living with borderline personality disorder

I was diagnosed with BPD shortly after having my baby and undergoing a few days stay in a psychiatric facility for postpartum. It was at the same time as the Heard/Depp trial, so already there was a huge stigma surrounding the disorder which made accepting my diagnosis even harder.

Now that it’s been some time and I’ve had a lot of support from my family, friends, and therapist, I confidently accept and even publicly acknowledge my diagnosis. And I won’t let anyone’s opinion or stigmatization influence my life. To be quite honest, a lot of the things I’ve heard from people about BPD are far from the reality we face and it actually makes it much easier to accept their takes because I know they’re just plain out wrong.

But that’s not to say that living with BPD is easy. Everyday is a challenge and I have to consciously make an effort to fight off the demons. Some people claim they’ve been cured, others claim there is no cure. I truly believe it’s like going to the gym and building up endurance. When you have the muscle to fight, there’s a better chance you’ll win. In this case, by equipping yourself with coping skills and conditioning yourself to respond rather than react, you put yourself in a position to not let BPD define you.

Do you or someone you know have BPD? What advice would you give others? What stigmas have you heard that are absolutely absurd to you too? I’d love to hear!

#safespace #lemon8challenge #bpd #MentalHealth #letschat