Tansy25Casual Contributor
My Fight For Better BPD Treatment
Hi All,
I am a new member of these forums and this is my first post.
I came across the SANE forums as a result of a search for BPD advocacy services within Australia. I am someone with a BPD diagnosis amongst others and, having advocated for my own treatment for a long time, I am at a stage in my recovery where I am ready to advocate for better treatment of people with BPD as a whole.
I have been in the mental health system and had my diagnosis for many years now. In the beginning, I was excited to finally have a reason for the experiences I was having. I thought it was all uphill from there because now we knew what we were treating and I would be able to access treatments to improve my symptoms.
Instead, I have discovered that BPD is a highly stigmatised illness, especially amongst health professionals. I have had to search to find people who would listen to me and take my needs seriously. And I am lucky enough to have found the right supports as a result.
Being treated poorly as a result of my BPD diagnosis has ultimately sparked a fire within me and I am becoming more and more prepared to fight for my rights and the rights of others. But for a long time this mistreatment made me feel weak and tired and powerless. Being made to feel ‘less than’ seems to be a common experience for people with BPD and a lot of people never make it out the other side (BPD has the highest suicide rate of any mental illness). It has to stop. I have been so lucky to have continued to fight and seek different avenues of support in so many different realms that I have come across people who see the good in me and encourage the positive attributes that I have.
It is possible for someone with a BPD diagnosis to form these positive relationships, to function in the workplace, to learn, to grow, to be ‘good’. But not everyone with a BPD diagnosis has the energy to cycle through as many supports as I have and nor should they have to.
If people with BPD were treated right from the start they would not have to fight so incredibly hard to find the respect and care that they deserve when they are already fighting so incredibly hard to survive and function.
We need a widespread change of attitude, of training, of empathy toward people with BPD if we are going to reduce suicide rates and improve the quality of life for people living with this illness.
I am here to learn more about other people’s experiences with BPD and I plan to use this knowledge to help to create the change that is so desperately needed.
I welcome your experiences and I look forward to reading these forums to learn from varied perspectives.
