Name: Samantha B – Location: East London
How Long Have you Known You Have BPD?
While it is clear I have shown many of the signs of having BPD most of my life I only got properly diagnoses in my late 40s. To be honest, when I first noticed signs of BPD (I didn’t know what it was called back then) I was in my teens, but instead of being signs of puberty or just being a teenage girl that many people say BPD is I kept those same symptoms well into my adult age until I was finally able to pluck up the courage to get myself properly diagnosis and to be honest, it changed my life.
What Treatment Have You Had For BPD?
To be honest, I have not had a lot of treatment nor help, especially from the NHS, I feel I was often ignored and abandoned with simply no-one to turn to. So in recent years, I have gone on a journey of self-discovery and self-cure reading countless DBT books and self-cure guides. While I can’t say any single one of them helped me, by picking and choosing between all the self-help books out there you can get the best bits from all of them.
What Advice do You Have For Others with BPD?
Having read the other stories on this site all I can say is to reach out and get help whenever and wherever you can. I know I sound like the same old broken record we have all heard a hundred times before, but it is the truth. It can be hard to get help sometimes especially when you keep getting ignored and pushed away from GP’s and mental health teams but keep chipping away and you will get the help you so desperately need. I just want to add that I don’t feel hate for everyone who works in the NHS mental health teams as some of them have been amazing, but more often than not their hands are still tied and they can’t help you.
