# Could it be Borderline Personality Disorder



## Space Addict

Id be glad to talk with anyone else who has this disorder or think they may have. I just discovered it and think it might be a cause for my dp/dr.

The main feature of borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a pervasive pattern of instability in interpersonal relationships, self-image and emotions. People with borderline personality disorder are also usually very impulsive.

This disorder occurs in most by early adulthood. The unstable pattern of interacting with others has persisted for years and is usually closely related to the person's self-image and early social interactions. The pattern is present in a variety of settings (e.g., not just at work or home) and often is accompanied by a similar lability (fluctuating back and forth, sometimes in a quick manner) in a person's emotions and feelings. Relationships and the person's emotion may often be characterized as being shallow.

A person with this disorder will also often exhibit impulsive behaviors and have a majority of the following symptoms:

* * Frantic efforts to avoid real or imagined abandonment
* A pattern of unstable and intense interpersonal relationships characterized by alternating between extremes of idealization and devaluation
* Identity disturbance, such as a significant and persistent unstable self-image or sense of self
* Impulsivity in at least two areas that are potentially self-damaging (e.g., spending, sex, substance abuse, reckless driving, binge eating)
* Recurrent suicidal behavior, gestures, or threats, or self-mutilating behavior
* Emotional instability due to significant reactivity of mood (e.g., intense episodic dysphoria, irritability, or anxiety usually lasting a few hours and only rarely more than a few days)
* Chronic feelings of emptiness
* Inappropriate, intense anger or difficulty controlling anger (e.g., frequent displays of temper, constant anger, recurrent physical fights)
* Transient, stress-related paranoid thoughts or severe dissociative symptoms*

As with all personality disorders, the person must be at least 18 years old before they can be diagnosed with it.

Borderline personality disorder is more prevalent in females (75 percent of diagnoses made are in females). It is thought that borderline personality disorder affects approximately 2 percent of the general population.

Like most personality disorders, borderline personality disorder typically will decrease in intensity with age, with many people experiencing few of the most extreme symptoms by the time they are in the 40s or 50s.
Details about Borderline Personality Disorder Symptoms

Frantic efforts to avoid real or imagined abandonment.

The perception of impending separation or rejection, or the loss of external structure, can lead to profound changes in self-image, emotion, thinking and behavior. Someone with borderline personality disorder will be very sensitive to things happening around them in their environment. They experience intense abandonment fears and inappropriate anger, even when faced with a realistic separation or when there are unavoidable changes in plans. For instance, becoming very angry with someone for being a few minutes late or having to cancel a lunch date. People with borderline personality disorder may believe that this abandonment implies that they are "bad." These abandonment fears are related to an intolerance of being alone and a need to have other people with them. Their frantic efforts to avoid abandonment may include impulsive actions such as self-mutilating or suicidal behaviors.

Unstable and intense relationships.

People with borderline personality disorder may idealize potential caregivers or lovers at the first or second meeting, demand to spend a lot of time together, and share the most intimate details early in a relationship. However, they may switch quickly from idealizing other people to devaluing them, feeling that the other person does not care enough, does not give enough, is not "there" enough. These individuals can empathize with and nurture other people, but only with the expectation that the other person will "be there" in return to meet their own needs on demand. These individuals are prone to sudden and dramatic shifts in their view of others, who may alternately be seen as beneficient supports or as cruelly punitive. Such shifts other reflect disillusionment with a caregiver whose nurturing qualities had been idealized or whose rejection or abandonment is expected.

Identity disturbance.

There are sudden and dramatic shifts in self-image, characterized by shifting goals, values and vocational aspirations. There may be sudden changes in opinions and plans about career, sexual identity, values and types of friends. These individuals may suddenly change from the role of a needy supplicant for help to a righteous avenger of past mistreatment. Although they usually have a self-image that is based on being bad or evil, individuals with borderline personality disorder may at times have feelings that they do not exist at all. Such experiences usually occur in situations in which the individual feels a lack of a meaningful relationship, nurturing and support. These individuals may show worse performance in unstructured work or school situations.

You can also learn more about the detailed characteristics of borderline personality disorder.
How is Borderline Personality Disorder Diagnosed?

Personality disorders such as borderline personality disorder are typically diagnosed by a trained mental health professional, such as a psychologist or psychiatrist. Family physicians and general practitioners are generally not trained or well-equipped to make this type of psychological diagnosis. So while you can initially consult a family physician about this problem, they should refer you to a mental health professional for diagnosis and treatment. There are no laboratory, blood or genetic tests that are used to diagnose borderline personality disorder.

Many people with borderline personality disorder don't seek out treatment. People with personality disorders, in general, do not often seek out treatment until the disorder starts to significantly interfere or otherwise impact a person's life. This most often happens when a person's coping resources are stretched too thin to deal with stress or other life events.

A diagnosis for borderline personality disorder is made by a mental health professional comparing your symptoms and life history with those listed here. They will make a determination whether your symptoms meet the criteria necessary for a personality disorder diagnosis.
Causes of Borderline Personality Disorder

Researchers today don't know what causes borderline personality disorder. There are many theories, however, about the possible causes of borderline personality disorder. Most professionals subscribe to a biopsychosocial model of causation - that is, the causes of are likely due to biological and genetic factors, social factors (such as how a person interacts in their early development with their family and friends and other children), and psychological factors (the individual's personality and temperament, shaped by their environment and learned coping skills to deal with stress). This suggests that no single factor is responsible - rather, it is the complex and likely intertwined nature of all three factors that are important. If a person has this personality disorder, research suggests that there is a slightly increased risk for this disorder to be "passed down" to their children.


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## insaticiable

Space Addict said:


> Id be glad to talk with anyone else who has this disorder or think they may have. I just discovered it and think it might be a cause for my dp/dr.
> 
> The main feature of borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a pervasive pattern of instability in interpersonal relationships, self-image and emotions. People with borderline personality disorder are also usually very impulsive.
> 
> This disorder occurs in most by early adulthood. The unstable pattern of interacting with others has persisted for years and is usually closely related to the person's self-image and early social interactions. The pattern is present in a variety of settings (e.g., not just at work or home) and often is accompanied by a similar lability (fluctuating back and forth, sometimes in a quick manner) in a person's emotions and feelings. Relationships and the person's emotion may often be characterized as being shallow.
> 
> A person with this disorder will also often exhibit impulsive behaviors and have a majority of the following symptoms:
> 
> * * Frantic efforts to avoid real or imagined abandonment
> * A pattern of unstable and intense interpersonal relationships characterized by alternating between extremes of idealization and devaluation
> * Identity disturbance, such as a significant and persistent unstable self-image or sense of self
> * Impulsivity in at least two areas that are potentially self-damaging (e.g., spending, sex, substance abuse, reckless driving, binge eating)
> * Recurrent suicidal behavior, gestures, or threats, or self-mutilating behavior
> * Emotional instability due to significant reactivity of mood (e.g., intense episodic dysphoria, irritability, or anxiety usually lasting a few hours and only rarely more than a few days)
> * Chronic feelings of emptiness
> * Inappropriate, intense anger or difficulty controlling anger (e.g., frequent displays of temper, constant anger, recurrent physical fights)
> * Transient, stress-related paranoid thoughts or severe dissociative symptoms*
> 
> As with all personality disorders, the person must be at least 18 years old before they can be diagnosed with it.
> 
> Borderline personality disorder is more prevalent in females (75 percent of diagnoses made are in females). It is thought that borderline personality disorder affects approximately 2 percent of the general population.
> 
> Like most personality disorders, borderline personality disorder typically will decrease in intensity with age, with many people experiencing few of the most extreme symptoms by the time they are in the 40s or 50s.
> Details about Borderline Personality Disorder Symptoms
> 
> Frantic efforts to avoid real or imagined abandonment.
> 
> The perception of impending separation or rejection, or the loss of external structure, can lead to profound changes in self-image, emotion, thinking and behavior. Someone with borderline personality disorder will be very sensitive to things happening around them in their environment. They experience intense abandonment fears and inappropriate anger, even when faced with a realistic separation or when there are unavoidable changes in plans. For instance, becoming very angry with someone for being a few minutes late or having to cancel a lunch date. People with borderline personality disorder may believe that this abandonment implies that they are "bad." These abandonment fears are related to an intolerance of being alone and a need to have other people with them. Their frantic efforts to avoid abandonment may include impulsive actions such as self-mutilating or suicidal behaviors.
> 
> Unstable and intense relationships.
> 
> People with borderline personality disorder may idealize potential caregivers or lovers at the first or second meeting, demand to spend a lot of time together, and share the most intimate details early in a relationship. However, they may switch quickly from idealizing other people to devaluing them, feeling that the other person does not care enough, does not give enough, is not "there" enough. These individuals can empathize with and nurture other people, but only with the expectation that the other person will "be there" in return to meet their own needs on demand. These individuals are prone to sudden and dramatic shifts in their view of others, who may alternately be seen as beneficient supports or as cruelly punitive. Such shifts other reflect disillusionment with a caregiver whose nurturing qualities had been idealized or whose rejection or abandonment is expected.
> 
> Identity disturbance.
> 
> There are sudden and dramatic shifts in self-image, characterized by shifting goals, values and vocational aspirations. There may be sudden changes in opinions and plans about career, sexual identity, values and types of friends. These individuals may suddenly change from the role of a needy supplicant for help to a righteous avenger of past mistreatment. Although they usually have a self-image that is based on being bad or evil, individuals with borderline personality disorder may at times have feelings that they do not exist at all. Such experiences usually occur in situations in which the individual feels a lack of a meaningful relationship, nurturing and support. These individuals may show worse performance in unstructured work or school situations.
> 
> You can also learn more about the detailed characteristics of borderline personality disorder.
> How is Borderline Personality Disorder Diagnosed?
> 
> Personality disorders such as borderline personality disorder are typically diagnosed by a trained mental health professional, such as a psychologist or psychiatrist. Family physicians and general practitioners are generally not trained or well-equipped to make this type of psychological diagnosis. So while you can initially consult a family physician about this problem, they should refer you to a mental health professional for diagnosis and treatment. There are no laboratory, blood or genetic tests that are used to diagnose borderline personality disorder.
> 
> Many people with borderline personality disorder don't seek out treatment. People with personality disorders, in general, do not often seek out treatment until the disorder starts to significantly interfere or otherwise impact a person's life. This most often happens when a person's coping resources are stretched too thin to deal with stress or other life events.
> 
> A diagnosis for borderline personality disorder is made by a mental health professional comparing your symptoms and life history with those listed here. They will make a determination whether your symptoms meet the criteria necessary for a personality disorder diagnosis.
> Causes of Borderline Personality Disorder
> 
> Researchers today don't know what causes borderline personality disorder. There are many theories, however, about the possible causes of borderline personality disorder. Most professionals subscribe to a biopsychosocial model of causation - that is, the causes of are likely due to biological and genetic factors, social factors (such as how a person interacts in their early development with their family and friends and other children), and psychological factors (the individual's personality and temperament, shaped by their environment and learned coping skills to deal with stress). This suggests that no single factor is responsible - rather, it is the complex and likely intertwined nature of all three factors that are important. If a person has this personality disorder, research suggests that there is a slightly increased risk for this disorder to be "passed down" to their children.


Hello there. I have Borderline Personality Disorder and was diagnosed in November of 2008- my senior year in high school. I'd be more than willing to talk to you if you have any questions. it is a serious mental disorder, and must be diagnosed by a mental health professional. If you do become diagnosed, your best bet would be to try out Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, which is the therapy procedure specifically designed for BPD. Yes, I have read in numerous articles online that depersonalization/dissociation CAN occur in Borderline Personality Disorder, and I take comfort in knowing what the causes of my dp are. I also suffer from Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder.


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## insaticiable

.


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## babybowrain

I think I have this







Especially those paranoid thoughts and idealization...although I never thought I was that extreme...


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## razer777

I fit some of these symptoms but I never act out in the way I guess a borderline personality person does. Like my mood bounces around constantly, I'd say I have some identity problems and I'm constantly revising my own view of myself multiple times a day in my own head but I don't really have any of the impulsivity issues and when people talk to me, no matter how I'm feeling I usually put on a friendly mask and act sociable (but I always make up some excuse to get away).


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## littlehannahx

I fit many of them symptoms yet i have been diagnosed with dissociative identity disorder (DID) which looks extrememly similar its quiet confussing as it is agreed with person above Dialectical behavioral Therapy will probaly the best route to look into when your diagnosed
(also 18 to be diagnosed in US it may be different in the UK =/)


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## hanniballexster

Space Addict said:


> Id be glad to talk with anyone else who has this disorder or think they may have. I just discovered it and think it might be a cause for my dp/dr.
> 
> The main feature of borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a pervasive pattern of instability in interpersonal relationships, self-image and emotions. People with borderline personality disorder are also usually very impulsive.
> 
> This disorder occurs in most by early adulthood. The unstable pattern of interacting with others has persisted for years and is usually closely related to the person's self-image and early social interactions. The pattern is present in a variety of settings (e.g., not just at work or home) and often is accompanied by a similar lability (fluctuating back and forth, sometimes in a quick manner) in a person's emotions and feelings. Relationships and the person's emotion may often be characterized as being shallow.
> 
> A person with this disorder will also often exhibit impulsive behaviors and have a majority of the following symptoms:
> 
> * * Frantic efforts to avoid real or imagined abandonment
> * A pattern of unstable and intense interpersonal relationships characterized by alternating between extremes of idealization and devaluation
> * Identity disturbance, such as a significant and persistent unstable self-image or sense of self
> * Impulsivity in at least two areas that are potentially self-damaging (e.g., spending, sex, substance abuse, reckless driving, binge eating)
> * Recurrent suicidal behavior, gestures, or threats, or self-mutilating behavior
> * Emotional instability due to significant reactivity of mood (e.g., intense episodic dysphoria, irritability, or anxiety usually lasting a few hours and only rarely more than a few days)
> * Chronic feelings of emptiness
> * Inappropriate, intense anger or difficulty controlling anger (e.g., frequent displays of temper, constant anger, recurrent physical fights)
> * Transient, stress-related paranoid thoughts or severe dissociative symptoms*
> 
> As with all personality disorders, the person must be at least 18 years old before they can be diagnosed with it.
> 
> Borderline personality disorder is more prevalent in females (75 percent of diagnoses made are in females). It is thought that borderline personality disorder affects approximately 2 percent of the general population.
> 
> Like most personality disorders, borderline personality disorder typically will decrease in intensity with age, with many people experiencing few of the most extreme symptoms by the time they are in the 40s or 50s.
> Details about Borderline Personality Disorder Symptoms
> 
> Frantic efforts to avoid real or imagined abandonment.
> 
> The perception of impending separation or rejection, or the loss of external structure, can lead to profound changes in self-image, emotion, thinking and behavior. Someone with borderline personality disorder will be very sensitive to things happening around them in their environment. They experience intense abandonment fears and inappropriate anger, even when faced with a realistic separation or when there are unavoidable changes in plans. For instance, becoming very angry with someone for being a few minutes late or having to cancel a lunch date. People with borderline personality disorder may believe that this abandonment implies that they are "bad." These abandonment fears are related to an intolerance of being alone and a need to have other people with them. Their frantic efforts to avoid abandonment may include impulsive actions such as self-mutilating or suicidal behaviors.
> 
> Unstable and intense relationships.
> 
> People with borderline personality disorder may idealize potential caregivers or lovers at the first or second meeting, demand to spend a lot of time together, and share the most intimate details early in a relationship. However, they may switch quickly from idealizing other people to devaluing them, feeling that the other person does not care enough, does not give enough, is not "there" enough. These individuals can empathize with and nurture other people, but only with the expectation that the other person will "be there" in return to meet their own needs on demand. These individuals are prone to sudden and dramatic shifts in their view of others, who may alternately be seen as beneficient supports or as cruelly punitive. Such shifts other reflect disillusionment with a caregiver whose nurturing qualities had been idealized or whose rejection or abandonment is expected.
> 
> Identity disturbance.
> 
> There are sudden and dramatic shifts in self-image, characterized by shifting goals, values and vocational aspirations. There may be sudden changes in opinions and plans about career, sexual identity, values and types of friends. These individuals may suddenly change from the role of a needy supplicant for help to a righteous avenger of past mistreatment. Although they usually have a self-image that is based on being bad or evil, individuals with borderline personality disorder may at times have feelings that they do not exist at all. Such experiences usually occur in situations in which the individual feels a lack of a meaningful relationship, nurturing and support. These individuals may show worse performance in unstructured work or school situations.
> 
> You can also learn more about the detailed characteristics of borderline personality disorder.
> How is Borderline Personality Disorder Diagnosed?
> 
> Personality disorders such as borderline personality disorder are typically diagnosed by a trained mental health professional, such as a psychologist or psychiatrist. Family physicians and general practitioners are generally not trained or well-equipped to make this type of psychological diagnosis. So while you can initially consult a family physician about this problem, they should refer you to a mental health professional for diagnosis and treatment. There are no laboratory, blood or genetic tests that are used to diagnose borderline personality disorder.
> 
> Many people with borderline personality disorder don't seek out treatment. People with personality disorders, in general, do not often seek out treatment until the disorder starts to significantly interfere or otherwise impact a person's life. This most often happens when a person's coping resources are stretched too thin to deal with stress or other life events.
> 
> A diagnosis for borderline personality disorder is made by a mental health professional comparing your symptoms and life history with those listed here. They will make a determination whether your symptoms meet the criteria necessary for a personality disorder diagnosis.
> Causes of Borderline Personality Disorder
> 
> Researchers today don't know what causes borderline personality disorder. There are many theories, however, about the possible causes of borderline personality disorder. Most professionals subscribe to a biopsychosocial model of causation - that is, the causes of are likely due to biological and genetic factors, social factors (such as how a person interacts in their early development with their family and friends and other children), and psychological factors (the individual's personality and temperament, shaped by their environment and learned coping skills to deal with stress). This suggests that no single factor is responsible - rather, it is the complex and likely intertwined nature of all three factors that are important. If a person has this personality disorder, research suggests that there is a slightly increased risk for this disorder to be "passed down" to their children.


Hi, I don't have BPD. My DR (I don't have DP) started suddenly following a med change and a head injury which started around the same time. I also have a history of unexplained anemias which my doc is onlu just starting- after 2 years- to take seriously (not all anemias are caused by iron defiency, some are genetic, some can cause neurological and psych features etc). I have a lot of autoimmune disorders, etc, so who knows what this is.

In order to be diagnosed with BPD (which is a cluster B personality disorder and an axis 2 disorder) you need to have 5 of the 9 personality traits (according to my psychologist everyone has SOME BPD traits, its when they are extensive or extreme that they count towards as a dx) So for me:

*1. I never worry about abandonment. I am estranged from my parents, but made some sort of effort to talk to them. I have two friends, one is a major alcoholic, the other is bipolar, but usually I feel most content alone. Don't get me wrong, the few friends I have (I have a good friend in Boston i don't see often) I love, but I enjoy being alone, and I am not afraid or fearful of being abandoned. So that would be a big NO for me on that one. I have a lot of fears (phobias)- death, blood, needles, heights... but abandonment is not one of them.*

*I don't go between extremes of devaluing or idolizing people.* I have some crushes from television, and for my friends, we get into the odd argument, nothing major. (0% of the arguments I've had with my buds have been when we were drunk and trying to quit smoking and we usually both apologied the next day, it wasn't dramatic, etc... one person in my life I recently got "rid" of because he was bipolar, schizotypal, lying to me constantly and wanted to know where I was 24-7 and I felt suffocated to him (I gave him about 12 chances to stop acting like this and explained how I felt and he didn't change so I told him I needed some time to myself, he freaked out and ripped up my stuff and trashed the hall etc... even then, I didn't swear at him or get particularly upset, I just want him out of my life. *So that's no for me on that one, too. *

*As for identity disturbance, I don't have DP, but I have major DR, and I know who I am.* I have been heterosexual and known it since I was about 6 (I had my first real crush when I was 5 on "Laddie" from the Lost Boys), I am agnostic and have been for as long as I can remember, my personality, interests, sexual orientation, etc... remain pretty stable and I feel like I know myself pretty well. I feel totally 100% real. The outer world feels weird and tripped out and my perception (vision, balance, etc) is off, but *I* feel like my plain old self (its actually a bit boring, knowing yourself this well). Oh well. That's no for the third one (Yes, I am female, too, and I think women are diagnosed with it more than men because women tend to express more of their private thoughts with stranges like psychiatrists whereas a lot of guys tend to talk less and "express" themselves by getting into fights more, etc... *but yeah, so no for that too.*

*I'm not impulsive.* I budget, almost never go to movies, have only had sex with one person (I'm 28), etc... so no on impulsive. The most impulsive I am is going on a crazy carnival ride... that's about it, if anything, what kept me in the hospital after my "suicide attempt" was that it was too well planned out. *Long story, but for impulsivity, no (it's taken me literally 4 hours to pick out a movie from the rental place before... seriously!)*

*This is the only one where I might meet the criteria.* In my mind my self injury got out of control (I used to self injure like ccrazy on paxil, don't do it AT ALL now that I am off paxil, and my mother used to hand me razor blades to go cut myself with...). I started self injuring very young (before I was in elementary school) and for me it's always had an OCD element to it. As for suicide, I have never threatened it (what they are calling an attempt, I never threatened before hand), I don't have suicidal ideation (even when I feel depressed and low, etc) and I definately never made repeated suicide attempts (I'm not certain I ever made one, although that's a long story, and a strange one)... but at any rate, I had a long history of severe self injury, some of which was "requested" by a parent, etc.... I also don't self injure at ALL anymore, and have never made repeated suicide threats or thought about suicide over and over, so for the suicide part, no, and as for the self injury part... if a parent tells you when you are little that you can cut yourself or they can hurt you worse, is that really self injury? I guess it is, but I know I would never have started that if I hadn't been initated into it, so even that's suspect. But this might be the only one that I PARTIALLY meet some of the criteria for (past self injury related to child abuse).

*Emotionally I am pretty stable actually.* I always have a low-level anxiety and get panic attacks (free floating and some are caused by specific things that remind me of past experiences), but my mood itself is usually pretty stable... most of the day I think about the DR alot, get stressed/out of breath/physically fatigued easily and have a lot of headaches and stomachaches (I carry my stress around in my body), but I am not clinically depressed (just really tired and sick of the DR now)... I don't alternate between extremes of happiness or sadness and I don't get angry that often, so all in all I'd say my mood is really stable, although I do get panic attacks from PTSD, usually in direct result to something that triggers me or when I get into reading and forget to take my benzos. So no for this one.

*I never get feelings of emptiness.* My head feels constantly full of past memories or future plans or just funny stuff that randomly swirls around, and I am always thinking about something or reading something or doing something (even when I appear to be nothing to people who don't know me well). I am afraid of death (my inevitable death sometimes) scared of panic attacks, scared teh DR will never go away, so I have a lot of fear, but no feelings of emptiness. Sometimes I wish I could be a little less full because I feel a lot of grief over some stuff in my past, but I've never felt empty. Exhausted? Yeah, I ALWAYS feel tired, like I could sleep for a week and still be tired, but empty... I can't remember ever feeling empty in my life (or lonely for that matter, although I have felt out of place and alienated... but those are entirely different emotions). Anyway, emptiness, no. Fear, alone (as opposed to empty), obsessive and exhausted? Yup. Empty... never. 
*
AS for anger... I am capable of feeling anger (I am human) but it takes a LOT for me to get angry.* I have never been in a physical fight in my life.. I have been challeneged and walked away, I had kids throw rocks at me because I was a geek in grade 8 and so, I have been beaten up and defended myself and walked away... but I have never been in an actual fight, I don't really feel angry very often (I have felt anger, but it takes a lot before I lose my temper- maybe 2 or 3 times in my entire life after being goaded for more than an hour type thing?). i also don't think I repress my anger, I usually try to talk out what's bothering me with whoever is involved, and if that's not possible, my counsellor. So anger I'd say is an emotional, like emptiness, I don't feel often. (I feel more frustration than anger- frustration with my own panic attacks, frustration with soome medical problems I have that limit what I can do, frustration with life sometimes, but not anger). *So no to that too.*

*As for paranoia and dissociation... I am not paranoid, period*, and as for dissociation, I am not convinced my derealization is anxiety related (although my psychiatrist assumes all Derealization is)- I have some other medical conditions, including chronic anemias (not due to iron deficiencies) that can cause neurological symptoms. My DR causes me to feel groggy, off balance, and like I am dreaming and not clear headed or fully awake.. sort of like someone keep waking me up in the middle of a dream but I can never fully wake up. I have constant DR and it doesn't seem to get worse or better related to my stress level (but my days are pretty consistent)... personally I think it's a medical issue with me, not psychiatric. However, because some people consider ALL DR symptoms dissociative in nature (even though there is a documented long list of medical conditions that can cause DR- and I don't have any DP at all, which I find interesting, my perception, vision and sense of lucidity/how alert I am is messed up, but I myself don't feel distanced from my own body, *I just feel sort of... brain damaged, half asleep, or something, like I have just woken up from general anasethesia and my vision and shit is still messed up. *

I wrote all this out because some people might go through a list of symptoms for BPD or so and say "yeah, that fits, that fits, etc| without really stopping and analyzing each symptom. Also, a lot of (especially old fashioned) psychiatrists will assume that ANY self injury is a sign for attention or MEANS the person is BPD, which isn't true.

Kids with autism and mental retardation often self injure (ie: head banging) for the stimulation.
Some people suffering from bad drug "trips" self injure, as can those with schizophrenia, OCD (washing one's hands till they are cracked and bleeding etc). Cutting with an actual razor blade can be associated with certain forms of BDSM behavior, certain forms of OCD, neurological disorders, etc....

Oh, and no, I have never been diagnosed with BPD or any personality disorder, even though I have been hospitalized for panic and flashbacks etc... before....

However, after writing all this out, I am wondering if those that have DP (as opposed to only DR) are at more risk for DP than those with DR (I've had about 10 concussions in my life, which could explain my vision and sound and perceptions feeling distorted, the vertigo, dizziness, trouble walking, trouble with balance, numbness and tingling, nausea, headaches, etc)... then again most shrinks (mine, for instance, had never heard of derealization or depersonalization before and he is apparently an "anxiety specialist"- he also confuses DP and DR all the time).

Just wanted to write out that I don't think DP or DR can automatically be assumed to be BPD or any personality disorder, any more than it can automatically be assumed to be caused by dropping too much acid or having a brain tumor, etc...

Take care everyone. Sorry for how long this is. Alex


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## xenabaiche

I have BPD, not officially diagnosed but in the process of it. I have all 9 symptoms and they kick my butt everyday! I also have DP (not diagnosed yet, but its either that or dementia, lol) which is normal with BPD.

So if you have DP, and you think you have BPD, it's possible. But only a psychiatrist can really tell. BPD takes quite a while to diagnose.


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## kate_edwin

might be better off wit ha therapist to dx bpd. dissociation can be common with it. i was dx'd with it 8, 10 years ago but i dont have it


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