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Her brain tormented her, and doctors could not understand why
The young woman — and her family — were exhausted and confused by the barrage of treatments and medications. How were they supposed to cope with her nightmarish outbursts, her self-mutilation and suicide attempts, her destructive behavior? Her brain tormented her, and doctors could not understand why By Aleszu Bajak September 14 at 2:38 PM “I hate myself, and my brain,” Pam Tusiani wrote in her journal while under 24-hour watch on the fourth-floor psychiatric ward of Baltimore’s Johns Hopkins Hospital. “Nothing is worse than this disease.” When Tusiani wrote those words in 1998, doctors had little understanding of the disorder that was troubling her, and all these years later…
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How Borderline Personality Disorder Put an End to My Party Days (#BPD)
The negative emotions I have are immobilizing. They crash over me like huge waves, knocking the wind out of me and forcing me underwater. How Borderline Personality Disorder Put an End to My Party Days August 10, 2015 by Harriet Williamson In the summer of 2010, just before I turned 19 and in my first year of university, I attempted suicide with a month’s supply of my antidepressants and ended up in intensive care, breathing on a machine. By my second year, my good-time friends had had enough of me. I was no longer invited out, and became very isolated and increasingly unhappy. I got into an abusive relationship and…
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The situation of former adolescent self-injurers as young adults: a follow-up study
An earlier age of onset of NSSI and a longer duration of NSSI during adolescence was significantly predictive of adult BPD. The situation of former adolescent self-injurers as young adults: a follow-up study Rebecca C. Groschwitz, Paul L. Plener, Michael Kaess, Teresa Schumacher, Ramona Stoehr and Isabel Boege Background Nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) in adolescence has been described as comorbid condition in affective or anxiety disorders, as well as borderline personality disorder (BPD) and is a risk factor for later suicide attempts. Prevalence rates of NSSI decline steeply from adolescence to young adulthood. Yet, to the best of our knowledge, the longitudinal development of adolescent psychiatric patients with NSSI into their…
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Self-injury: ‘It’s been nearly 10 years since I last cut myself’
I was desperate to be a smarter, wittier, prettier, more successful version of myself. Self-injury: ‘It’s been nearly 10 years since I last cut myself’ By Susan Jennings This month marks the 10-year anniversary of the first column I ever wrote for the York Daily Record. I tend not to get too excited about anniversaries, but this one feels different. The column I wrote was about my own struggles with cutting. At 23, I was a mess. I was desperate to be a smarter, wittier, prettier, more successful version of myself. Terrified about not knowing what I should do or who I should be. Convinced I’d never live up to…
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Borderline personality disorder is a hurtful label for real suffering – time we changed it
Research shows people seeking treatment for self-inflicted harm, including taking medication overdoses, are often seen as “difficult”, a “nuisance” or just indulging in “bad behaviour”. Borderline personality disorder is a hurtful label for real suffering – time we changed it Jayashri Kulkarni Professor of Psychiatry at Monash University Trigger warning: the following article has a graphic description of self-harm. Standing in the cold, dark bathroom, she hacked into her wrist with a razor blade and quietly stared at the blood that flowed from the cut. She told herself she was a bad person and deserved the pain. A part of her felt reassured by the sight of the blood –…
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Teens and Cutting, What’s Going On?
A World Health Organization (WHO) survey in England reported a three-fold increase over the last decade in the number of adolescents (ages 11, 13, and 15) who have self-harmed. Teens and Cutting, What’s Going On? Uploaded: Mar 29, 2015 By Caroline Fleck When I was in high school, there were rumors about kids who cut themselves or had attempted suicide. These were serious allegations with serious social implications. Not surprisingly, these rumors were few and far between. While training to become a psychologist, I decided to specialize in treatments for self-injury and suicidality. Although I liked working with adolescents, there wasn’t a lot of research on treatments for adolescents with…