Hello,
My name is Patrick Flynn. I am 33 years old. I also sell lego and transformers on ebay. I have
borderline personality disorder (
BPD). I was diagnosed with depression in 2003 and BPD in 2007. I have learned to manage my condition (somewhat reasonably well) and now want to be as much of a mental health advocate as I can be and and help other people with mental health issues.
Having BPD is tough. There is lots of internal fear, obligation and guilt associated with what you do, what you say and what you think. Relationships are very complicated especially with people you are very close to. The validation people with BPD get from partners, friends and family is like the greatest. Until they go away and we feel their rejection, we feel let down, abandoned, alone and afraid. I am not perfect, not even close. I have manipulated, emotionally taken advantage of people, and said terrible things to people that I cannot ever take back. I cannot excuse my bad behaviors because of BPD but I can be mindful of the hurt that I caused and the emotional misregulation that went into it. I think about suicide a lot, have threatened friends and family with it and have indeed tried a few times. What keeps me alive is my mother, my sister and my extended family. They all care very much no matter what I put them through.
My aim right now is to share my experiences positive and negative as much as possible, to raise awareness about BPD in my community aswell as mental health issues in general. By encouraging others to be open and honest about BPD, I would like to help misunderstood people get the help and support that they need, I hope to facilitate a better understanding of people with BPD and to make it easier for those diagnosed with it to cope with it as quickly and effectively as possible. I have more to learn, I've been reading about it for years and am still learning how to deal with emotions, feelings, dramas and conflicts more effectively. I just want to do what I can to help, if you have BPD or know someone who does,
please ask me anything. I will do my best to answer whatever questions or comments you have as quickly and mindfully as possible. I very much doubt I'm the only person on here with this, but you never know.
I will respect your privacy if you wish to contact me privately.
Later,
Pat.
patorick@bigpond.com
