While this will probably turn into a rant more than a post about my own personal perspective it is something I have been thinking about a lot the more this site develops and starts to help more people with BPD. To be honest, my own personal perspective of BPD treatment and sigma as a whole has not been good with most of it focused on younger females than us order man. Sure, you can put that down to females (essential teenagers) being more in touch with their feelings than us men (of any age), but that is only part of the problem, especially when it comes to help and advice.
Even now in 2020 us men are expected to be stronger and more capable of looking after our own mental health than females. We should be able to deal with stronger emotions and feelings even to the point that they get overwhelming. Well…that is not always true. Us men as just as likely to suffer from poor mental health as females, but we are still much less likely to talk about it, especially to others. We are more prone to symptoms like explosive anger and hallucinations as we will often let things get on top of us before reaching out. The main problem is the help on offer to males…
One of the main forms of treatment for BPD is therapy and here lies a problem. The first problem is that most therapists are females and don’t want to deal with us males with BPD especially if we suffer from explosive anger. But sharing our problems via talking therapy with a male counsellor is often harder than with a female, even if they are both on the same professional level. Then there are the problems with group therapy in which a group going through MBT Therapy might well be mostly teenage girls meaning it would be irresponsible to include older males in that group. Heck, even something as simple as going to a doctor can be something more traumatic for us males, again this is especially true when that doctor is male as well. Many times I have been told to “get some balls” or “man-up” by someone in a professional setting and things should not be like that in today’s world.
While I did get the help I need via the private sector in the end, the whole mental health community needs to understand more and more males are feeling strong enough to talk about their mental health so some people really need to change their attitudes and mindset. Well, that is my mini-rant over, but sadly I just know these words will resonate with other males with BPD who have had the same problems. Just know this site is a place that can offer help and advice to any sex even if you identify as not particular sex at all. If you want any help or advice relating to BPD do drop me an email via the contact us page and one of our writers will answer it ASAP.
