In Need of Treatment Resources After my Sister Attempted Suicide

TLDR: My sister who has been diagnosed with BPD unsuccessfully attempted suicide and is now unwilling to pursue treatment. I am seeking BPD treatment resources and anecdotes for what worked for others so I can be prepared in case she changes her mind and needs advice from me.

I am not normally someone who posts on forums, but I have been struggling with my sister's recent suicide attempt. My sister is 22 and I learned about a month before her attempt that she had been diagnosed with BPD, depression, and anxiety by her psychologist and psychiatrist. I am a couple of years older and I knew that she had been struggling with depression but she was also seeking professional help. When she told me about her BPD diagnosis I started researching it and after her attempt I read a book called Stop Walking on Eggshells that really resonated with me. I feel like the way she thinks and reacts has always felt a bit abnormal to me and as her only sibling I feel like I was her best friend and she relies on me a lot for support when she isn't on good terms with my parents. I never really understood her reactions to events until I read this book where I think it is starting to make sense, but I know I still have a long way to go and there is sill a lot of research I need to do.

About a month ago, she made a serious planned attempt to end her life with her door barricaded, letters written, subscriptions cancelled, and beneficiaries changed and it was miracle that she was found by her apartment-mates and saved by a major surgery. She was not happy when she found out she was alive and after regaining her ability to speak she was able to articulate the hopelessness and mental pain she was feeling. She really feels like her depression will never go away (after what one of her therapists mentioned to her) and she feels she does not need help, as she has already tried everything. She was discharged quickly after her physical injuries healed and after lying to her psychiatrist that her depression went away. She was discharged without a therapist (as she was dropped as a patient after two no show appointments) and she did not have a Partial Hospitalization Program or Intensive Outpatient Program. She moved back home and my family and I were completely out of our depth when she opened up to us about her continued suicidal ideations. She was home for less than a week and during that time my family and I baby proofed the house and one of us was with her at all times with one person sleeping in her room with her.

Luckily I was able to attend her appointment with her Primary Care Doctor so that she could get her to sign off on her short term disability and on the intake form she answered a questionnaire honestly that she was continuing to have suicidal ideations and depression. With this information, her doctor had her sent to an Emergency Room where she is now inpatient in a psychiatric hospital. My sister has extreme anger for being held against her will (by California's 5150 and 5250 holds) and she feels that she does not need help from more Psychiatrists/Psychologists because she already tried and doctors were not able to help. She told me that she wants to come home and isolate herself which makes me extremely worried. The social worker told my family that the next step might be a residential program and I am trying to find resources for programs that are effective with helping someone with BPD. I'm not sure how much of her depression is linked with BPD but from what her Psychiatrist mentioned he believes they are connected. It looks like Dialectic Behavioral Therapy might be effective to help people with BPD but I am unsure if she will be willing to pursue it.

I feel overwhelmed by the events of the past month and now I am scared that something bad will happen if she is discharged again and if she is still unwilling to pursue treatment. I am posting here because I hope that there are people who might be aware of resources that are effective for someone with BPD and Depression or if folks have anecdotes for what worked for them or their family member. I also wonder if anyone has advice on how to guide someone who is hopeless and unmotivated toward trying to engage with treatment options, as from what I am reading some of the therapies can be quite effective and my family and I are hopeful. This has been a tough situation and I am doing my best to support my parents and my sister and I want to be well educated on BPD and treatments and more prepared so I can be as helpful as possible during this time.



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