New to Site - Introduction

[NatureLove]

I have a daughter in college that I believe is suffering from BPD.  She has been evaluated by two psychiatrists and each came back with a different diagnosis.  One felt she was bipolar and other other felt she was definitely not bipolar but borderline.   The anti-psychotic medications do not appear to be working effectively even though we are experiencing more periods of normalcy.

I am looking for a new psychiatrist that will be committed and available.  I am also interested in dialectic behavioral training.  I have read that it can be very useful.

I am at my wits end.  I feel hopeless.  

Our objective is to better understand the struggles our child faces and to learn the skills to improve our relationship and provide a supportive environment and also improve on our own emotional responses, attitudes and effectiveness as a family leaders

[Bananas]

Hello NatureLove and 

I am so glad you found us!  Please, do not feel hopeless.  I know that things can seem overwhelming but there is HOPE!  Diagnosis can be confusing and it is my understanding that psychiatrists often hesitate to diagnose BPD.  What is important is that you are recognizing BPD traits in your daughter. And you are correct, there are many success stories with DBT. 

There are so many positive things you can do to improve your relationship with your daughter.  There are many members here that are dealing with the same thing.  They will be able to help you learn the tools you need to take care of yourself and to make things better. 

A great place to start is with this set of resources: What can a parent do?

I also encourage you to read and post on the Parenting a Son or Daughter Suffering from BPD board.

How about you?  Do you have a good support system? 

You sound like a wonderful, supportive Mom!  Please keep reading and posting here, I can tell you from experience, it really does help!

 Bananas

[Hazelrah]

Hi NatureLove,

I'd like to join Bananas in welcoming you to the site.  You will find plenty of resources and helpful, caring people here on bpdfamily.

It is not uncommon for therapists to misdiagnosis borderlines with bipolar--it actually occurred in the case of the borderline in my life.  But as Bananas says, DBT has proven helpful to those patients that dedicate themselves to healing.  If you do your research, I'm certain you can find a therapist that will be able to help.

Please keep posting and sharing more of your story--we're glad you found us.

[NatureLove]

Thank you.  It is good to know I am not the only person going through this. 

[BioAdoptMom3]

You are soo NOT alone  !

[jellibeans]

I would like to suggest you read Overcoming BPD but Valerie Porr... .it really helped me understand this disorder a great deal. With education it is possible to let go of the anger and see the disorder. That really helped me. Learning how to interact with my dd was a good start to reducing the conflict in our home. Saddly you are not alone... .there are many on this site going through the same thing as you and your family. DBT therapy has really helped my dd. She had another therapist before and she just continued to get worse and worse. DBT is really made a difference to my dd. Welcome to the site.