I have been reviewing several online resources about some of the co-morbid features of BPD, including alcoholism. What I have found is that those suffering from alcoholism per se, whether they are ACOA or not, is the striking similarity of symptoms to those discussed on this board, including some used in the DSM used to classify someone as having BPD:
Black-white thinking
Relationship difficulties, barriers to intimacy
Child-like reasoning/thinking
Low self-esteem; poor sense of self
Fear of abandonment
Hypersensitivity to criticism
There might be common impairments but an alcoholic can stop drinking and much of the impairment stops too... . unfortunately not so easy with BPD
I wouldn't agree with this.
My son is a recovering alcoholic. He went through rehab, and I learned a lot from meetings at the treatment facility.
They talk about "dry drunks": people who have more-or-less quit drinking but haven't dealt with the underlying issues. I went through periods like this with my son - still dishonest, manipulative, etc. - pretty much the same personality he had when he was drinking. Then he went through treatment and got to some of the underlying issues, and he got more honest - grew up a lot. Now he's a much different person - sober more than five years and still working on himself the best he can.
Interestingly, some resources describe people with BPD who have been in treatment for a few years as achieving "remission of major symptoms" - not a "cure" - you still have BPD but you're "in recovery" like a recovering alcoholic.
So I think the analogy might be pretty good... .
