Short Round

White bedspread on today, which is a mistake...add 3 cats and some rain and dirt...I continue to enjoy a lovely visit. I am up this morning to appreciate it, and to pick a new zinnia. What color, do yo think? Pink, pink, pink or orange, yellow? Pink, it is. I visited a new garden yesterday: daisies, elephant ear, begonia. There was a forest all around, and a real pond, with a real dock.

I don't want to drink or cut. I continue to be stable on my medications, although I am binge eating. More on my post, tomorrow.

I will leave you with a definition. This is from the NAMI website:

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a serious mental illness that can be challenging for everyone involved, including the individuals with the illness, as well their friends and family members. BPD is characterized by impulsivity and instability in mood, self-image, and personal relationships. The treatments and longer-term studies of BPD offer hope for good outcomes for most individuals who live with BPD. Ideas to name the condition in a manner that better describes the pattern of concerns (e.g., Emotion Dysregulation Disorder) have been advanced but no name change to the condition is planned for the release of DSM-5.

What is borderline personality disorder (BPD) and how is it diagnosed?

Borderline personality disorder is diagnosed by mental health professionals following a comprehensive psychiatric interview that may include talking with a person’s previous clinicians, review of prior records, a medical evaluation, and when appropriate, interviews with friends and family. There is no specific single medical test (e.g., blood test) to diagnose BPD and a diagnosis is not based on a single sign or symptom. Rather, BPD is diagnosed by a mental health professional based on sustained patterns of thinking and behavior in an individual. Some people may have “borderline personality traits” which means that they do not meet criteria for diagnosis with BPD but have some of the symptoms associated with this illness.

Individuals with BPD usually have several of the following symptoms, many of which are detailed in the DSM-IV-TR:

• Marked mood swings with periods of intense depressed mood, irritability and/or anxiety lasting a few hours to a few days (but not in the context of a full-blown episode of major depressive disorder or bipolar disorder).
• Inappropriate, intense or uncontrollable anger.
• Impulsive behaviors that result in adverse outcomes and psychological distress, such as excessive spending, sexual encounters, substance use, shoplifting, reckless driving or binge eating.
• Recurring suicidal threats or non-suicidal self-injurious behavior, such as cutting or burning one’s self.
• Unstable, intense personal relationships, sometimes alternating between “all good,” idealization, and “all bad,” devaluation.
• Persistent uncertainty about self-image, long-term goals, friendships and values.
• Chronic boredom or feelings of emptiness.
• Frantic efforts to avoid abandonment.

Borderline personality disorder is relatively common—about 1 in 20 or 25 individuals will live with this condition. Historically, BPD has been thought to be significantly more common in females, however recent research suggests that males may be almost as frequently affected by BPD. Borderline personality disorder is diagnosed in people from each race, ethnicity and economic status.