EUPD traits

[SepiaTonedLove]

What does this mean? I don't get angry outbursts or anything like that. Depression, yes, but I'm not volatile? I didn't know I had a diagnosis, I don't think I was meant to see it either.

And I don't know why it's upset me so much. Is this why I can't work? Is this why I fail at everything I try to do? Is this why I yearn for company but can't get close to people?

I thought it was odd that I'm still being followed so closely by outpatients after a year, when they said it'd be 6 or so sessions with the psychologist and that's it.

I was told this once by a psychiatrist- if you look at the diagnostic criteria for EUPD then you have to tick a fairly arbitrary number of boxes. It may be that you tick some of the boxes but not enough for a diagnosis. That said, another (better) psychiatrist said to me that everyone has EUPD traits and, indeed, traits of other personality disorders because we all have personalities and it's a spectrum.

I'm in a similar boat! Well for me it says possible diagnosis..I told them I didn't agree due to stigma associated with it. But I don't know if it is my diagnosis or not.

What is the stigma? I saw it on a letter from the psychiatrist to my gp under 'current diagnosis'. I wish I hadn't.

EUPD traits isn't a diagnosis really it's just a label for a set of behaviours.

@SepiaTonedLove Google it. I'm sorry but it is really stigmatised.
Some health professions won't give you therapy, mental health professionals unfortunately have a hard time understanding and empathising with people with this condition. We are said to be untreatable, treatment resist, manipulative, attention seeking, needy, child like,l and angry. I even saw a post saying we should be screened for STIs due to the likelihood we sleep around...
People with this condition are often refused inpatient treatment or only allowed for a short while and often told to take responsibility. Almost like we are to blame.

For anyone who finds themselves in a similar situation to myself at the start of this thread, I downloaded and listened to 'Borderline Personality Disorder - Everything you need to know about Emotionally Unstable Personality Disorder' by Patrick Lawrence. It's probably not the best book out there but it does give a clear explanation of EUPD, how it was discovered, theories on how it develops, and a lot of information about reluctance to diagnose, the stigma, and difficulty in finding proper long-term treatment, because short-term doesn't cut it. They do give a hopeful outlook for those who get treatment and say that people can be 'cured', but it's complex.

I was still doubtful about it all being relevant to me until they went through some real life experiences in the book and I had the famous 'oh shit that's me' moment. From childhood through to now, I'm textbook disastrous, paranoid, clingy, avoidant, idealising, a changling, all that - just redirecting the anger inwards. I mean, I always believed I would die by suicide, not today but some day. That's not normal. How did I accept that??

And here I believed I was a fairly mellow person! I suppose that's how I got by till 37 😥

Look up dr Daniel Fox on YouTube has some really good videos on this. He also has a workbook which I've just started using and I'm finding it really helpful.