Borderline Personality Disorder - nobody is talking about it

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BPD is said to occur in 1.6% of the population, thats over 50% more than schizophrenia for example. However, I dont think its had much visibility in the last few years on WP. Why is that? I have read about and experienced others with BPD and I think one of the taboo issues with it is the name 'borderline personality disorder'. I wonder if those who suffer from BPD find it is less socially acceptable than say Aspergers or ADHD for example because of its name? This could make it very difficult for those who suffer from BPD, from sharing their diagnosis with others. Furthermore, this could prevent those with suspected but undiagnosed BPD from seeking a diagnosis.

My other thought was regarding whether those with diagnosed BPD had BPD diagnosed as thier primary (first) condition or was it subsequently tagged onto an existing condition such as ASD or ADHD?

kuze

I think BPD is a difficult topic and most of us haven't learned to talk about it yet - especially it's hard to admit you have BPD and then face people harmed by their BPD parents or partners. It's easier to keep hiding that information.
I also think people tend to be less aware of their personality disorders than they are of other mental health issues of themselves.

up close it is hell. from a distance it is just sad.

My wife has emotionally unstable personality disorder which is how its labelled in these parts.

The best I can describe it is that as someone close at hand its like sitting on the summit of a volcano.

She was only recently diagnosed. When we first got together she seemed able to mask or utilise various coping strategies to reduce its impact on others. As time has gone on this has become more difficult and there have been incredibly difficult times for both of us. Over the past 6 months there have been two suicide attempts one of which required a hospital admission.

Our marriage is now drawing to a close as we are such a bad combination of different neurotypes. We inhabit different areas of the house and will be moving to our own separate places soon.

Thats my third failed marriage. I seem to attract personality disorders as this was the case with my other wives. You would think that I would be able to spot it a mile off - but no.

The local adult mental health service are truly appalling. She still hasnt been seen by anyone since her first suicide attempt. A mental health worker did call me up though to see how things were - he said that they werent too worried as she had me and being as I worked in childrens mental health service they considered this a protective factor. In other words they are relying on me for dynamic risk management. I tried to explain how difficult this was for me but this didnt seem to land.......

Maybe it IS the attachment towards 'personality' disorders? The name itself is already misleading.

I think, maybe, it also gets mixed up with vulnerable narcissism -- or thought the signs of BPD is taken as a form of vulnerable narcissism instead.

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I think it's more stigmatized. People are starting to recognize that schizophrenia doesn't necessarily mean you're any more likely to be a danger to others. Whereas with BPD, unfortunately, it's one of the most common and stereotypical diagnoses among abuse perpetrators. For that reason, a lot of the discussion of it tends to be dominated by abuse victims who believe (rightly or wrongly) that their abuser has/had BPD, and this means that it can be stigmatizing to say that you have BPD because people automatically assume you're an abuser.

Ironically, CPTSD is also very common diagnosis for abuse perpetrators, but it doesn't carry the same stigma. I think because the diagnosis places more emphasis on the fact that the person is a victim of trauma, and that inspires more sympathy, even if they're also abusive.

Incidentally, some studies have found that the exact same case stories can get diagnosed with BPD or CPTSD depending on whether the story mentions behaviour symptoms followed by trauma history (BPD) or trauma history followed by behaviour symptoms (CPTSD), so there seems to be a priming effect on which diagnosis you're likely to get.

I think ever more villainized disorder is narcissism but BPD has its share, too.
Extreme emotional instability can horribly hurt but in some cases - when a person is willing to cooperate - it can also be managed to some extent.
BPDs, narcissists and C-PTSD victims alike need super-firm boundaries. Weather one is willing to acccept these boundaries (even if maybe struggling with it) is up to the individual, not their disorder.
If not, the only remaining option is establishing such boundaries by leaving.

That's at least a picture consistent with what I've learned from books and lived experience of myself and my family members.

Go and meet a couple hundred people who have bpd.
You’ll probably find that most of them if not all (when tested by unbiased person) have autism. I may be wrong but just for a second consider that bpd is the end result of unmet needs of Autistics.

But bpd is 100% curable and can be diagnosed in about ten minutes.

Is it mainly women who get tested and treated for borderline? I don’t think they can diagnose bpd till there 18 same with bipolar. I got diagnosed with depression at 8 and given medication even though I wasn’t depressed.

A lot of people have mental illness and some haven’t been diagnosed and some just live in denial. Mental illness is treatable. Being dumb has more of an impact that being sad.

It's a travesty that kids can't get diagnosed with BPD until they're 18 (or sometimes even 21).

If the psychs understood the amount of time one spends in complete anxiety that ones offspring is going to go and kill herself...

Are they not aware of (a) the suicide rate amongst BPD sufferers, and (b) the importance of timely intervention and treatment tailored to their condition ????

It is so so wrong.