Hi Jerry-
Question is, she seems to be chronically ill, is this common for pwBPD, is there a general class of BPD with this feature? I mean sick every day, fake cancer and other deadly illnesses that can be fatal and then nothing comes of it?
Living with the disorder is difficult, and that can manifest as physical symptoms; think about going through an especially stressful time and then getting a cold or the flu, same thing, our immune systems are compromised by stress. Also, going to medical professionals could meet a borderline's need for attachment on some level, plus if they've got narcissistic traits, being given all the attention by medical professionals, nurses, assistants and all that provides narcissistic supply.
Another question, it there a brief description of BPD that I could send my sons grandmother so she could grasp the real situation? She has detached but she don't think her daughter is seriously mentally ill and not safe for our son to be around until she gets help.
There's plenty of info on this site, it would be good to read it all yourself, and while you may not want to send the grandmother here because you fear your anonymity, you could print what ever you find appropriate. But also consider that you are not a mental health professional and neither are we, and it's not advised to throw out amateur diagnoses of serious mental illnesses; hearing you have a mental illness would be hard to hear for anyone, and as we know it's not about the diagnosis for us anyway, it's about the behaviors and how they affect us, although learning a little about the clinical side can help eliminate confusion. It would also be good to look at your motivation for educating the grandmother; I know your son's well being is the main one, and are there any others? Like possibly some validation and getting an ally?
