BPDFamily.com

I have recently come to this site and so much of it seems to describe my wife's behavior and my chaotic life with her.  There is one thing I haven't found, though, and am wondering if it is connected to BPD or if it is some other psychological or physiological issue.

Probably ten times over the past year, typically when she sees a therapist for what we had presumed was PTSD, or an acupuncturist, or once during an intense argument, she has lost consciousness.  She doesn't faint, exactly, it's more like she drifts off and can't be awakened.  The first few times we sought medical attention, but no one could find anything medically wrong with her.  She recovers in 20-40 minutes.

Has anyone else seen anything like this?

Hello grassfedk,

Yes my dBPDh will do this from time to time, It usually comes in amongst days of dysregulation. He just drops down on the floor where ever he is, in and out of the house, like he has fainted. He has been brought home by paramedics in the past and I have called them to the house also. Each time they have found nothing wrong with him.

I have wondered whether it might be a kind of dissociative state, where they become so overwhelmed by their feelings in that moment that they just break with reality and shut down.

I used to be worried when he first started doing it, but he has never come to any harm so I just tend to keep a close eye on him until he returns to the world.

I hope this helps a bit.

Hello grassfedk and sweetheart, my hwBPD does this at times too, and like sweetheart said, it seems to coincide with a period of dysregulation for him. Actually, this disassociative state usually precedes an "episode" for lack of a better word. I can always tell when the proverbial s*** will hit the fan when he begins to "zone out" (his terminology for it). It's always frightening to me. Not only is it frightening by nature, but it also comes before a dark depression, at least that's how it is for my hwBPD. When he snaps out of the depression (closing himself off in the bedroom, silent treatment, endless staring, not eating, and sleeping for hours and even days), the rage follows, complete with projection, wild accusations, deluded sense of reality, and major anxiety attacks. For me, this dissociative state resembles the "hundred-yard stare" that people with PTSD frequently exhibit (mine was diagnosed with PTSD as well). He seems to stare straight through things, see nothing at all, almost zombie like. He actually looks confused or lost and I always wonder where he goes in that scrambled head of his. It's very very scary.

Wow.  Thank you both for your replies.  Short of a professional diagnosis, this comes pretty close to confirming for me that she does, indeed, have BPD.  This was sort of the last mystery.