All posts by Sophie
Borderline Personality Disorder – Taming the Beast
In my opinion, BPD is one of the most stigmatized and misunderstood brain disorders out there. Because it is a Personality Disorder, even the person who suffers from it, often is not aware that he/she has it.
Toby Allen, an illustrator who decided to deal with explaining and conquering such mental illness types as depression, borderline personality, and anxiety disorder by recreating them as cute monsters drew BPD as the picture above.
I can’t agree more. I think BPD is one of the most challenging beasts to deal with.
Having said that, I also believe that it is NOT impossible to tame this beast. And in fact, when this beast is tamed, you can use its power and ability to your advantage.
I like to use the story of Newt and Zouwu as a metaphor.
In the movie “Fantastic Beasts 2”, Newt Scamander was facing Zouwu, a monstrously large feline beast, as big as an elephant, with a striped body, scraggly mane, four fangs that curl out of its mouth, long sharp claws, and a disproportionately long, ruffled multicolored tail. Zouwus are terrifying for most human beings, but they are incredibly powerful and fast, capable of travelling 1,000 miles in a day.
Zouwu is a powerful beast. When Newt first met him, Zouwu was wreaking havoc and scaring many people, seemed to be totally uncontrollable.
Continue reading Borderline Personality Disorder – Taming the BeastDepression – Wait For The Rain To Stop. This Too Shall Pass.
ARTICLE from LettersOfNote
EXCERPTS FROM THE ARTICLE:
Early-2006, during a bout of depression, a young lady by the name of Crystal Nunn wrote a desperate letter to Stephen Fry. Says Crystal:
“I had no idea who to turn to. But I really needed someone to turn to and to ease the pain. So I wrote to Stephen Fry because he is my hero, and he has been through this himself. And low and behold, he replied to my letter, and I will love him eternally for this.”
Crystal Nunn
Mr. Fry’s wonderful reply can be seen below.
Brain Disorders as Fantastic Beasts
Someone asked me about the cover picture of WorkWithTheBrainYouHave Community Page. I posted. that picture, mentioning 7 different brain disorders: ADD/ADHD, Bipolar, Anxiety, Depression, Borderline Personality Disorder, Autism, and OCD.
The reason I put them there is because those are the 7 conditions that I am the most familiar with.
As I mentioned before, DISCLAIMER: I AM NOT A DOCTOR OR A MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSIONAL.
I am a person who has Bipolar type 2, ADD (Inattentive ADHD), and Social Anxiety.
I have a son who has HFA – High Functioning Autism, and I have various friends who have these various brain disorders: Autism, Male Borderline Personality Disorder, Major Depressive Disorder, Anxiety Disorder and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.
I also experience bouts of depression, anxiety and at times ‘mixed states’ which in simplified explanation means having a bout of depression and anxiety at the same time.
Those are the conditions that I have, at different times, researched and studied in the past 5 years. I use my findings to help me and my friends in our recovery. I am now sharing them here in the hope that they can help others in their journey of recovery.
There are literally hundreds of different kind of brain disorders, and unfortunately I don’t know all of them because I have never researched them. But there is tons of information in the internet and you can also get information from your doctor.
Sadly, there is a lot of stigma around the word “mental illness”.
The word ‘mental’ means ‘relating to the mind’, and as a slang in English language, it means ‘crazy or insane’.
I prefer to use the term “brain disorder” to explain the condition/illness. Because in reality, that is the truth: mental illness/disorder is the illness/disorder of the brain.
Another thing I like to do is picture them (brain disorders) as ‘creatures’. And apparently I was not the only one who does it. Illustrator Toby Allen, decided to deal with explaining and conquering such mental illness types as depression, borderline personality, and anxiety disorder, decided to re-create them as cute monsters. Giving such intangible illnesses some substance, makes them appear more manageable as physical entities.
I was so excited when the movie ‘Fantastic Beasts’ came out in late 2016. I like to think the various brain disorders that we have as the various creatures in the story.
Newt Scamander was the nerd who studied and cared for many different beasts that many others preferred to stay away from.
It was because of his knowledge, humility and perseverance, he was able to tame those beasts; and at times needed, he can also use their special ability or power for good purpose.
PS
You are free to use any resources from my Blog and FB Page as long as you give proper credit and put link back to the Blog / FB Page.
ADHD & BPD Cooccurrence
Common ground in Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD)–review of recent findings.
Click HERE for the original paper.
EXCERPTS FROM THE PAPER:
“… ADHD and BPD share some clinical features, particularly impulsivity and emotional instability. These disorders often co-occur. Patients with both diagnoses have more pronounced difficulties which are intertwined and often difficult to treat. In particular, impulsivity seems to be a severely impairing characteristic of patients suffering from both disorders. In BPD, impulsivity is primarily driven by affective and interpersonally sensitive aspects. In ADHD, deficits in attentional and cognitive processing account for behavior inhibition problems, referred to as impulsivity. …”
Continue reading ADHD & BPD Cooccurrence
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