BPD Misdiagnosis and Consequences of it.

Video from Dr Daniel Fox - expert in the Personality Disorders

Daniel says in this video that diagnosis is not for the purpose of 'self-identification' but for devising an appropriate treatment plan because the best practice for BPD is more clearly some very specific unravelling therapies (DBT & others) compared to others diagnoses. 

For me, the purpose of diagnosis, especially being a dual-diagnosis with Bipolar, has been 'the Map' element as well as the treatment - recognising behaviour, reactions, states, etc & being able to identify where I am. Also, the 'accounting for my life having been relentlessly impossible' element really, it cannot be overstated how helpful this has been.

Having spent 20 years in the psychotherapeutic community - both as client & in training to be a psychotherapist - (2/3 qualified) also in self help & also in the mindfulness movement I think its important to highlight the fact that some Severe Mental Illnesses including BPD, are not helped & indeed can be actively hindered by both some intensive mindfulness practices & some intensive historical trauma re-living in therapy.

Both of these valid self help routes to manage mental illness caused me harm, whilst I paradoxically completely stand by both of their values in managing mental health generally speaking - BPD is an especially confusing & messed up response to stress, its a very maladaptive response to trauma, adversity & distress. 

Previously, long believed unhealable, the BPD specific therapy, DBT, devised by Marsha Lineham, combines the principles of mindfulness with learning interpersonal skills, distress tolerance and emotion regulation with the prerequisite of you having to create 'a life that's worth living'.

The popular new age, predominantly male pastime of the fetishisation of the 'eradication of ones ego' has been one of the most destructive ideologies I have been surrounded by over the years  As a woman with a fundamentally disrupted & damaged sense of self, destroying what wasn't even there proved extremely dangerous. I became anorexic around these influences. Not saying some men might not benefit from less over developed ego though, just sayin.

I am not alone in my finding some mindfulness practices harmful - I suspect the more sensitive you are the less you have to try to be mindful - in essence 'sensitivity' is a form of uncontrolled mindfulness/ hyper awareness - ultimately what I needed was distraction from my super sensitivity & a balanced sense of self.

BBC Article

"I had assumed that I was just uniquely bad at taming my thoughts. Yet a growing body of research suggests that such stories may be surprisingly common, with one study from 2019 showing that at least 25% of regular meditators have experienced adverse events, from panic attacks and depression to an unsettling sense of “dissociation”."

Ah, yes, dissociation, that really really difficult symptom of BPD........