I am trying to think of how long I have had this blog- I know it has been years. I know many of the postings have created great conversations- but nothing has ever, ever resonated as much with people as Sandra’s post on this blog. You can see it below. I must say thank you to all of you who wrote such encouraging comments- and then thanks to Sandra- because believe it or not, she answered the comments! What a special person. I know that many of us will find a lot of encouragement and hope from Sandra’s openness and how others have responded.
We are not weird for reacting strongly to situations- we simply have an illness that often gives us TRIPLE the emotions than what would be expected!
Sandra’s post is below- you can click on the comments icon or go to the right to see all the comments. It’s as good as novel!
Julie
I don’t think it is correct for you to say that bipolar gives people “triple the emotions that would be expected.” A disorder like bipolar may cause a difference in moods that affects emotions, but real emotion dysregulation disorders like Borderline Personality Disorder really does cause triple (if not more) the emotional reaction of normal people. Trust me, I know.
Hi Amber,
I see what you are saying- I am often talking about myself when I write- I know others don’t have the same experiences. I have rapid cycling bipolar two and can often have five or more mood swings a day- so that is why I say that the illness can cause so many emotions- borderline and bipolar share so many symptoms. They are both hard to live with, that’s for sure! Julie
I can understand that rapid cycling may somewhat resemble that of the mood changes of BPD in some ways. However, those with Borderline literally FEEL triple the emotion of the normal person. We feel sooner, feel more, and feel longer than the average person – even those with bipolar. And it is more situational than bipolar which isn’t near as situational.
I’ve been diagnosed as having both. Sorting out which is which is a confusing muddle, but I’m doing it slowly bit by bit. I know that when I’m feeling manic I can still be “down” and that down is the borderline reaction to something situational.