Student Life August 2019

LIVED EXPERIENCE
I have been diagnosed with a personality
disorder, and for a very long time I found
it difficult to come to terms with. For a long
time I thought that the problem was me,
rather than a struggle with my mental health.
As an example it’s like saying someone with
personality disorder has fractured their leg
and the person with bipolar disorder has
broken their leg. Instantly it’s like, well the
broken leg is worse? No. Both conditions
are painful, have impacts on daily life, can
cause you to take time off work, require
intervention, and can be extremely stressful –
so why can’t we have that understanding with
mental health difficulties? A fractured leg
wouldn’t be dismissed and would be treated
as cautiously as a broken leg, however,
unfortunately it isn’t unusual for someone
with a diagnosis of personality disorder to
receive less treatment than that of someone
with a diagnosis of bipolar disorder. With
the correct education and understanding the
stigma surrounding personality disorders
should reduce dramatically.
In fact, personality disorders are one of
the most complex mental health disorders.
Not everyone fits easily into any one of
the clusters which makes diagnosis and
treatment more difficult. The stigma
associated with personality disorder is so
bad that some doctors report reluctancy to
diagnose a personality disorder for fear of
making it ‘problematic’ and/or more difficult
for the person to get help.
I find it a lot easier to live with my diagnosis
now, I have educated myself and it has
enabled me to understand better why I am
the way I am. I’ve learnt to accept it and be
the best person I can be. I’ve learnt to be
open and honest about my diagnosis with
the people who matter most and although
I still sometimes feel nervous about telling
people, I am learning to embrace it and not
let it control my life or my identity. Just like I
am gay, I also have personality disorder, this
doesn’t mean I’m a horrible monster to steer
clear from. I believe I have a good amount of
friends, a loving girlfriend, I’ve got a degree
in nursing, and can hold down a full-time
job – just like you, I can live a functional life
as Leanne not as the girl with a personality
disorder.
I hope that this article has helped people
understand more that though the name
suggests that there’s merely something wrong
with someone’s personality, that it goes much
deeper than that. People suffer with mental
health problems for many reasons, and this
is just the same for personality disorders.
WRITTEN BY LOUISE DICKMAN
Fairly recently it was discussed that it is likely
that I suffer from Borderline Personality
Disorder (BPD). After being told over many
years that my diagnosis was anxiety and
depression, I was quite worried, I didn’t really
know what it was. What I did know though,
was that it seemed to be quite stigmatised
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