To think labels do more harm then good

[Ionlydrinkondaysendinginy]

I have suffered with mh problems for my whole life and had diagnosis of anxiety and depression from being a child. I got diagnosed with bpd about 5 years ago and I honestly feel like it has done more harm then good. There is very little available treatment for it so no actual benefit for the diagnosis. All that has happened since diagnosis is that medical staff have treat me worse, social services have treat me worse and job opportunities have been more difficult to come by. I really regret being given this diagnosis and now understand why a lot of psychiatrists aren't willing to give it due to stigma surrounding it.
Yabu diagnosis only help people to get the best care.
Yanbu labels stigmatise people

Yeah, medical professionals sometimes try and pin any random symptoms on my condition because they can see it on my records.
But I can see why they do that- it is likely that a big condition that effects a lot of my life might be causing other symptoms and it just takes extra explaining or pushing to get them to check further.
Interactions with negative medical staff is a very small part of my life though (despite being ill almost all the time) so I am still glad for the diagnosis for all the other reasons I mentioned.

So much this!

Iv spent a lot of times in and out of hospital which is perhaps why I'm noticing it more and iv had some pretty significant medical problems missed due to medical staff automatically blaming mh.

I was diagnosed with BPD ten years ago, I have been refused help from two major private mental health hospitals in the country I live in. I have no doubt it's because of my bpd diagnosis. Which I actually think could be autism but misdiagnosed because it's historically not recognised in females.

I totally understand that.
It is scary and lonely times going through all that.

All the best op.

Thankyou

This. I don't think people realise how badly people with bpd are treated especially when a significant amount of people are wrongly diagnosed with it especially females

I have BPD, and it although the diagnosis did lead to me getting a lot of treatment and support (and I know many are not so lucky), it has also followed me about with things that are nothing to do with mental health.

A few years back, I broke my foot when I misjudged the stairs at home. Went to A&E and got accused by the triage nurse for making it up (she said I was walking fine.. I wasn't!), and then that I had thrown myself down the stairs and did it on purpose. I left A&E on crutches and in one of those boot things. Had a spiral fracture and could not do the things I enjoyed for weeks.

I have seen my file on the screen when I go to the doctor. It has a 'Patient Alert - Personality Disorder' tag on it. Doesn't even say what PD. I think it is hugely stigmatising, and I am sorry you have encountered similar after your diagnosis.

I'm the same all my medical records are red flagged which means I don't stand a chance. Before even meeting the hcw they have already prejudged me

I think you’ve got a point about a BPD diagnosis OP.

I wouldn’t apply that to diagnosis in general though, for the reasons pp have pointed out.

I have brought it up before, with a lovely nurse who was just as mortified as I was. He did try to brush it off with "it is for our information so we can treat you appropriately" etc, but given there are many PD labels, a blanket alert is not helpful.
To me, it is telling the HCP that we can't be trusted, that we are making our symptoms up, and we should just be fobbed off and discharged ASAP in case we rely on them too much. Because that is how they treat us.

I think labels can be positive and helpful, even if there is a little stigma towards them. I u derstand what you’re saying though as I think BPD carries more stigma than most. It seems like it’s the modern day ‘hysteria’ which was used to justify all sorts of appalling treatment of women. Some people seem to say a lot of bpd is complex PTSD do you think that applies to you? Or if you used the newer EUPD that might carry less stigma?

OP, I have tried to find a thread I started a few years ago about my daughter and her MH crisis.
Posters were so helpful and kind, but one post stuck in my mind: the poster asked if DD had a diagnosis; if not, then make sure she didn't accept a dx of BPD. They said that that dx was excluded from all sorts of avenues for help, and carried a lot of negative baggage. Those with BPD weren't even entitled to various things that others were. I can't remember the details but was horrified.

As PPs have said though, some diagnoses are very helpful and open doors, as my other DDs DX of ASD did.

My diagnoses are more than labels.

Most haven't got me extra or better care. But they've allowed me to find community where I can feel validation, learn more about myself, and find out how to get the support or treatment the doctors should be telling me about.

People call most of my diagnoses labels; they are, but they're functioning labels and they're important.

Have you done DBT?

They don't offer it in my area so I'm not entitled to it on the nhs

I think its highly likely its either cptsd or autism. I personally think eupd sounds even worse describing someone as unstable but I do know some prefer it

I’m sorry this has been your experience but honestly it sounds like it’s more to do with shit MH professionals and the NHS being a postcode lottery than the diagnosis itself. Psychiatrists should not be biased against people with BPD - many MH professionals are fighting this stigma in the psychology sector because it absolutely is treatable. But it is wrongly diagnosed too, often in women.

I also have a BPD diagnosis and I have found it very helpful because it finally gave me a framework in which to understand my behaviours and thought processes and why some areas of my life kept going wrong. But I’m in the privileged position of being able to pay for private therapy. I haven’t found I’ve been stigmatised by health professionals or people in general either. I’m sorry you’ve had such a crappy time OP.

I also feel like I'm rushed out of any medical setting I had a p.e blamed on a panic attack that I was apparently exaggerating. I had a bleed on my brain missed as they thought my erratic behaviour was bpd. I also had a diabetic emergencies blamed on bpd. And even after all these times iv nearly died due to bpd bring blamed for everything they still continue to do it

Yeah I agree I should of been more specific

Thankyou and I'm glad your getting the help you deserve

Trust me, I really wish I wasn’t “special”. And more than anything, I wish my children weren’t. I wish my kids could just blend into the crowd at school. I wish we were completely bloody ordinary.

Have you thought about maybe being neurodivergent?

Women are often misdiagnosed with bpd (many are now believing that it's not actually a thing, and is just a way to stigmatise women) who have ADHD and or are autistic.

It's worth doing some research, as if you are ADHD, you can get help with that. Speak to your psychiatrist about it.

I don't think it matters if OP is misdiagnosed. The point is, that people with certain labels are treated like crap... and that is what needs to change.

This