Madame Pirate wrote:I have a similar issue of having extreme blow up temper at minor trivial things. In my case I'm pretty sure it's related to BPD (borderline personality disorder), though I haven't been professionally diagnosed yet.
Dear Madame,
Thank you for the Education. I looked up Borderline Personality disorder. It seems to cover a large range of symptoms. I found that One concern you should have in talking of yourself as BPD is that many Therapists regard BPD as Very Resistant to Treatment. One article I read even made the supposition that Many Therapists will use the Diagnosis of BPD simply as a Signal Flag to other Therapists that they think you are a Hopeless Case. So, if you decide to go into Therapy, certainly do not suggest that you are BPD, as it will probably only serve to put your Therapist on the defensive and create a pessimistic mode regarding you and your Treatment Possibilities. Likewise, without mentioning it yourself if you are Diagnosed with BPD, you might wonder whether you need to find a New Therapist, as THAT Diagnosis simply might be His or Her Code for Hopeless Case. For Effective Help you would want a far less Sweeping Diagnosis, in keeping with Whatever the Therapist feels Adequate to Treat, and to actually Help you with.
that being said, I read that Cognitive Behavior Therapy and the variants of CBT that are used by the Psychiatric Profession (Dialectical Behavioral Therapy DBT. Note that Cognitive Behavior Therapy was developed by Psychologists and so their 'Betters' , the Psychiatrists would feel sallied and tainted if they used the Same Therapy as their Low Rent Psychologist Fellows who take up their Practices on the Wrong Side of the Tracks, and so they at least Rename the Same Therapy before they use it themselves), ... CBT and DBT have shown some effectiveness in treating Borderline Personality Disorder. However, Brain Scan work has shown that there is a strong Correlation of Brain Abnormalities (such and such a gland being smaller or some brain chemical being too much or too little in presence, see Wikipedia for details). If the Cause is so Organic, one could lose Hope, ... however, I recently read a book that supposed that the Brain is amenable to Willful Practice -- for instance the Organ that Regulates Impulse Control can be nudged toward being more effective if it is continually bombarded with Cross Brain Talk that 'Urges' It to Catch Impulses before the Rest of the Brain has to Deal with them. Mush of This Cross Talk Must come from the Cerebral Cortex -- the only part of the Brain that you have within your direct command. And, Yes, the Cerebral Cortex DOES have Cross Feed Lines to the Network of Subconscious Glands and such. this probably accounts for the Success of Cognitive Behavior therapy and its cousin in the Swankier Shrink Community, Dialectical Behavioral Therapy. But the patient must be Highly Motivated and engage in Therapy Practices everyday, conscientiously, for perhaps years before any significant changes in the Personality become discernibly manifest.
But, from my point of view from here at the Anger Management Forum, is that All of Anger Management is dealing with Dysfunctionality of Impulse Control, AND that most of the People who come here for Help can, learn how to improve their Impulse Control, and by continued focus on The Problem and Practice Practice Practice, can significantly improve the Ability to Control their Lives.
