Borderline Personality Disorder FAQs: Table of Contents

Written by Dr. Leland Heller

"My purpose is to give information to both help the individual and other readers. I can not, and am not, assuming the role of your physician in any answer I make.

I also do not know your other medical problems and psychiatric diagnoses, which usually have a dramatic effect on medication (and other treatment) recommendations. You must make a medical and treatment plan with your physician and therapist(s).

I frequently recommend some books and tapes to help individuals. Zig Ziglar's tapes are particularly useful ('How to Stay Motivated' - 1-800-527-0306), and in my experience borderlines who listen every day to Ziglar do the best. I receive no monetary compensation for any of these recommendations."

Go to FAQ's about:

1. Diagnosis and General Information
2. Misdiagnosis
   
3. Symptoms / Behaviors
4. Genetics / Causes
5. Children / Teens
6. People with BPD (men, women, elderly)
   
7. Treatment
8. Medications
9. Alternative Treatment
10. Co-Occurring Disorder / Dual Diagnosis
11. Drug and Alcohol Use
12. Friends / Relatives
13. Living with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD)
14. Other Questions Non-BPD Related

Diagnosis and General Information

• What is the BPD?
• I Was Just Diagnosed With BPD - What Is It?
• Why is it Called the Borderline Disorder?

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• How Is the BPD Diagnosed and Can It Be Diagnosed in Children?
• What's the Difference Between Bipolar and the BPD?
• Are These Diagnoses Permanent?
• Does My Father Have BPD?
• Is My Mother Mentally Ill?
• Can You Answer BPD Questions About A Young Friend?
• Do I Have A Medical BPD Or A Psychological BPD?
• How Do I Discuss My BPD Diagnosis With My Psychiatrist?
• Isn't BPD Just A Misogynist Label For PTSD?
• Is the BPD a Character Disorder?
• Self-Mutilation for No Reason
• I Meet BPD Criteria
• BPD Diagnosis Never Explained to Me
• Do I Fit the BPD Criteria?
• Are There Lesser Degrees of BPD Severity?
• Could I Have BPD?
• Is BPD a Permanent Condition?
• Temporal Lobe Abnormalities, Could I Be BPD?
• What Does The BPD Mean And Is It Serious?

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Misdiagnosis?

• Is BPD Misdiagnosed With Other Illnesses?
• Could My Bipolar Son Be BPD?
• Do I Have BPD or ADHD?
• Am I A Borderline Or A Narcissist?
• Diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder, Could It Be BPD?
• I'm Not Sure if I'm Truly a BPD Sufferer
• Should I Trust My Doctor's Comments and Diagnosis?
• BPD Symptoms with Different Diagnoses
• Tremendous Anxiety

Symptoms / Behaviors

• BPD Symptoms and Diagnosis
• Is Perceptual Distortion Part Of The BPD?
• Do Borderlines Always Have All the Symptoms?
• Can You Stop My Grief, And Is It "Complex PTSD"?
• What Causes BPD Mood Swings?
• Mood Swings, The Moon and BPD
• Need Information About Sound Processing Problems In BPD
• BPD and Anger, How To Help
• Inappropriate Anger
• What Can Stop My Rage?
• Is Jealousy a Part of the BPD?
• BPD and Humming
• BPD and Lying
• Pathological Lying
• Are There Physical Signs Someone Is Lying?
• Lying, Cheating, Part of BPD?
• Son Is Pathological Liar
• Compulsively Lying
• Are Borderline Pathological Liars?
• What Can Be Done for Pathological Liars?
• BPD and Self-Destructive Behaviors
• Why Are Borderlines Self-Destructive?
• Can Self-Inflicted Violence Turn Outwards?
• BPD and False Accusations
• Pseudo-seizures (No-BPD)
• BPD and Infatuation with my Therapist
• BPD and Transference
• Sexually Involved With Therapist

Genetics / Causes

• Is It Genetic?
• Is BPD a Heritable Disease?
• How Much of the BPD Is Genetic?
• Shouldn't My Parents Take Medicine Instead of Me?
• Is It My Fault?
• Is Having the BPD My Fault?
• Can Genetic Epilepsy Increase the Risk of BPD?
• Can a Childhood Head Injury Cause the BPD?
• Stormy Childhood, High IQ, Could He Be BPD?
• Can Frontal Lobe Trauma Cause the BPD?
• Does ADHD Turn into BPD?
• Is The BPD A Hormone Or Enzyme Defect?
• Can An Adult Rape Cause The BPD?
• Mercury Poisoning Causing Problems?
• Snake Venom and Brain Damage

Children / Teens

• What Can I Do to Help My Child Who Has the BPD?
• What Can I Do to Keep My Children from Getting the BPD?
• Can Being Raised by a Parent with the BPD Cause Problems?
• Does My 2-Year-Old Have BPD?
• Could My Daughter Have Had BPD at Age 3?
• Where Do I Go From Here With My Son?
• What Can I Do To Lower My Child's Risk Of Developing BPD?
• Self-Mutilating 4 yr. Old (No BPD)
• Childhood BPD
• BPD and Childhood
• Help for a Child with BPD
• Can BPD Be Diagnosed in Adolescence?
• Telling Your Parents You Might Have the BPD
• BPD Symptoms in 13 Year Old
• BPD and Teen Unruly Behavior
• BPD And Parenting

People with BPD

• How Can I Be Diagnosed With BPD At 52?
• Do All Transsexuals Have BPD?
• BPD and the Elderly
• Is Menopause Making Her BPD Worse?
• Can PMS Trigger BPD Episodes?
• What About Pregnancy, Genetics and Getting Older?
• BPD Medications, Street Drugs and Pregnancy

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Treatment

• Who Can I See to Help Me with the BPD?
• Drs. & Therapists Who Treat BPDs
• Is Counseling Necessary?
• What if I Can't Afford Counseling or Ziglar's Tapes?
• Do Borderlines Respond To DBT?
• Can Anything Work? I've Tried Everything
• Are Shock Treatments Appropriate for the BPD?
• Is There Ever a Case Where Psychotherapy is Better than Medications?
• What Can Help My Son With Cyclothymia?
• How Can I Help This BPD Patient?
• Are There Tools To Predict BPD Decompensation?
• Can You Completely Recover From The BPD?
• What If My ADD and BPD Aren't Treated?
• BPD and Lost Hope
• BPD and Dr. Linehan
• Viewing Your Medical Charts
• BPD and Electro Encephalogram
• BPD and in Patient Care
• BPD and Therapy
• BPD Treatment
• BPD and Psychiatric Institutions
• Is It Me or Not the Right Therapy?

Medication

• What Medications Are Succesful at Treating the BPD and What About Side-Effects?
• BPD Medication is Invaluable
• Do I Have to Take Pills?
• Why Do Medications Only Work On Some Of The Symptoms?
• Can Remeron Help with Sleep?
• Do You Still Recommend Prozac and Tegretol and Are There Treatment Centers?
• Is Taking My Daughter off Prozac a Good Idea?
• The Prozac Helped, Now What?
• What about Generic Haldol?
• Can Beta Blockers Like Inderal Help with the BPD?
• How Can I be Sure I Won't Get Serotonin Syndrome?
• What About Trileptal?
• Will Lexapro Make Me Better or Worse?
• Are There Any Medications that will Work for Me?
• Could Zoloft Make My Husband Snap?
• How Common Are Sexual Problems with Prozac?
• Why Do Some Antipsychotics Cause Weight Gain?
• Is Trileptal And Celexa A Good Combination For BPD?
• Why Am I On Naltrexone?
• Is Seroquel a Good BPD Drug?
• Can You Answer Some Questions About Lithium?
• What If BuSpar Makes Me Worse?
• Is All This Medicine Hurting My Liver?
• Is Tegretol Making Me Ill?
• Should A 22 Year Old Still Be Taking Ritalin?
• Should I Quit Wellbutrin When I Take Prozac And Tegretol?
• What Can Be Done About Prozac Eventually Causing Side Effects?
• Can Zoloft Cause Anger?
• What Are The Symptoms Of SSRI Withdrawal?
• Phenobarbitol and Zoloft Mixed Together
• Naltrexone and Self-mutilation (No-BPD)
• Feeling Disconnected on Medication (No-BPD)
• Can One Become Immune to Medication?
• Prozac, Buspar, and Tegretol
• Too Many Medications with Little Results
• Medications Are Not Helping
• BPD and Taking Medications
• Trazodone Withdrawal in Order To Get Onto Prozac
• Incompetent Doctors and Medications
• Do You Have Any Medication Suggestion?
• Neurontin, Prozac and Depakote
• Elavil, Mellaril, and Xanax
• Revia or Lamictal for BPD and Self-Injury?
• Is My BPD Son Taking Too Many Medications
• Am I a BPD Who Just Can't Take Antidepressants?
• Is My Daughter On Enough Medication?
• BPD and Xanax
• BPD and Phenobarbitol
• BPD and Medication Manerix
• BPD and the Medication Lupron
• BPD and Lamictil
• BPD Medications and Hepatitis
• BPD Medications and Weight Gain
• BPD and Lithium
• BPD and Serotonin Syndrome
• BPD and Depakote
• BPD and Generalized Anxiety Disorder Medications
• BPD and Medication Side Effects
• BPD and Low Dose Medications
• BPD and Antipsychotics

Alternative Treatment

• Can Unconditional Love Cure BPD?
• BPD and Herbs
• Sexual Dysfunction and Ginkgo Biloba (No-BPD)
• BPD and Alternative Care
• BPD and EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing)
• Any Techniques for Crashing Less Often?
• How Do I Tell Her and Can Prayer Help?

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Co-occurring Disorders

• Is There Much Overlap With BPD, Asperger's And Seizures?
• BPD and Asperger's Syndrome
• BPD and Attention Deficit Disorder
• ADD, Bipolar and BPD
• Bipolar and BPD
• How Do You Treat ADHD when the BPD or Bipolar Is Present?
• How Do You Treat The Combination Of ADHD And BPD?
• Can You Have Both ADD And BPD, And How Can I Prevent Drug Abuse?
• BPD and Manic Depression
• BPD, Bipolar and Multiple Diagnoses
• Do BPD and Bipolar Overlap?
• BPD and Cyclothymia
• Can I Have both Bipolar and the BPD?
• Can You Have Both Bipolar and the BPD?
• Is there a Link Between BPD and Fibromyalgia?
• Can The NPD With BPD Be Successfully Treated?
• Is There A Relationship Between Tricotillomania And BPD?
• BPD and Trichotillomania (Pulling Out Hair)
• BPD and Fear of Pain
• BPD and Generalized Anxiety Disorder
• BPD, GAD and Other Disorders
• BPD and Dissociative Identity Disorder
• Previously Diagnosed DID Now Considered BPD
• BPD and Disassociate Identity Disorder
• BPD, Stress and Depression
• Could I Have OCPD, ADD and BPD and How Are They Treated?
• Do You Have Any Information on BPD and Tourettes?
• Depression and Possibly BPD?
• BPD and Self-Mutilation
• What Can Be Done For My Self-Mutilation And Suicide Attempts?
• BPD, Epilepsy and Seizures?
• BPD and Sex Addiction
• Diagnosed with Several Mental Disorders
• BPD and Barter's Syndrome
• BPD and Diabetes
• Multiple Diagnoses
• Bipolar and Schizoaffective Disorder (No-BPD)
• BPD and Gender Identity Problems
• BPD and Multiple Disorders
• BPD And Sexual Dysfunction
• BPD with Schizoaffective Tendencies
• Mixed Personality Disorder
• Dysphoria and PMS
• BPD, Depression, and the GAD
• BPD and Multiple Sclerosis
• BPD and Splitting
• BPD and Mental Retardation
• BPD and Low IQ
• What's The Link Between BPD And Temporal Lobe Seizures?
• BPD and Temporal Lobe Seizures

Drug and Alcohol Use

• Why Do You Say Borderlines Are Allergic to Alcohol?
• What Are the Effects of Alcohol on Depression and BPD?
• Does Combining Paxil With Alcohol Damage The Brain?
• Does Combining Zoloft With Alcohol Make Their Symptoms Worse?
• Should the BPD or Substance Abuse Be Treated First?
• Is It Safe For My Friend To Drink Alcohol While Taking Zoloft?
• BPD, Alcohol and Rage
• BPD Diagnosis with Alcohol and Drug Addiction
• BPD and Alcoholism
• Will Paxil Work If The Person Smokes Marijuana?
• Can't I Take Marijuana and Be Accepted for Who I Am?
• Marijuana Addiction (No-BPD)

Friends/Relatives

• How do I Inform Someone that He/She Has the BPD?
• My Ex-Spouse Has the BPD and I'm Concerned about Its Effects on Our Children
• How Do I Help My Husband And Protect My Kids?
• How Can I Help My Uncooperative BPD Son?
• Can a Marriage Succeed When One Has the BPD?
• Are Borderlines Unfit Parents?
• Still Living With Parents at 35
• BPD in a Platonic Relationship
• BPD and a Successful Marriage
• Son Suffering from the BPD
• BPD Parent Effect on Children
• BPD and Co-dependency
• Children of Those Who Suffer From the BPD
• BPD and Relationships
• Mother with BPD
• Safety Concerns for Children of Parent with BPD
• BPD Relationship
• Does My Mother Have the BPD?
• Husband Fits BPD Diagnosis
• Wife Drinks While Pregnant
• In a Relationship with a BPD
• Girls Refuse to Associate with BPD Mother
• Boyfriend with BPD
• BPD Family Members
• Online Friend with BPD
• Husband with BPD
• Strange Boyfriend
• Employee with BPD

Living with BPD

• What Should I Do First?
• What Should I Do if I Have the BPD?
• What Legal Issues Are Involved with the BPD?
• Can I Be Normal with the BPD?
• What's Making Me Feel So Miserable?
• I can't Find a Job that I Can Hold
• I'm a Mess. Is There Any Hope for Me?
• Can One Grow Out of the BPD?
• Please Answer Some BPD Questions
• Should I Give Up?
• Why Is She So Weird?
• What Is Wrong With Her?
• How Does One's Soul Affect Mental Illness?
• BPD Stigma
• Terrified of Hurting Others (No-BPD)
• Can You 'Outgrow' the BPD?
• Is BPD Hopeless?
• Waking Up Angry and Hurt
• BPD on Social Assistance
• I'm Broke and Losing It
• BPD and Trying in LA
• I'm Driving Others Crazy
• Does Having The BPD Make One Unfit To Be a Physician?
• What Can I Do to Make Me Feel Better?
• Can Staring At A Computer Monitor Cause Dysphoria?
• Why Would Anybody Love Me?

Other Questions, Non-BPD Related

• What Is A Mixed Personality Disorder?
• Psychiatrist with Mental Illness (No-BPD)
• Dangerous Behaviors (No-BPD)
• Suicide Ideation (No-BPD)
• Schizoid Personality Disorder (No-BPD)
• Developmental Personality Disorder? (No-BPD)
• Severe Depression (No-BPD)
• Attention Deficit Disorder (No-BPD)
• Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Major Depression and Trichotillomania (No-BPD)
• Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (No-BPD)
• Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and Parkinson's Disease (No-BPD)
• Autistic Child (No-BPD)
• Doctors and Therapists Treating ADD (No-BPD)
• What Causes Self-Mutilation and Can It Be Cured?
• Is a Person with Bipolar Disorder Ever Violent? (No-BPD)
• Extreme Shyness (No-BPD)
• What Can Be Done For My ODD Son?
• DID - Is There Really Any Hope?
• Bipolar Medication Not Acting the Same as Before

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