Diagnosed with Several Mental Disorders

Written by Dr. Leland Heller

QUESTION:

I'm a 38 year old female with multiple medical/mental disorders. I've been diagnosed with everything from panic disorder to generalized anxiety to OCD to "it's all in your head". I seem to fit into the profile of a person with BPD, yet as I think about it, so do many people. Is this the new "disorder" being diagnosed, as so often happens with things going in trends, or do all of my disorders fall under the umbrella of BPD? Could BPD be causing my other problems, or the other way around, or are they one and the same?

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I have panic, phobias, anxiety, anger issues, history of hurting myself during panic, control issues along with IBS, GERD, Tourette Syndrome, underweight although not anorexic in the common usage of that term (I wish I would gain weight). No doctor, and there have been many, has ever mentioned BPD. I make friends easily, but don't keep them long, as people get tired of my constant state of crisis and complaining. I get extremely offended when someone brings this to my attention, and decide to never speak to them again, but usually do. I constantly quit therapy because I don't like what was said or I think the therapist isn't doing things the way they should, so of course I never get better. I don't work-haven't in years because of panic, I think-and am living on welfare and don't seem to care. Wasn't always that way, but things have gone steadily downhill over the years. I need help, but can't find my way.

DR. HELLER'S ANSWER:

You probably have many things wrong, each making the other worse. The BPD makes panic worse, and panic makes the BPD worse.

The BPD is not a new problem, it is not "trendy", and it is not an "umbrella" like chronic fatigue. It was formally established as a diagnosis in 1980, and has very specific criteria. Many individuals do not follow the criteria in establishing a diagnosis, but with very rare exception in my opinion it's a foolish mistake. I believe the BPD is a distinct entity, and accounts of the BPD have been present over the centuries.

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