Borderline personality disorder

[dprogram]

I fully agree.

 

[Ozarknomad]

Finally, a post I can add something to! I'm a clinical social worker, so this is literally what I do. Yes!! Absolutely you can manage BPD without meds, but it will take loads of processing, hardcore motivation and a fair amount of work. Therapy is expensive, but you can do it on your own- you just have to motivate yourself to do the work. Does that make sense? I'm attaching a DBT skills workbook to this post. It is one of the most evidenced-based treatment plans for BPD. If you were my client, I'd ask you to devote a bit of time every day, don't rush- remember it's about retaining not finishing. I'd want you to find a quiet place to go through the steps in the book. Don't skip ahead. It's all important. Maybe a candle, music if its not distracting, whatever makes you feel comfortable but also still mindful. Can you get a just a cheap notebook to journal and work these skills?

If you've been diagnosed with BPD, and are googling for info, I think the most important thing to remember is that there are NINE possible criteria and a person only needs to meet five for a diagnosis. Meaning, there are hundreds of combinations of symptoms that meet dx criteria, so your BPD might not look like what you see online. (It really should be a spectrum disorder, but our DSM fails there).

So, I had a whole other thing typed out, but I'm afraid of overwhelming you. I think the DBT skills will be a great place to start. Also, I'm new here, so I don't know if you can message me, but if yes, please do.

 

[AG Golda]

Any other hoes out here with bpd who wanna share info/resources/etc so we can try to be Less Crazy™ together?

Anyone have bpd but learned how to manage it without medication?

Anyone "not have bpd anymore" ? Idk some people say u can be "cured" or "grow out of it" with time and therapy since it's usually a trauma response. Idk if I believe that to be true but it sure would be nice because this is A W F U L A N D I W O U L D L I K E T O N O T B E T H I S


Here's some bpd memes:

Hi, me!!! I was diagnosed first with anxiety and depression in My teens, then with bipolar and bpd in early twenties, was an alcoholic for a while, then got sober and they doctors got hold of me and put me on a dozen pill types a day till I was a walking zombie and puking blood almost every day. Im 30 now and I have quit all my pills two years ago because I learned about glykoalkaloid plants. These are caffeine, nicotine, cocaine, solanine, to name a few. Solanine is not spoken about enough but it is in foods we eat every day: potatoes, tomatoes, eggplants, cayenne pepper, bell peppers. Glycoalkaloids give nightmares, depression, psychosis, anxiety, and if ingested once a day, a "sensitive" person like myself might find my mind constantly plagued since effects can last up to 36 hours. I decided that after a lifetime of suicidal thoughts and destructive behavior, I would quit my pills AND glycoalkaloids as one last shot, since I felt I had tried eeeverything else. This changed my life. Of course I still have episodes, if heavily provoked. And of course I don't always have the best reactions. When these things happen, they now seem easier to navigate and to get through, the whole thought process started to change naturally. I do smoke, but the amount of this that some people consume in a day without realizing it, is insane. I know how it sounds, but do a little digging if you feel up to it! Was worth it for me.

 

[Lin]

Anyone have bpd but learned how to manage it without medication?

Anyone "not have bpd anymore" ? Idk some people say u can be "cured" or "grow out of it" with time and therapy

I've been pretty stable off meds for a while. It's less having it go away (would be nice) and more finding ways to manage it that are easy to keep up with and preferably fun.

For mania/paranoia, I try to think harder, not faster. Force myself to process clearly instead of letting gut feelings take the lead. Active breathing and writing things out on cardboard helps.

The worst is when my sleep cycle gets fucked. Between barely sleeping and sleeping forever, I force myself to nap whenever even slightly tired or exercise for that "artificial" endorphin kick.

I'm no doctor or anything close, but having an emergency stash of meds I can taper up/down is nice. Stress, especially stressful people, tends to set me off so I try to avoid that if at all possible.

Alcohol sends me to depression Hell every time, but I've been ok with weed so far.

Edit: just realized BPD wasn't bipolar, mb. Hopefully some of this still helps.

 

[croc]

Finally, a post I can add something to! I'm a clinical social worker, so this is literally what I do. Yes!! Absolutely you can manage BPD without meds, but it will take loads of processing, hardcore motivation and a fair amount of work. Therapy is expensive, but you can do it on your own- you just have to motivate yourself to do the work. Does that make sense? I'm attaching a DBT skills workbook to this post. It is one of the most evidenced-based treatment plans for BPD. If you were my client, I'd ask you to devote a bit of time every day, don't rush- remember it's about retaining not finishing. I'd want you to find a quiet place to go through the steps in the book. Don't skip ahead. It's all important. Maybe a candle, music if its not distracting, whatever makes you feel comfortable but also still mindful. Can you get a just a cheap notebook to journal and work these skills?

If you've been diagnosed with BPD, and are googling for info, I think the most important thing to remember is that there are NINE possible criteria and a person only needs to meet five for a diagnosis. Meaning, there are hundreds of combinations of symptoms that meet dx criteria, so your BPD might not look like what you see online. (It really should be a spectrum disorder, but our DSM fails there).

So, I had a whole other thing typed out, but I'm afraid of overwhelming you. I think the DBT skills will be a great place to start. Also, I'm new here, so I don't know if you can message me, but if yes, please do.

Yo I am months behind on seeing this somehow, thank u! U can absolutely message me

 

[Gin]

I'm sure I eventually will, thank you. I've got shit I need to deal with before I can find my creative process but until then I'm just taking it one day at a time.

Maybe you can picture journal & draw instead of write?

 

[Daisy]

That's not a bad idea, right now not drinking and being active on this garden project im doing has been helping wonders. Eventually i want to work my way into doing journaling and doing creative projects again but for right now just being in a positive environment and working has done alot for my mood and outlook.

 

[AnotherNerd]

Any other hoes out here with bpd who wanna share info/resources/etc so we can try to be Less Crazy™ together?

Anyone have bpd but learned how to manage it without medication?

Anyone "not have bpd anymore" ? Idk some people say u can be "cured" or "grow out of it" with time and therapy since it's usually a trauma response. Idk if I believe that to be true but it sure would be nice because this is A W F U L A N D I W O U L D L I K E T O N O T B E T H I S


Here's some bpd memes:

This is the thread I needed to find years ago, but wasn't ready for until recently. I knew I was bipolar for a while (all my friends seem to turn out to be, so I knew how to describe that to the doctor) but was always wondering what else was wrong.

Once I quit my job (working at fitting in there caused me to hide a lot), my symptoms got noticable enough for me to identify. I figured out it was BPD, since pretty much everything I've read explained a lot about my past activities and feelings even though it's not official.

Since then, I got much more efficient at fucking myself over, so just knowing what the problem is has been comforting. Sometimes I feel like some aspects of my issues help or I enjoy, but for the ones that really bother me, knowing the mechanism helps deal with things.

I started reading through the workbook in the thread and it looks like it will really help. Just after a quick few pages, I'm noticing some of the strategies that I figured out over the years that help me, but I wish I had found out sooner without all the trial and error.

I also now understand why I started getting targeted ads in other places for the statewide mental health program after I started posting here 😅. [My cringy introduction post was made at a very bad time (and needs an update) and I'm sure the data brokers noticed from somewhere I'm tracked, not necessarily here.]

And, thanks for the memes. 👍