"Personality Disorder"

Asystole · 30-01-2009, 11:49 AM

I had to attend A&E again last night for self-harm.

Rather than worried, my mum was angry becaused it had happened again. The crisis team seemed short with me too rather than concerned or sympathetic at all.

They said if things carry on this way i'll likely be labelled with a personality disorder..

What did he mean? What types of personality disorder are there? Why would they do this..

Oh just a quick edit; If i was diagnosed with a personality disorder, how would this affect my life in terms of getting a job? As I want to work as a mental health nurse.

sherlock holmes · 30-01-2009, 02:04 PM

There are many different types of personality disorder. The most "common" is borderline personality disorder, one of the criteria is self harm and so many people get misdiagnosed just because they self harm.

These are the different types- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persona...ned_in_the_DSM

If you were diagnosed with a PD you could still work as a mental health nurse as long as your symptoms were managed and you got clearance to work from your psychiatrist. Being a mental health nurse is extremely demanding and no matter what you're diagnosed with you will need to be stable before you can do that job.

Target Dawn · 31-01-2009, 02:13 PM

Just because you self harm it doesn't mean you have a personality disorder. There's a lot of misconception about that. They were most likely meaning BPD but they shouldn't have said that to you anyway!

control freak is right, to work as a mental health nurse you'd have to be stable or else risk endangering yourself and the 'patients' you would be seeing. Behavior says more than a label.

broken_rainbow · 31-01-2009, 03:35 PM

I was initially labeled as BPD because of my self harm, because it is one of the only mental illnesses with self harm as a symptom.

I also want to work in mental health (when I can see that far into the future) and have spoken about this to proffessionals. In some ways it can be a blessing as you have been through it and understand it much better than people who learn from a book.

The crisis team seem to have been really horrible, and for that I am sorry... you'd have thought they would have been slightly more understanding since it is their job, and so aught to be something they understand. I have been fairly lucky with my encounters with crisis teams but there are some who are clearly not working in the right job! Hugs!

As for your mums reaction, to an extent I can understand, my mum is always angry and unsympathetic when I self harm, but I try to make myself think that's only because she doesn't understand... what isnt understood is usually feared. Huge hugs x

whirlpools · 01-02-2009, 04:06 PM

i hate how they say "personality disorder" like it's a swearword. lots of people with PD are truly, truly amazing people. (sorry for the sidetrack. but it's not something to be ashamed of. it didn't sound like YOU think it is, but like your crisis team do! )

i agree with the above replies about how you can still be a mental health nurse, and that once your symptoms are managed/treated, actually your experiences can help you become a much better nurse than people who haven't had experiences of mental health problems.

i hope that, whether you do get diagnosed with PD or not (which shouldn't really be the issue to your care team) that you get the support you need and things start to feel better eventually. xxx

Asystole · 01-02-2009, 05:41 PM

I think it's silly what they said. But it's really stuck with me. Especially the borderline personality disorder information posted earlier in the thread.

I can check several boxes. Identity disturbance, impulsivity, recurrent suicidal behaviour, chronic feelings of emptiness/worthlessness and paranoia and delusions. They're all things I experience and that my psychiatrist has mentioned.

It's a bit worrying since I see him on thursday.