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health advisory Hospital Mental Health 2007-11-15 19:01:00

Feel free to contact me if you need to vent shadow_3211@yahoo.com

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If your diagnosis is accurate and is solely Borderline Personality , yes it can be treated. It's main roots are in trauma, usually family trauma, and it is an area I specialize in treating, so I can say that with some knowledge. It isn't a quick fix treatment and will require significant psychotherapy and a deep committment to exploring your issues and making conscious behavioral changes on your part. You will need to find a good therapist who you develop rapport with and resist the urge to quit therapy or bolt for the door when it gets painful or when your therapist disappoints you by not being available immediately when you feel you need them. The rages you describe sound to be in excess of BPD (Borderline Personality Disorder) and may require more evaluation for medication down the road or a mood stabilizer. An excellent book that you should read, if you have not already, is "I Hate You, Don't Leave Me" and you may want to pick up Marsha Linehan's Skills Training Manual for BPD and work with a therapist well-versed in DBT or working with Borderlines. Your main goals need to focus on increased affect tolerance, the ability to delay gratification and impulse control and development of a stable sense of identity which then begins to guide your behavior. You will need to learn and practice refraining from those behaviors you use currently to act out your feelings and tolerate the painful emotional experiences in order to learn how to cope more effectively. Good Luck-it is treatable if you find a therapist you connect with and are willing to work hard and discuss the reactions you have in therapy with your therapist as opposed to acting out.

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If that is what you have you will need to learn to live with it by getting as much information on this illness as possible. Knowledge is power, know the enemy and find ways of dealing. Don't take this the wrong way but is this the illness of the month? There seem to have been quite a few questions in a similar vein, any way good luck.

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Treatments for BPD have improved in recent years. Group and individual psychotherapy are at least partially effective for many patients. Within the past 15 years, a new psychosocial treatment termed dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) was developed specifically to treat BPD, and this technique has looked promising in treatment studies.6 Pharmacological treatments are often prescribed based on specific target symptoms shown by the individual patient. Antidepressant drugs and mood stabilizers may be helpful for depressed and/or labile mood. Antipsychotic drugs may also be used when there are distortions in thinking.7