Posted by smokeymadison on January 24, 2005, at 14:10:54
In reply to Re: do you define yourself by your disorder(s)? » smokeymadison, posted by Atticus on January 24, 2005, at 12:25:52
the problem for me is that i have had symptoms of OCD and depression since the third grade. that is a long time. the bipolar/BPD stuff started more recently. i find it harder to deal with the personality disorders because inherent in their description is the fact that they have "always" been there. i really don't have a pre-illness period in my life. so when trying to get "better," it means learning patterns of behavior that i have never experienced before. i don't think that it is impossible, but it is still very hard to change.
the funny thing abour BOD is that years later, say 20 years, there are a percentage of people who no longer qualify for the disorder. what does that say about the disorder? perhaps the very idea that personality disorders are so ingrained in the person that the best one can do is treat the symptoms is inherently flawed. the think that the DSM does not take into account the fact that our personalities are always changing. they do not stop changing and evolving when one reaches adulthood. there are some new studies out that indicate this fact. i should look them up. something to pull out and reread when i get discouraged.
SM
poster:smokeymadison
thread:446358
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20050123/msgs/446862.html