First she threatened to have any further ect unless I came today for visiting hours.
She complains about every inch of the place, all the people, the color of the walls, etc. And she thinks she has every right to complain about it.
She *does* have every right to complain. Electro shock therapy for a Borderline patient? I hope you know that's a misappropriation.
But wait, your Wife has been diagnosed with a brain chemistry imbalance, not Borderline personality disorder.
Professionally your Wife was diagnosed as bi-polar. She is on medication to level her imbalance and has undergone shock treatments in the past. This was not for BPD but your Wife now claims that the shock treatments (ECT) have caused BPD. Yet with all the professionals around her, not one has confirmed she has Borderline Personality disorder. They have confirmed bi-polar.
It's possible that there was a misdiagnosis, which is really sad.
That's because ECT will not help with BPD. ECT doesn't change a person's belief system, which is what BPD is, except to create dependency on external systems. Having a score of medical workers say that you are defective and you need electro convulsive shock treatments would add to the persecution complex of *anyone,* most especially someone with Borderline personality disorder. It's a barbaric way of treating someone as it kills parts of the brain, specifically those concerning memory.
Bi-polar and uni-polar are different diagnoses than BPD. Completely different worlds. Using electro-shock on a person with BPD who is depressed would further the bondage she feels and deeply entrench the depression and helplessness. It's just not a sound prescription for someone's distorted perceptions that already revolve around learned helplessness. With bi-polar, you are dealing with the brain, not personality.
If your Wife has BPD, she does not need a chemical lobotomy or electro-convulsive shock treatment to address the acting out behaviors and depression. The acting out behaviors and depression are symptoms of arrested development. You don't give electro-shock for arrested development, you try to work through and elevate the development by confronting the faulty reasoning that limits their upward mobility. You don't fry their brain. ECT furthers despair and loneliness and defectiveness. Something your Wife is likely feeling right now and once released from this formal hell, may become even worse.
She needs an advocate right now. She needs treatment for PTSD, she needs talk therapy. She needs someone to LISTEN. She needs help.
She has *every* right to complain if she has BPD and it's been misdiagnosed as bi-polar. If she is bi-polar, I would suggest finding a forum that deals specifically with mood disorders. BPD is not a mood disorder, it is a pervasive belief of distorted perceptions.
I would suggest finding a forum that understands bi-polar and begin your questioning there. The two diagnosis are often horribly confused with the other but are as different as night and day. Good luck and I hope you figure it out.
