Hello. I was recently diagnosed with BPD TRAITS after being hospitalized for a suicide attempt which is the second one I have had in my lifetime - in both instances it was related to extremely stressfull life situations where I felt like giving up on life. Now, after accepting that I do indeed have an illness that needs treatment and being open to that treatment and researching the illness itself - I was very shocked at how little attention is given to effective treatments within the mental health field when 20% of hospitalizations involve BPD. When I was released, there was no referral process towards dialectical behavioural therapy, only drugs were pushed. The hospitalization was very traumatic for me. It heightened all my anxiety and defensive mechanisms because I did not understand the system and I was very afraid I would be trapped in the psych ward for an unknown amount of time. I felt like a caged animal & having never had a drug or alcohol problem - I welcomed the doctor's prescription for an anxiety drug. This drug ofcourse became addictive and I had to spend a hellish month weaning myself off of it. Much of the literature I've read about BPD is very bleak when it comes to successful recovery. I do not believe this is true. I believe the current mental health system (atleast in the USA) is ill-equipped to handle BPD and its basic procedures tend to isolate the BPD patient rather than open them up for treatment. Every BPD case has extreme variables so that makes it even more of a challenge. I'm very lucky to have found a therapy that will work for me. The question I have is Why was it so difficult to find it? and since I was hospitalized for 2 intense weeks, shouldn't my psychiatrist or case worker atleast talk to me about what BPD traits are and what that means? Instead I had to request the report and find out about it myself. I'm not here to complain, I would like to actively work to change the system so those who suffer from BPD do not have to go through even more traumatizing experiences than they have to.
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