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Emotional Independence
When new members “wash up on the shores” of the ATSTP list, they are confused, angry, helpless and exhausted. One thing I also noticed is that new members are emotionally entangled with their loved ones with BPD. Sometimes when people speak of “boundaries,” they use the phrase “where you end and I begin.” The word boundary has many meanings, and have talked about effective boundaries a lot on this blog. Yet, this idea of “where you stop and I begin” is very important when you’re entangled in another person’s emotions. A Non-BPD must learn to heal, to unpack emotional baggage, to acquire the emotional skills to help to detangle the…
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Britney Spears and Mel Gibson
The only reason I posted this here is because Britney Spears actually started my foray into discussing Borderline Personality Disorder and celebrities. I only do it because I would like for some celeb to come out of the closet (or “off the couch”) and just admit that they have the disorder. To me it would go a long way to removing the stigma. The only one who has come close is Megan Fox. She mentioned borderline when referring to herself, but she has not been diagnosed – well, not that we know of. Anyway, old Mel Gibson seems to have some sort of disorder and some people have mentioned borderline.…
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An exercise in validation
Validation (or emotional validation) is an extremely powerful tool when it comes to emotional situations. It is complex and multi-stepped and it takes a lot of practice to master. On my Internet list, I talk a great deal about validation because it is essential to managing a relationship with someone with BPD. If you learn to master validation, you can see a marked change in the way your loved one with BPD interacts with you. Validation is a tool that verifies that the other person’s feelings are valid, but doesn’t necessarily condone or agree with their behavior. Remember, the behaviors come from feelings, beliefs and “action impulses” so they can…
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Changing of the Poll
Today, I closed the poll about treatment and BPD. The results showed that the majority of people with BPD are NOT in treatment. I have started a new poll about substance abuse and BPD. No related posts.
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Must Read Article about BPD and “coming off the couch”
Kiera Van Gelder shared with me today an excellent article she wrote about “coming off the couch” and admitting/sharing that you have BPD. It’s time to fight the stigma of BPD. coming out of the psycho closet When Merinda Epstein, a Policy and Law Reform Officer of the Mental Health Legal Centre in Melborne Australia, made the decision to “come out” with borderline personality disorder as a consumer advocate, her therapist was horrified. She asked Epstein, “why would you want to talk about that diagnosis in public for? You’ve got a perfectly good psychotic diagnosis to use in public!” Such unfortunately is the reaction many of us who self-identify as…
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Lindsay Lohan and possible BPD (more detail this time)
Well, it’s been some time since I have written anything about celebrities with possible borderline personality disorder. Personally, I wish some celeb would just come out and admit that they have the disorder and help others by showing that there’s effective evidence-based treatments for BPD. I guess the stigma is too great and they feel that it would hurt their careers. Of course, for some, their behavior is what is hurting their careers. Today, I am turning again to Lindsay Lohan (click here to see all posts about LiLo). Lately I have been receiving a ton of alerts with news stories that contain LiLo’s name and reference BPD. These are…