The family of Louise Wright tell us how they were failed by mental health services
The management of borderline personality disorder reviewed
Changes are planned for the diagnosis of personality disorders in the DSM
New DVD raises awareness and understanding of complex identity disorders
Miami Dolphins star opens up about his battle with BPD (Borderline Personality Disorder)
Young people in Wales can now attend courses to help them to manage their mental health disorders
New specialist service at the Priory in Co. Durham for treatment of BPD
Performance artist Bobby Baker wins prestigious annual award
Study to help with the identification of borderline personality disorder in adolescents
Hello everyone! I am so pleased to have the opportunity to write for you, the Reader, and I hope that I can be of some sort of help to you in your journey to wellness. Mental health is especially important in today's world, with the stress of...
28th May 2011
Much of the focus in many therapies, behavioral and otherwise, is on retraining the brain.  It seems like a simple concept but it takes hard work and dedication.  My therapist has our group take time EVERY SINGLE HOUR to work...
9th June 2011
The man in the below article- through his unwillingness to share his experiences, and his strength in doing so anyway-has inspired me to come clean about my own experiences with Borderline Personality Disorder.  I have found it helpful in the...
14th June 2011
I tend to write when I'm feeling well and my advice and statements are most definitely made from the healthy place in my brain.  Well today I decided to write in the midst of my depression, stuck in the mud, sinking into sickness.  ...
23rd June 2011
Many of us have a long history of doctors' visits and therapists.  I have so many I can't remember all their names anymore!  This is no coincidence; BPD is known for its difficult relationships and trust issues.  There...
23rd June 2011
∞ My parent’s encourage me into our family van with sacred promises of ice cream and candy. I sit in the back seat, my knees pulled close to my chest, staring out the window at a world which seems to move either much too quickly or...
Anonymous
30th August 2011
OK, here goes... I have always loved to write, and have done so for many years. Not professionally, but for my own enjoyment. I suppose I found it therapeutic. Over an extended period of time, the writing stopped flowing. My mental health (...
12th November 2011
Twitter was buzzing with tweets about bullying on Monday, as Bullying UK (the national anti-bullying support and advice organisation) kicked off Anti-Bullying Week with a variety of Twitter discussions.  Asking questions, such as...
15th November 2011
I am in the grip of anxiety. It's my own fault. The trouble with this Borderline stuff is that I can always be relied upon to come up with the biggest, most grandiose solution to a problem. And then I'll loathe myself for it. Putting my...
22nd November 2011
The apparent suicide of a public figure, while incredibly sad, brings mental health stigma into sharp focus. The media exploded with speculation and debate about mental health issues and suicide at the weekend. The immediate, emotional reactions to...
28th November 2011
My youngest child celebrating his fourth birthday has put me in reflective mood. "Someone once said, motherhood is a series of losses". So said the Health Visitor who had stopped by to chat. It was early spring 2005 in London, ...
8th December 2011
A good portion of treatment/counselling is made up of your own hard work, even though borderline personality disorder is a chemical, physical occurrence in your brain.  Getting better takes a lot of time, effort, struggling, and even pain...
25th December 2011
As a parent with Borderline Personality Disorder, I am hyper-sensitive to the emotional health of my children. This in itself can cause a problem, as it sometimes leads me to over-compensate. The trick, as with everything in BPD, to find...
2nd January 2012
I am from Eltham in South East London. You may have heard of it - it's been in the news lately. I feel the urge to write about it, because it has prompted reflection on my first awareness of my OCD and Emotional Dysregulation, at...
3rd January 2012
I loathe the school run. First, it is my responsibility to make sure my children have with them everything they need for the day. In true, BPD, dichotomous fashion, I simultaneously dread and need this responsibility. If I get it wrong, my child...
30th January 2012
I am a big advocate of talking therapies as a treatment for BPD. My experience of talking therapies began in London, with a counsellor and a course of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT), aimed at bringing my OCD and anxiety back under control....
4th February 2012
The difficulty and expense of identifying brain disorders makes it difficult to accurately pinpoint the number of people who suffer from Borderline Personality Disorder.  Various methods of scanning the brain, including fMRIs, have been...
9th February 2012
Dear BPD, I hate you. You sneak around in the background, lurking in the shadows. Then you rush out at me, screaming, and make so much noise I just can’t think. You wear so many different masks and disguises, I never know what to look...
24th February 2012
     Many of you may be aware of the fact that Borderline Personality (or other mental health problems) is not the only thing causing you grief and illness in your life.  Often a mental illness is accompanied by one or more...
4th March 2012
During the course of my life, I have used the NHS a lot. From teenage to my early 20s in London, I received great care from hospitals and GPs alike for both chronic knee and stomach problems. In my mid-20s in London, I had my first child. With the...
14th March 2012
So, there I was, feeling all confident in my understanding of my illness and experience – damping down my symptoms as and when they flared up, like some kind of BPD ninja. Then came a bad news phone-call. I’ve received a number of these...
7th May 2012
Why do I refer to myself as someone that has Borderline Personality Disorder? Well, because it is a fact. Not everybody approves of my choice, however. For me now, it is no different than my Mother stating that she suffers from arthritis, or my...
19th May 2012
Those that have read my blog before will know that I have BPD, and struggle with emotional dysregulation. When I experience an emotion, it is extreme. So when historic, national events occur, I’m a sitting duck. Yes, I’m completely...
6th August 2012
People often refer to “the mask” of mental illness – that fixed smile I put in place before I leave the house. That expression that leads everyone to say, “You have a mental illness? I had no idea! You always look so cheerful...
19th August 2012
My psychologist once correctly highlighted to me that my self-esteem (such as it was) was entirely defined by what I could do for other people, and what their judgement of me was in response. My reply, at the time, was “What else would I base...
23rd August 2012
I have been pondering the word ‘acceptance’. It’s a word we hear it a lot in mental health discussion, and the more I think about it, the more I think it may just be the key to everything. Not just in mental health, but in the...
13th September 2012
Excuses, excuses. As an adult, I’ve always made excuses for why I’m just not getting it done. Firstly, I was busy starting a family. Then, I had babies at home. Then I was busy with Pre-school runs and charity work. Now, my youngest has...
24th September 2012
It's World Mental health Day, and today I want to say a BIG THANK YOU! To my fish I forgot to feed, to my neighbour I ignored, to my teacher I flipped the finger, to my mum who bound my scars... Thank you. To the man in the petrol station I...
10th October 2012
I am struggling to control my OCD this week. My rational mind immediately seeks to discover the cause of this flare-up, knowing that in doing so, the spiral can be slowed and switched back with the application of cognitive and dialectical behaviour...
31st October 2012
My CPN (Community Psychiatric Nurse) once asked “How do you think it makes people feel – that you have to be entirely self-sufficient, but you need them to need you?” This question has stayed with me for over two years –...
4th December 2012
In the early days of my treatment, when I was newly diagnosed and having weekly visits from a Community Psychiatric Nurse, she asked my husband to attend a couple of our sessions. This was invaluable for all involved. As experienced as my husband...
28th December 2012
I was with a very close friend, and we had been chatting away happily for a couple of hours. I just finished sharing an anecdote about binging on a bucket of chocolate cake and custard when my friend looked me in the eye and stated “I always...
7th February 2013
I recently had a conversation in which the other person observed that I rarely arrange impromptu activities. My response was: "Well, I’m not an impromptu person." Everyone is different, after all. This conversation stayed with...
4th March 2013
I am becoming frustrated with my understanding of my Borderline Personality Disorder. I am a huge advocate of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy and Dialectical Behaviour Therapy as a means of learning about, and managing BPD on a daily basis. I have spent...
12th March 2013
It is a parent’s natural instinct to protect their children. We want them to have a carefree childhood, where they are free to wonder at beauty, enjoy the world around them and develop in their own unique, awesome way. We want to keep them...
15th March 2013
Syndicate content