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My take on Self-Injury
Self-injury can come in many forms and includes cutting oneself with razors or knives, burning oneself with cigarettes or matches, pulling out clumps of hair and picking at oneself (especially the nails and/or cheek) until blood is produced. Self-injury is one of the most difficult behaviors for the loved one to understand. In the case of BPD, self-injury is done for the purpose of pain relief, not to “get attention” or to manipulate the loved one. Most self-injury is done in private and done without the knowledge of the loved one. Occasionally, the self-injury cannot be covered-up (i.e. the blood and/or scars are apparent) and others notice the activities. If…
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Anger, Borderline Personality Disorder, Celebrities, Impulsiveness, Self-Injury, Shame, Substance Abuse, Suicide
Why Pete Doherty has jumped to the front of the line for BPD celebs
OK, well, the other day I posted on how Pete Doherty has jumped to the top of my Celebrities with Borderline Personality Disorder (possibly, but not for sure) list. Why? Well, he just released a series of paintings done in his own blood. Let’s examine the other “evidence” of possible BPD…. (For those of you who don’t know who Pete Doherty is: he’s the lead singer of two British bands: Babyshambles and the Libertines. He dated Kate Moss and he is a regular in the tabloids in London for his erratic and criminal behavior.) Self-Harm Painting in one’s own blood seems to indicate self-harm. Here’s another article about Doherty’s self-harm.…
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Role of Shame in BPD
Here is an excellent article about shame and BPD: http://www.soulselfhelp.on.ca/drm10shame.html The Role of Shame in BPD © Dr. Richard Moskovitz Can you discuss shame? Is shame not one of the most significant core wounds that must be healed in order to recover from BPD? Shame is fundamental to the experience of anyone with BPD and is the most crucial emotion that must be addressed if recovery is to occur. Shame is often confused with guilt, but these emotions have very different meanings. Shame is about who we are, while guilt is about what we do. Shame therefore reflects more lasting beliefs about the self than guilt. When we feel guilt,…
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Borderline Personality Disorder, Celebrities, Emotions, Impulsiveness, Self-Injury, Shame, Substance Abuse
Celebrities with Borderline Personality Disorder (possibly, not for sure)
Here are my top-five candidates for celebrities and famous people with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD). Remember I am not a doctor and this is a "arm chair" analysis of the documented behaviors of each of these celebrities.
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Rejection Sensitivity and BPD
Rejection Sensitivity is the tendency to “anxiously expect, readily perceive and overreact to social rejection.” [Downey & Feldman, 1996, quoted from Baldwin, Mark, “Interpersonal Cognition”, 2005, page 83] Someone with BPD will almost certainly have this feature. Have you ever had your loved one ask you: “Are you mad at me?” Or has your loved one asked you: “Do you like me?” over and over again. Or have they said, “You could do so much better than me. Why are you even with me?” These questions and others like them are indications that your loved one is suffering from rejection sensitivity. Someone with rejection sensitivity will also avoid tasks, meetings…
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Does it matter if it is really BPD? (or if it could be PTSD)
I used to think it didn’t really matter if it was BPD or not. If the person is behaving in a “borderline fashion” I used to think “ok, well let’s read SWOE and follow the directions for taking MY life back” – but I have changed my mind about the importance of the diagnosis. The reason behind my changing my mind is that I believe that BPD is an emotional disorder and that the core feeling behind it is shame (and pain) – unlike PTSD, where the core emotion is fear. If a person has a great deal of fear (a phobia for example), treatment for this problem can be…