Borderline Personality Disorder - An Emotional Hair Trigger, Often Misread

Personal Health - An Emotional Hair Trigger, Often Misread - NYTimes.com

Flesh in motionThis is an interesting article on Borderline Personality Disorder, something I was diagnosed with when I qualified for Social Security Disability in 1995. I have come to believe that the diagnosis was in error since I don't manifest any of the symptoms. I suspect my Depression, Anxiety Disorder, ADHD, and Chronic Motor Tic Disorder provided a cornucopia of symptoms that perhaps confused my psychologist at the time. Also, I'm sure the fact that I was experiencing suicidal ideation contributed as well.

What was most fascinating to me about this article was the mention of Dialectical Behavior Therapy – a drivative of Cognitive Behavior Therapy. I don't know enough about it to understand how they differ from one another, but it's something to look into.

Oh, hello! It's been a while, hasn't it? I've had all I could do to manage my family life, manage my disabilities, and prepare for and attend a writer's conference. It took a heavy toll on me. I'm still ticking and neurologically out of it six days later, but I'm glad I went. More articles soon. Thanks for reading.

Comments

Annette said…
Missed ya, glad I was able to keep up via your tweets. How was the conference overall?
June 18, 2009 4:55 PM
Juan Samuel said…
Hi,
DBT combines mindfulness and acceptance with behavioral interventions in order to better help borderline individuals with their emotional self regulation problems.
Marsha Linehan developed this method.
June 22, 2009 10:55 AM
D.R. Cootey said…
Hello, Juan. Thanks for commenting.

So what is different about "mindfulness and acceptance" the DBT way that CBT doesn't cover? Is it possible that DBT is a specifically tailored response pattern for borderline individuals whereas CBT is more general?

~Douglas
June 22, 2009 11:18 AM
Juan Samuel said…
CBT normally deals with the contents of thought processes and wether those contents are adaptive or not.
DBT, instead, promotes awareness of the process itself while it is taking place, and at the same time maintaing an attitude of acceptance, non judgment and curiosity over one`s inner experience. It`s sort of a decentering strategy in which the patient becomes skilled in identifying and labeling emotions as they occur. In this manner he or she is better able to tolerate and cope with a broad range of emotions without being overwhelmed by them.

It is a very interesting form of therapy indeed. As a matter of fact, a german clinical research group investigated the efficacy of a DBT aproach specifically designed for ADHD adults. The results were very promising.

I can send you the paper if you are interested
June 22, 2009 1:14 PM
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