so i guess this board isnt very active ? :)

There are 9 different criteria for Borderline and you only have to have 5 of the criteria for a diagnosis so if you have 5 of the other criteria you could still be diagnosed with it. There are no hard and fast rules about which 5 you have to have.... any 5 will do. Since it is only 5 criteria necessary the different manifesations in people of Borderline are almost endless....

i'm sorry you feel like this...i would like to say first that people with borderline DO NOT manipuliate people....unconciously or conciously...we DO NOT manipulate people....i say "we" b/c i have borderline......like divinesilence said, ther are 9 criteria and you need to have at least 5.....at first when i was diagnosed i couldn't see how i would fit into the criteria.....from what i saw it wasn't a good fit....but now in hidsight i see that it is totally me.....people who diagnose you see different things than what we see....just because you don't have all of the syptoms doesn't mean you don;t have it, it just means that you don't have those symptoms.....if you ever wanna talk, i'm here

You should also know that these categories are vague. In some ways "Borderline" is a catch-all for people who have a hard time coping, but that too is vague. Maybe, don't get so hung up on a "label" as much as what particular problems you ma have in specific terms.

The focus on the MOST COMMON factors of the illness. But that doesn't mean that everyone with that dx is going to have all the same characteristics.

Every person is different...so, every person who has it is going to be different too. There are times where I have ALL of the criteria...and other times...I have little of the criteria. But then again I also have DID...and one of my alters is Full Blown BPD.

So...it's still possible that you have it. :s Don't know if that's a good thing for you or not. But it may help to know that when I was first diagnosed...I thought I had few of the credentials for it. Either way...I have it.

As everyone else has said, you don't have to fit every criteria, not even those that are the stereotypical most common criteria.

But, I do understand that this is one of the 'more popular' disorders to be diagnosed with. A few years ago the hype was Bipolar, now its BPD. Especially if you self harm they tend to just throw the BPD label at you, because self harm doesn't have a place on it's own, and this is the only disorder that it is part of a criteria for.

It is very important that you don't get hung up on a label. That you can rationally look at it and talk about it. You may have it and you may not. Often when a person is diagnosed with BPD they get very defensive about it. They don't want to see it, because it's been seen as a 'no hope' diagnosis. Because some mental health workers treat people with this diagnosis terribly because they think that BPD people are manipulative. Which for the record, everyone manipulates. Manipulation is not bad in and of itself, even though it has negative connotations. Persuasion is a form of manipulation, and people do that all the time. And people who think that someone with BPD (that is in the middle of terrible emotions) even has the capacity to give that much thought into hurting someone else, really doesn't understand.

Trust me when I say, if you do have it, there is hope. You can reach a point when you don't fit anymore. But the first step in getting better is accepting you have a problem.

If you don't have it. Put much thought and research into that. Go over all the criteria, and give examples of what you present and what you don't. Present it to whomever diagnosed you. Talk it over with them. Get a second opinion. A third opinion. Because if you have something else instead, like bipolar you could possibly just need medication. Although treatment for BPD is helpful for any person.

I wish you the best of luck.

thanks for all your responses they have showed me that there is help.

I am still firmly of the knowledge that this diagnosis is not accurate to me and due to me being british there are limited resources for mental health.
it took me 18months to get this far. and its all backwards and wrong.

i'm just going to continue the best i can and wait for my mood swings to calm down or get worse who knows.

also in the uk..i have been aware for a few years that i may have this dx...i have bipolar disorder and i recently found out that i was also diagnosed with bpd...when this was diagnosed i do not know..all i can i can say is that i noticed a remarkable shift in the way i was treated by the crisis mental health team 3 months ago..which lead me to ask for another psyche app to find out what i had been diagnosed with. i think i had this dx for a long time. there is a hell of a stigma attached to this dx....i do not class myself as manipulative...but having spent alot of time researching this dx i have come to the conclusion that we unconciously use manipulation. because of the nature of the illness we do not see that that we we do it.
for example..........months ago i was in an awful place. my friends could not undderstand what was going on..i had an awful falling out with 2 very close friends and the only thing i thought about was suicide..i phoned 999 and told them i was suicidal..i was taken to hospital where they sentme home and called the mental health crisis team. on reflection of this i can say that possibly i was fearing abandonement by my friends ..my mind went into overdrive and i thought the only way out was suicide.............

i think mental health proffesionals see this as attention seeking hence the stigma attached to this dx.............what i will say is this..........in that moment i was not seeking attention attention i was terrified.
i have a huge problem with the stigma attached to this dx. and mental health professionals do not understand bpd. i do believe we have manipulative tendencies but we are toally unaware that we are doing it.it comes from sheer terror and despair.

I don't feel sheer terror or dispair.

I'm sorry but I just cannot get my head into the idea that l have this illness

I don't I have been misdiagnosed

Well, maybe you have been. If you've been misdiagnosed...you could try to get a 2nd opinion, couldn't you??

I know that I have traits of many other disorders...such as schizotypal...but that doesn't mean that I actually HAVE schizotypal. Just traits of it. So, you could have TRAITS of BPD...but may not actually have it. Perhaps the doctors are focused too much on the TRAITS instead of the true diagnosis.

Mind if I ask what symptoms that you feel you DO have??? Not just in association with this dx...but just in general. Just curious. No judgement.

Hey yeah that's fine my usual symptoms are
Extreme mood shifts from depressed to excessively positive
I hear voices, have thoughts that are not my own but only when my mood is shifted
I can be impulsive and do stupid things when my mood shifts from negative to positive.
I understand mood instability is a factor of BPD but mine last weeks and not hours/days
I also understand that self harm is a factor ? When I was 14-16 I self harmed daily and my body is covered in scars. Only thing is that was 3 year ago and I haven't cut since then.
I understand I have borderline traits I think everyone does I mean if I try hard enough I can make anyone fit this dx which is what the hospital do. Because there's no medication or treatment and IT'S CHEAPER than properly treating me. :/
X

Hmmmm. Well some BPD mood swings CAN last for a couple weeks. It's if it lasts more then a couple months...that they may have misdiagnosed you. Not all BPDers are cutters. There are other methods of self harm. And there IS medication for it. They could put you on an anti-depressant and an anti-psychotic. That's what I'm on.

When I get low...my thoughts are so negative that my roommate pretty much forces me to get on the cancellation list to see my psychiatrist. But, I'm currently on 2 anti-psychotics and an anti-depressant...and an anti-anxiety for my symptoms. But in all honesty...it DOES sound like BPD. That or mild manic depression.

Hey, I'm not an expert, but from what you say I think you may be right about being misdiagnosed. The symptoms you describe sound a lot more like bipolar disorder than BPD. Especially the fact that your mood swings last for weeks. That definitely fits more with bipolar disorder than borderline. If it is bipolar, then the hearing voices, strange thoughts, and impulsive behaviors normally occur when you are in the positive (manic) mood. Is that the case with you?

Hey guys thans again for the support it is much appreciated,
I am not necessarily concerned for the label that is attached to me
i am however concerned for the treatment that is offered
over here they avoid medication at all costs in regards to BPD.
if all i need is a mood stabiliser which they would offer should i have bipolar, then i will be able to lead a normal life.
The waiting list for DBT should i have BPD = 2years.

seems like a dead end to me i just want stability and yes i believe i have bipolar disorder, but i am not a doctor and i cannot diagnose myself i respect their opinion and can see why they would come to this conclusion. i just feel it unjust this woman has met me for 2 hours.
i know myself !

Mush, I agree with you that your doc has likely misdiagnosed you. Perhaps you also have some BPD traits, but mood swings that last for weeks and the other symptoms you describe definitely point towards bipolar disorder. I also agree that you know yourself better than someone who has met with you for two hours. Talk to your doctor about what you believe and why, and keep pushing for getting a mood stabilizer. If you don't get anywhere, you may try getting an independant mental health advocate. You may also want to get people's opinions from the DS Bipolar board.