Personality Disorders and Coping

[BurningVenus]

It may not be the case for TK, from one short paragraph it's hard to say, but for some people we jump in too quickly on what are normal behaviours for a certain age group and diagnose them not as what they are but as disorders.

And yes Tinky those are pretty normal feelings for a teenager, in part they feel they're the centre of the world and in part they feel that everyone is looking at them and judging them badly on how they look, what they wear, their most minute reaction.

I'm with SP on this one. Psychiatric problems can be overdiagnosed, especially in young people. What was the purpose of giving TK such strong labels if there was an inadequate treatment plan or none at all?

 

[lafever]

Theres a really cool site called soberrecovery.com thats set up just like this one, i`m a member there too, i don`t visit it as much nowadays as i have developed my own conclusions to life and rather than argue my points i surrender as to not cause any conflicts. I still like to help out the newbees so once in a while i hop in there, it was really helpfull to me dealing with my wifes death and overcomming alot of stuff. It`s helped me to become a better person as to the way i cope with things. There are many different forums, like, Grief and loss, christians in recovery, bikers in recovery, woman in recovery, and so on. Any one out there reading this check it out, i wouldn`t recomend it unless i believed in it, it really helped me. My member name is lafever there too.

lafever

 

[ClaireTalon]

Nothing as grave as others here, but I have several times been diagnosed as being incapable of forming stable relationships. Indeed, I have only had three longer relationships so far, and two of those broke due to the circumstances.

In retrospect, I sometimes think I could have done more to maintain them, there would have been ways, but at that point I guess I preferred to return to my independet state of life. I am now working in my current relationship, and putting some work into keeping it running. I don't think this is a problem that I need professional help with, I now feel like I can work it out myself.

 

[D_Humper E Bogart]

Psychiatrists are fucking scum in my "ever so" humble position.

Anyway, take me. I literally lose physical and emotional power during the day, can hear 'the music of my mind' louder than speaking conversation and can plot scenarios out in my sleep. Being introverted is just another thing as well.

The point is, that as far as I care. I don't have a problem, people have a problem with me, that is another subject altogether. I honestly believe that in many cases, the problem is that people are pushed into artificial situations contrary to their true nature and THAT is where conflict comes from.

 

[Principessa]

I'm with SP on this one. Psychiatric problems can be overdiagnosed, especially in young people. That is true, however that is not the case here. What was the purpose of giving TK such strong labels if there was an inadequate treatment plan or none at all?

ROTFLMAO :biggrin1: There is no cure and no effective treatment for pancreatic cancer or inflammatory breast cancer. Would you prefer oncologists not tell patients they have these diseases because the likelihood of survival is so slim?

 

[D_Gunther Snotpole]

I prefer using DBT because it includes much of what is good about CBT and is more of a holistic approach. It is a way of teaching mindfulness and helps the client to focus on the present. It's rather Zen-like.

I have been diagnosed with depression and with a mild degree of masochism. The depression is pretty much gone, I'd say. And the masochism I cope with.
The most effective thing I found was mindfulness meditation. I do intensive Zen practice, which is all about mindfulness meditation.
Nothing else has freed me up as much.

 

[BurningVenus]

I guess I have nothing to really hold back at this point.
I have mainly Avoidant Personality Disorder, with also borderline Borderline Personality Disorder.

The criteria for diagnosis are:

1. Avoids occupational activities that involve significant interpersonal contact, because of fears of criticism, disapproval, or rejection
2. Is unwilling to get involved with people unless certain of being liked
3. Shows restraint within intimate relationships because of the fear of being shamed or ridiculed
4. Is preoccupied with being criticized or rejected in social situations
5. Is inhibited in new interpersonal situations because of feelings of inadequacy
6. Views self as socially inept, personally unappealing, or inferior to others
7. Is unusually reluctant to take personal risks or to engage in any new activities because they may prove embarrassing

I actually suffer from every aspect of Avoidant PD. With the Borderline there are fewer that I suffer from.

1. Frantic efforts to avoid real or imagined abandonment. [Not including suicidal or self-mutilating behavior covered in Criterion 5]
2. A pattern of unstable and intense interpersonal relationships characterized by alternating between extremes of idealization and devaluation.
3. Identity disturbance: markedly and persistently unstable self-image or sense of self.
4. Impulsivity in at least two areas that are potentially self-damaging (e.g., spending, promiscuous sex, eating disorders, substance abuse, reckless driving, binge eating). [Again, not including suicidal or self-mutilating behavior covered in Criterion 5]
5. Recurrent suicidal behavior, gestures, threats, or self-mutilating behavior.
6. Affective instability due to a marked reactivity of mood (e.g., intense episodic dysphoria, irritability, or anxiety usually lasting a few hours and only rarely more than a few days).
7. Chronic feelings of emptiness.
8. Inappropriate, intense anger or difficulty controlling anger (e.g., frequent displays of temper, constant anger, recurrent physical fights).
9. Transient, stress-related paranoid ideation or severe dissociative symptoms.

They said that my sypmtoms for Borderline were not strong enough or pronounced enough at this point in time to diagnose it as a serious thing. There is nothing that they can do for me either. The psyciatrist basically told me I would have to learn to cope. The took me off Olanzapine becuase the risk of Diabetes for me was too high. For soothing techniques I used Satsuma Body Butter from The Body Shop, sleep relaxation music on my iPod, and my computer. Most of my time spent online is destressing. I work in a grocery store and that helps a lot, I can practice talking to people and holding conversation.

TK
I am not minimizing your issues in any way. However, its possible that you have avoidant personality style and not a full blown personality disorder. It could also be something like social anxiety disorder, or generalized anxiety disorder. They would cause the same kinds of issues, like avoiding people, but the prognosis is better.

Anxiety can be helped with therapy and medication --- AND doing exactly the kinds of self-soothing routines that you've described.

I say these things because you are working, and you are participating in this forum, and those are things that someone with APD might find impossible. The fear of rejection and ridicule involved in disclosing personal problems and opinions here would be too much. If they did try, they would go running off the first time someone disagreed with them. I don't see that in you.

As far as borderline personality disorder, IMO you are too young to be assessed with something so serious. As you get older and have more life experience, the patterns in your work and personal life will emerge and that would be a part of assessing something like BPD.

 

[Principessa]

Y'all need some facts.

Borderline Personality Disorder

Raising questions, finding answers

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a serious mental illness characterized by pervasive instability in moods, interpersonal relationships, self-image, and behavior. This instability often disrupts family and work life, long-term planning, and the individual's sense of self-identity. Originally thought to be at the "borderline" of psychosis, people with BPD suffer from a disorder of emotion regulation. While less well known than schizophrenia or bipolar disorder (manic-depressive illness), BPD is more common, affecting 2 percent of adults, mostly young women.1 There is a high rate of self-injury without suicide intent, as well as a significant rate of suicide attempts and completed suicide in severe cases.2,3 Patients often need extensive mental health services, and account for 20 percent of psychiatric hospitalizations.4 Yet, with help, many improve over time and are eventually able to lead productive lives.
Symptoms

While a person with depression or bipolar disorder typically endures the same mood for weeks, a person with BPD may experience intense bouts of anger, depression, and anxiety that may last only hours, or at most a day.5 These may be associated with episodes of impulsive aggression, self-injury, and drug or alcohol abuse. Distortions in cognition and sense of self can lead to frequent changes in long-term goals, career plans, jobs, friendships, gender identity, and values. Sometimes people with BPD view themselves as fundamentally bad, or unworthy. They may feel unfairly misunderstood or mistreated, bored, empty, and have little idea who they are. Such symptoms are most acute when people with BPD feel isolated and lacking in social support, and may result in frantic efforts to avoid being alone.
People with BPD often have highly unstable patterns of social relationships. While they can develop intense but stormy attachments, their attitudes towards family, friends, and loved ones may suddenly shift from idealization (great admiration and love) to devaluation (intense anger and dislike). Thus, they may form an immediate attachment and idealize the other person, but when a slight separation or conflict occurs, they switch unexpectedly to the other extreme and angrily accuse the other person of not caring for them at all. Even with family members, individuals with BPD are highly sensitive to rejection, reacting with anger and distress to such mild separations as a vacation, a business trip, or a sudden change in plans. These fears of abandonment seem to be related to difficulties feeling emotionally connected to important persons when they are physically absent, leaving the individual with BPD feeling lost and perhaps worthless. Suicide threats and attempts may occur along with anger at perceived abandonment and disappointments.
People with BPD exhibit other impulsive behaviors, such as excessive spending, binge eating and risky sex. BPD often occurs together with other psychiatric problems, particularly bipolar disorder, depression, anxiety disorders, substance abuse, and other personality disorders.
Treatment

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
Recent Research Findings

Although the cause of BPD is unknown, both environmental and genetic factors are thought to play a role in predisposing patients to BPD symptoms and traits. Studies show that many, but not all individuals with BPD report a history of abuse, neglect, or separation as young children.8 Forty to 71 percent of BPD patients report having been sexually abused, usually by a non-caregiver.9 Researchers believe that BPD results from a combination of individual vulnerability to environmental stress, neglect or abuse as young children, and a series of events that trigger the onset of the disorder as young adults. Adults with BPD are also considerably more likely to be the victim of violence, including rape and other crimes. This may result from both harmful environments as well as impulsivity and poor judgement in choosing partners and lifestyles.
NIMH-funded neuroscience research is revealing brain mechanisms underlying the impulsivity, mood instability, aggression, anger, and negative emotion seen in BPD. Studies suggest that people predisposed to impulsive aggression have impaired regulation of the neural circuits that modulate emotion.10 The amygdala, a small almond-shaped structure deep inside the brain, is an important component of the circuit that regulates negative emotion. In response to signals from other brain centers indicating a perceived threat, it marshals fear and arousal. This might be more pronounced under the influence of drugs like alcohol, or stress. Areas in the front of the brain (pre-frontal area) act to dampen the activity of this circuit. Recent brain imaging studies show that individual differences in the ability to activate regions of the prefrontal cerebral cortex thought to be involved in inhibitory activity predict the ability to suppress negative emotion.11
Serotonin, norepinephrine and acetylcholine are among the chemical messengers in these circuits that play a role in the regulation of emotions, including sadness, anger, anxiety, and irritability. Drugs that enhance brain serotonin function may improve emotional symptoms in BPD. Likewise, mood-stabilizing drugs that are known to enhance the activity of GABA, the brain's major inhibitory neurotransmitter, may help people who experience BPD-like mood swings. Such brain-based vulnerabilities can be managed with help from behavioral interventions and medications, much like people manage susceptibility to diabetes or high blood pressure.7
Future Progress

Studies that translate basic findings about the neural basis of temperament, mood regulation, and cognition into clinically relevant insights�which bear directly on BPD�represent a growing area of NIMH-supported research. Research is also underway to test the efficacy of combining medications with behavioral treatments like DBT, and gauging the effect of childhood abuse and other stress in BPD on brain hormones. Data from the first prospective, longitudinal study of BPD, which began in the early 1990s, is expected to reveal how treatment affects the course of the illness. It will also pinpoint specific environmental factors and personality traits that predict a more favorable outcome. The Institute is also collaborating with a private foundation to help attract new researchers to develop a better understanding and better treatment for BPD.


http://www.nimh.nih.gov/publicat/bpd.cfm

I posted all the info NIMH - National Institute for Mental Health, had available you may click the above link to check the references for validity.

 

[BurningVenus]

Because of the name of the thread, I just want to make sure that y'all know that major depression, OCD, ADD and bi-polar disorder are not personality disorders.

For more info:

NIMH: National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) Home Page :smile:

 

[lafever]

Orcambomber

Thank you for that thread it was incitefull.

Burning Venus

Thanks, now i believe i have yet another disorder.lol

lafever

 

[Principessa]

Because of the name of the thread, I just want to make sure that y'all know that major depression, OCD, ADD and bi-polar disorder are not personality disorders.

For more info:

NIMH: National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) Home Page :smile:

Thank you! I was gonna say that but didn't want to sound like a bitch. Sometimes, things like that need to come from someone without the diagnosis being discussed. :smile:

 

[Meniscus]

Depression and anxiety for me. My depression has become mild and chronic. I haven't had any major problems with anxiety for a couple of years now, but the next time I have a major life change it will probably come up again, which I why I've spent years avoiding any major life changes, even though I'm long overdue to make some changes.

...I have mainly Avoidant Personality Disorder, with also borderline Borderline Personality Disorder.

The criteria for diagnosis are:

1. Avoids occupational activities that involve significant interpersonal contact, because of fears of criticism, disapproval, or rejection
2. Is unwilling to get involved with people unless certain of being liked
3. Shows restraint within intimate relationships because of the fear of being shamed or ridiculed
4. Is preoccupied with being criticized or rejected in social situations
5. Is inhibited in new interpersonal situations because of feelings of inadequacy
6. Views self as socially inept, personally unappealing, or inferior to others
7. Is unusually reluctant to take personal risks or to engage in any new activities because they may prove embarrassing

I haven't been diagnosed with this--in fact, I've never heard of it before--but I meet all these criteria to varying degrees, which is part of the reason I'm spending my vacation home, alone, being bored and feeling pretty worthless. I wonder, though, where do you draw the line between having a personality disorder, and merely being shy and insecure?

I have very few friends, a very limited social life, and I'm bored and lonely. I never know what to do with my free time. Whenever I come up with ideas, I talk myself out of doing them (too much money, don't want to deal with the stress of travel, don't want to do it alone, etc.) I don't know how to meet people and make friends. How do I determine if these things constitute a psychological disorder, or just procrastination, laziness, and bad habits on my part? Whether it's a disorder or not, it's still a problem and is detrimental to my quality of life and sense of well-being, so what do I do about it?

I tried psychotherapy for a year and I didn't find the process very helpful. I just didn't think I was making any progress or seeing any changes in myself. Should I try again? How does one go about picking a good psychotherapist?

 

[Aitch]

I have leanings towards having a NPD (but not 'officially' diagnosed), except for when suffering PMT when I become a jibbering, inadequate, neurotic, pathetic, insecure, depressed, emotional, wreck. Hopefully, thats been sorted today by having my coil replaced. Fingers crossed.

 

[B_Think_Kink]

TK
I am not minimizing your issues in any way. However, its possible that you have avoidant personality style and not a full blown personality disorder. It could also be something like social anxiety disorder, or generalized anxiety disorder. They would cause the same kinds of issues, like avoiding people, but the prognosis is better.

Anxiety can be helped with therapy and medication --- AND doing exactly the kinds of self-soothing routines that you've described.

I say these things because you are working, and you are participating in this forum, and those are things that someone with APD might find impossible. The fear of rejection and ridicule involved in disclosing personal problems and opinions here would be too much. If they did try, they would go running off the first time someone disagreed with them. I don't see that in you.

As far as borderline personality disorder, IMO you are too young to be assessed with something so serious. As you get older and have more life experience, the patterns in your work and personal life will emerge and that would be a part of assessing something like BPD.

No I'm pretty sure I didn't spend 8 months on a waiting list to be told I have a style....
This place is my outsource. I hide behind a screen name... My life is just lived through my computer, it's easier that way, easier than expressing any form of real emotion. Anxiety and paranoia was being medicated at some point... but they stopped that.
I think seeing as I've been diagnosed with APD I've been able to grab a handle and say yes I realize that this is something I'll never get over... BUT I can't let it effect my life online. If you check my post history I get very verbal when people don't agree with me, no one has started anything huge with me yet, I've been lucky. I'm pretty easy to get along with. *bitch mode* You don't know anything about me, so don't bother trying to see anything in me, kthx.

Depression and anxiety for me. My depression has become mild and chronic. I haven't had any major problems with anxiety for a couple of years now, but the next time I have a major life change it will probably come up again, which I why I've spent years avoiding any major life changes, even though I'm long overdue to make some changes.
[/list]I haven't been diagnosed with this--in fact, I've never heard of it before--but I meet all these criteria to varying degrees, which is part of the reason I'm spending my vacation home, alone, being bored and feeling pretty worthless. I wonder, though, where do you draw the line between having a personality disorder, and merely being shy and insecure?

I have very few friends, a very limited social life, and I'm bored and lonely. I never know what to do with my free time. Whenever I come up with ideas, I talk myself out of doing them (too much money, don't want to deal with the stress of travel, don't want to do it alone, etc.) I don't know how to meet people and make friends. How do I determine if these things constitute a psychological disorder, or just procrastination, laziness, and bad habits on my part? Whether it's a disorder or not, it's still a problem and is detrimental to my quality of life and sense of well-being, so what do I do about it?

I tried psychotherapy for a year and I didn't find the process very helpful. I just didn't think I was making any progress or seeing any changes in myself. Should I try again? How does one go about picking a good psychotherapist?

I had to be funneled through a bunch of paths to get to see a psychiatrist. I had to see a family doctor, see a councilor, see a psychologist for many many months, then see the shrink, then go back to my psychologist. All in all it helped clear many things up for me. I was able to form somewhat of bonds with my friends. I've seen two psychotherapists, and shied right away from males. I have a problem with males in power including law enforcement, shrinks, and teachers. I felt the first person I talked to didn't do anything for me... I wasn't ready to get help. The second person seemed genuinely interested in me, and I needed that... I had hit rock bottom... I have word documents of those days...

 

[earllogjam]

Psychiatrists are fucking scum in my "ever so" humble position.

Anyway, take me. I literally lose physical and emotional power during the day, can hear 'the music of my mind' louder than speaking conversation and can plot scenarios out in my sleep. Being introverted is just another thing as well.

The point is, that as far as I care. I don't have a problem, people have a problem with me, that is another subject altogether. I honestly believe that in many cases, the problem is that people are pushed into artificial situations contrary to their true nature and THAT is where conflict comes from.

Yes, I agree with you on this one. Therapists are not in the business of getting you better. They benefit only if you have psychiatric problems to fix. There is no incentive for you getting better. The best they can offer is a ear or shoulder to cry for an hourly rate in IMHO, kind of like a rent a friend.

I am dubious to put any faith in someone who has the audacity and claims they can diagnose and treat people with emotional problems with only 2 years of book learning and schooling. With all their subjective opinions and bravado it all seems like a crash course to screwing up other people's lives. Sorry for being so harsh here but I have known far too many therapists around here that have lives so screwed up that you just have to laugh and realize that it is just the blind leading the blind in their profession. It is probably the reason why they got into the profession in the first place- to understand why they themselves are so fucked up. Physician heal thyself.

What is "normal" anyways? It's what these so called "experts" say it is - and that just doesn't sit well with me.

I have been diagnosed with depression and with a mild degree of masochism. The depression is pretty much gone, I'd say. And the masochism I cope with.
The most effective thing I found was mindfulness meditation. I do intensive Zen practice, which is all about mindfulness meditation.
Nothing else has freed me up as much.

I also have a daily practice of zazen meditation and yoga which has benefited me more that I ever imagined. It has instilled clarity, emotional discipline and focus in my life - not to mention the great health benefits and a general feeling of vitality.

 

[wldhoney]

I know several people with personality disorders, including my brother. He was diagnosed with Narcissitic Personality Disorder, which became apparent when he started going thru puberty, though at the time we didn't realize what was wrong. Looking back I can recall incidents during our childhood that were a prelude.

Sadly, for those around someone with NPD, it is one of the hardest to deal with, as most WILL not recognize that they have it or that they need help. Instead they believe everyone else has the issue.

 

[earllogjam]

In Papua New Guinea, they at one time practiced cannibalism. There probably was a personality disorder diagnosis for those members who would not eat the flesh of others.

Point being that these personality "disorders" are unique to the society in which one lives. They are value judgements and should be understood in that context IMO.

 

[whatireallywant]

I sound like the avoidant personality one, or social anxiety. But I was not born that way. I have an exact cause that I can pinpoint and tell you - it was due to being picked on by nearly every kid in my class in school, and even some of the teachers (!) for a variety of things: Everything I did and said was picked on, even the way I talk and the way I walk!

As a preschooler, I was pretty well adjusted but even then had body image problems - but I couldn't even be "normal" about that - I thought I was too thin! And I can pinpoint an exact cause for that too - my relatives talking about how "skinny and poor looking" I was! (I'm no longer skinny, but I still have body image problems. I definitely no longer think I'm too thin, though!)

I think I may have undiagnosed ADD too, but since I've never been tested, I don't know. Some of the reports of me in school seem to suggest this but they didn't test me.

 

[BurningVenus]

ROTFLMAO :biggrin1: There is no cure and no effective treatment for pancreatic cancer or inflammatory breast cancer. Would you prefer oncologists not tell patients they have these diseases because the likelihood of survival is so slim?

She said that she can only get therapy over a web cam.

 

[Principessa]

TK
I am not minimizing your issues in any way. However, its possible that you have avoidant personality style and not a full blown personality disorder. It could also be something like social anxiety disorder, or generalized anxiety disorder. They would cause the same kinds of issues, like avoiding people, but the prognosis is better.

Anxiety can be helped with therapy and medication --- AND doing exactly the kinds of self-soothing routines that you've described.

I say these things because you are working, and you are participating in this forum, and those are things that someone with APD might find impossible. The fear of rejection and ridicule involved in disclosing personal problems and opinions here would be too much. If they did try, they would go running off the first time someone disagreed with them. I don't see that in you.

As far as borderline personality disorder, IMO you are too young to be assessed with something so serious. BULLSHIT! I know someone whose daughter was diagnosed with it at 13. That is the old way of thinking; the new school and training shows that one doesn't have to be a victim of physical or sexual abuse to be diagnosed nor do you have to wait until you have fuckedup for half a lifetime to get the appropriate diagnosis and treatment. As you get older and have more life experience, the patterns in your work and personal life will emerge and that would be a part of assessing something like BPD.

I know several people with personality disorders, including my brother. He was diagnosed with Narcissitic Personality Disorder, which became apparent when he started going thru puberty, though at the time we didn't realize what was wrong. Looking back I can recall incidents during our childhood that were a prelude.

Sadly, for those around someone with NPD, it is one of the hardest to deal with, as most WILL not recognize that they have it or that they need help. Instead they believe everyone else has the issue.

Welcome to the hell that was my childhood. :redface: My mom, a retired kindergarten teacher had an unneccessary tummy tuck at 68. Now she wants to have her eyes done. She looks great! She always does, that's part of having a Narcissitic Personality Disorder.