Lived Experience Forum

[outlander]

hello fellow sane members

ive jsut been diagnosed with BPD. its shocked me becasue i wouldnt have thought i have a personality disorder

ive been told that DBT is the best form of therapy but dont really know much else, and i dont really know what to do from here.

ive been put on a waiting lidt to DBT group therapy but thats a long list minimum 4 months until then so not really sure how to proceed from here

can anyone share any experiences about where to from here, DBT experiences or anything at all

[BlueBay]

hi @outlander

I have BPD and was diagnosed about 7 yrs ago.  I was shocked too, i googled so much information and was totally confused.

About 2 yrs ago I did DBT through a private clinic.  It was a long commitment and it cost a lot of money.  I had to see a psych once a week and have group therapy every week for 2 hours.  We went through the DBT workbook but it wasn't easy.  

I have just been told this week by my psych to do the program again throguh a hospital in the city but unfortunately i cannot comit because it is a 4 hour commitment each week and it's on different days of the week. too hard for me as it would affect my work.

BPD - i see it like this:  it affects our emotions greatly, our behavoiur and our thoughts.

when i am upset or my emotions are on a high it takes a long time for my emotions to come back to a base line and be okay again. whereas a person that doesn't have BPD if they were angry or emotional there emotions would come back to base line straight away.  It takes a lot longer for us to come back to base line.  (does that make sense)

have a read on here, Sane has some really good information on BPD to read up on. But any questions you have @outlander pls ask, i am happy to help you or answer them.

Hugs to you 

BB xxxooo

[patrickT]

Hi @outlander.

I currently live with bipolar type II and I prefer the word "live" to "suffer from" because DBT allowed me to make that transition. It honestly worked wonders for me and helped me address my Bipolar and PTSD.

I remember that first diagnosis. It kind of made sense, it kind of made none (denial). It seemed like a death sentence to so many areas of my life - career, social life, burdens on my family, the death of my studies. I went into a pretty big spiral downhill for a little while potentiated by a drug problem but after I ended up getting sober I realised that it needs to be addressed and after speaking with my psychologist I started DBT. 

Initially I was apprehensive about what I was learning as it seemed to be an overabundance of information without any opportunity to put it into practice but eventually as those opportunities I could see the relevance of what I'd learnt. It allowed me to frame things so differently, pick up on warning signs from miles away and shift the attention of focus to something else sometimes negating an episode entirely. Two years on and those tactics are still embedded in me and it's been quite a while since a significant episode.

That waiting list might be a pain but it's well worth it, trust me. If you can address it now then I guarantee you, you can live a wholesome, 99% normal life with bipolar.

[outlander]

@Phoenix_Rising just going to ove this convo over to hear

 i didnt have a clue about it until now. id heard of it only becasue id been on here but never understood it.  i try not to research things becasue then i get ideas in my head. i only looked at the diagnoses id been given at the time to see what i could learn about it.

the complex trauma has apparently helped to bring the BPD more noticeable.- this is what ive been told today so really this is all i know about it. she said that i do ahve the features of BPD even though i have PTSD. u can have both.  she didnt give me reasons and i didnt think to ask

i had a look into it, only by relaible resources of course.

and it has given me some answers and more understanding.

i experience the strong and overwhelming emotions that i have difficulty controlling, i get triggered by relativeley minor things, i get intense feelings of being empty and lonliness, all my relationships are unstable, unstabel self- image and sense of self, paranoid thinking, dissosiate, moods are instable and often extreme, i do SH and have also had suicidal thoughts, as well as impulsive behaviours- mine are reckless driving and also spending sprees

[outlander]

@BlueBay thanks for responding and also explaning abit more about what its like for you and your story as well.

yes everything you said makes sense. and it also explains alot.

i did have a read and found that i match quite abit of it and i never realsied it. i jsut thought it was anxiety. ive always brushed it off as its jsut anxiety get a grip on yourself sorta thing.

i was just saying the phoenix_rising that i have the symptoms- i wont rewrite them all- but its in above msg to her.

i just, i really dont even know where to start. i never would have thought id get this diagnosis

[outlander]

hi @patrickT ive got borderline personality disorder not bipolar... but thank you for sharing your experiences and taking the time to read what ive written.

hopefully those tactics will stay with me and the waiting list goes quickly. i would like to get ab hold of this and not have to keep relapsing all the time

[patrickT]

Apolgies! I've come across the acronym heaps, sometimes as bipolar. But DBT is really helpful and applicable to so many things. Wishing you all the best!

[outlander]

Thats no problems at all @patrickT
I shouldve made the title clearer. I think ive done that now

[outlander]

Hi @Sans911
Im just coming onto here as im keeping the other chat thread a light retreat sorta one.
Thank you for all thst info.
Medications. Im only on medium dose ADs. Ive asked to have it increased and also a mood stabiliser but they eont give me anything else for another 3 weeks!
I wont be able to do dbt for months. Is there something u suggest to do in the meantime