize. Finding what is causing and reinforcing the faulty thinking is a difficult task as well as reducing or eliminating behavior that has become impulsive due to faulty thinking. This is why a treatment plan must be developed that focuses on the individual not just the disorder. No two people are alike. If you are uncomfortable with your therapist, then switch. If you question their methods or diagnosis, get a second opinion. But don't be afraid to ask your current therapist questions about your treatment if it doesn't make sense to you or don't understand what your diagnosis means. Maybe your treatment plan needs to be adjusted to consider some factors first over others instead of what you are currently focusing on. Working with your therapist is a joint effort and being active in your treatment plan is a good thing.

 

[NecroticTuna]

Thank you. This is exactly the advice I was looking for. I greatly appreciate it.

 

[NecroticTuna]

Sorry, I just got time to look over the information you gave me and this study focuses on Bipolar Disorder and Obsessive-Compulsive. I have Borderline Personality disorder. Sorry for the misinterpretation. I know it's possible for them to coexist, because I have both, but I will keep searching for information on the treatments