Topic Tuesday Focus Group // Treatment and support for people experiencing personality disorders // Tuesday 6 March, 7pm AEDT

[EliseSunflower]

Hi everyone - thanks for the awesome discussion. I'm going to move on to my next (and probably biggest) question:

There is a large variety in the types of support available - for example, some people access financial and housing support, mental health services, or support groups. What sorts of treatment and support services have you accessed, and what have your experiences been like? 

[BlueBay]

thank you @OhanaSystem

[Mum2eight]

I think general Doctors need more awareness of this disorder so they can refer patients faster. In my experience it took way to long for all my Doctors psychiatrists and therapists to finally diagnosed me. I’m now 38

[difficulthuman]

I spent years learning Dialectical behaviour therapy while i did see improvements its misleading to say it was an effective treatment for my bpd. In my opinion its only helpful for certain symptoms suicidal and impulsive behaviours, it does nothing for other symptoms.

[EliseSunflower]

@OhanaSystem @BlueBay

There's pretty good evidence to say that it is possible to 'recover' from BPD, although what recovery looks like differs between people. As OhanaSystem said, many people can live more peaceful and happier lives with the right treatment. Psychological approaches such as Dialectical Behaviour Therapy and Schema Therapy have pretty strong evidence, although what works best depends on the person. It's not always an easy journey, but there is certainly hope. 

Edit: spelling error.

[BlueBay]

Recently i have had to seek finanncial help as well as food and vouchers.

I have also used recently the local CAT team service which give me support whenn i am in crisis.  They sometimes admit me in the short stay unit for 3 days.  I feel the staff are okay at times but some don't treat me right, like they know i have BPD and don't care at all, they think i am attention seeking and am back in hospital yet again.

[Teej]

Yes @EliseSunflower it is dependent personality disorder. I have found 'treatment' as such pretty hard. I’ve also found that I’ve been treated as someone who is to be kept at a distance from health professionals and that has hurt immensely. The assumption is that I will become dependent on them. I have some traits of avoidant as well but the all overlap hugely. My therapist has not done that though and I am doing schematic therapy with her. SANE has been a huge saviour when I was screaming out early on in diagnosis needing support and had some really bad experiences in public mental health about 2.5 years ago. 

[EliseSunflower]

@difficulthuman DBT can be great but I'm sorry to hear it didn't entirely work for you  How do you think DBT could be improved?

Also - have you accessed any other treatment or services that you have found helpful?

[BlueBay]

I am really lucky that my GP understands BPD and supports me 100%.  He has boundaries put on me which I struggle with but he sticks with them and he is caring and supportive.

[MDT]

Hi all
What is the topic this evening ?