ActuallyBPD / ActuallyNPD / ActuallyASPD - People with mental disorders who think expecting them to be nice is ableist

[Meowthkip]

Is it possible for there to be a mental disorder where you make up mental disorders for attention? Seeing as people with Borderline/Histrionic personality disorders often have these inferiority complexes, it makes sense that they would try to parade around these illnesses for the pity of naive internet users.

Yes, it's called Munchhausen's.

 

[Probably Not]

Yes, it's called Munchhausen's.

According to Mayo Clinic the risk factors for Munchhausen:

• Childhood trauma, such as emotional, physical or sexual abuse
• A serious illness during childhood
• Loss of a loved one through death, illness or abandonment
• Past experiences during a time of sickness and the attention it brought
• A poor sense of identity or self-esteem
• Personality disorders
• Depression
• Desire to be associated with doctors or medical centers
• Work in the health care field

I'd guess the two I bolded are the most common among the tumblr crowd because they lead boring lives and want to feel special.

 

[bvt_hooligan]

The reason they often don’t go to shrinks is because they want to wallow in the idea that they have it without being told they might have something else that therefore would make them less disadvantaged in the eyes of their tokenistic webmd circle

i agree. i have a theory that a lot of them, no matter if they're ill or not, avoid doctors on purpose. since, you know, those either won't find anything that will cost tumblr folk their snowflake's statuses (not like it'll stop some of them from playing pretend online though) or may actually suggest some kinda therapy.

but, you see, once you actually start to get better, you kinda can't count as an innocent troubled child due tumblr's anti-recovery mindest. so i guess that being mentally ill is just handy when you want to have a "get outta jail" card for your bitchy behavior and be oppressed without risking being exposed while posing as some ethnical minority.

 

[Shit Waifu]

i agree. i have a theory that a lot of them, no matter if they're ill or not, avoid doctors on purpose. since, you know, those either won't find anything that will cost tumblr folk their snowflake's statuses (not like it'll stop some of them from playing pretend online though) or may actually suggest some kinda therapy.

but, you see, once you actually start to get better, you kinda can't count as an innocent troubled child due tumblr's anti-recovery mindest. so i guess that being mentally ill is just handy when you want to have a "get outta jail" card for your bitchy behavior and be oppressed without risking being exposed while posing as some ethnical minority.

if that’s how they feel then they can be goddamn miserable for the rest of their life. I have no sympathy for little munchies who self dx and don’t seek help. You think you have a disorder? You feel like shit? Go seek help and don’t cry about it. Get an actual diagnostic analysis from someone with a DSM. It’s not as hard as tumblr would think. But doing so!! Doing so wouldn’t allow them to play victim!!!

There’s a difference between munchie tier self diagnosis and “consulting the internet and then actually going to a psychologist or psychiatrist to seek diagnosis and help”. One is self awarnesss and the other is a glorified form of self deception or even, dare I say, a maladaptive coping mechanism. Shouldering the problem and using it for pity (assuming one even has it at all) is not consulting and trying to alleviate it, it’s completely counteractive.

 

[WW 635]

People with personality disorders don't seek help because they genuinely believe there is nothing wrong with them. So while someone with depression might go in to see a doctor because they really want to feel better, Cluster B personalities think they're doing great and it's everyone else who is the problem. They're also very treatment resistant because of this.

For anyone in this thread claiming your BPD was cured by an SSRI, I have news for you: you were misdiagnosed or you're full of shit.

Edit: If you're claiming your BPD was fixed by an antipsychotic of any kind, same statment as above applies

 

[Apex Predator]

Regarding Cluster B personality disorders, dialectical behavior therapy is actually effective at managing BPD, and people with BPD are far more likely to realize they have a problem and seek help than those with NPD or APD. People with BPD can usually be treated (though not cured) these days, particularly if they catch it early.

 

[Urban Superstition]

Regarding Cluster B personality disorders, dialectical behavior therapy is actually effective at managing BPD, and people with BPD are far more likely to realize they have a problem and seek help than those with NPD or APD. People with BPD can usually be treated (though not cured) these days, particularly if they catch it early.

And the reason it's ineffective on NPDs and ASPDs is because unlike BPDs who sometimes have some shred of (distorted) empathy, they have absolutely no empathy. They need to be baited with immediate rewards such as money, sex, worship, etc. to even consider doing anything they don't want to do.

 

[WW 635]

And the reason it's ineffective on NPDs and ASPDs is because unlike BPDs who sometimes have some shred of (distorted) empathy, they have absolutely no empathy. They need to be baited with immediate rewards such as money, sex, worship, etc. to even consider doing anything they don't want to do.

Sounds pretty reasonable to me. Why would someone do something they don't want to do without a reward?

 

[Probably Not]

Sounds pretty reasonable to me. Why would someone do something they don't want to do without a reward?

The issue is that Cluster Bs have problems with seeing other people as having value beyond utility to themselves which results in behavior that can be dangerous or harmful for others and can lead to legal problems. Cluster Bs can result in active malevolence.

Another issue with Cluster Bs is a tendency towards impulsiveness which creates an obstacle for long term planning and treatment. Dramatic, erratic, and threatening/disturbing behavior is a key feature of Cluster Bs.

The point is that compared with Cluster A and Cs, Cluster Bs are the much more likely to result in harm, (physical, psychological, and emotional) for others and they have a pretty big reputation for it. Cluster Bs tend not to seek treatment voluntarily in comparison with other mental problems because they don't see anything wrong with themselves or even realize there could be anything wrong and will even deny such accusations or get angry as a response.

However it should be noted BPDs are more likely than others to seek help because they tend to have better empathy with mood disorder being a common symptom leading to anxiety or depression.

 

[WW 635]

According to Mayo Clinic the risk factors for Munchhausen:

• Childhood trauma, such as emotional, physical or sexual abuse
• A serious illness during childhood
• Loss of a loved one through death, illness or abandonment
• Past experiences during a time of sickness and the attention it brought
• A poor sense of identity or self-esteem
• Personality disorders
• Depression
• Desire to be associated with doctors or medical centers
• Work in the health care field

I'd guess the two I bolded are the most common among the tumblr crowd because they lead boring lives and want to feel special.

Yea, but aren't those also BPD criteria?

 

[Meowthkip]

Yea, but aren't those also BPD criteria?

There's probably a ton of overlap.

 

[FierceBrosnan]

There's probably a ton of overlap.

There are similarities but with BPD it's ramped up a few degrees. Here's some BPD criteria from the DSM IV.

1) frantic efforts to avoid real or imagined abandonment.
Note: Do not include suicidal or self-mutilating behavior covered in Criterion 5.

(2) a pattern of unstable and intense interpersonal relationships characterized by alternating between extremes of idealization and devaluation

(3) identity disturbance: markedly and persistently unstable self-image or sense of self

(4) impulsivity in at least two areas that are potentially self-damaging (e.g., spending, sex, Substance Abuse, reckless driving, binge eating).
Note: Do not include suicidal or self-mutilating behavior covered in Criterion 5.

(5) recurrent suicidal behavior, gestures, or threats, or self-mutilating behavior

(6) affective instability due to a marked reactivity of mood (e.g., intense episodic dysphoria, irritability, or anxiety usually lasting a few hours and only rarely more than a few days)

(7) chronic feelings of emptiness

( inappropriate, intense anger or difficulty controlling anger (e.g., frequent displays of temper, constant anger, recurrent physical fights)

(9) transient, stress-related paranoid ideation or severe dissociative symptoms

EDIT: 8 got smiley filtered

 

[Probably Not]

Yea, but aren't those also BPD criteria?

There is actually some association between Munchhausen's and BPD. One report found 58% of those with Munchhausen's also met the criteria for BPD. Given that a major symptom of BPD is fear of abandonment and extreme reactions to potential abandonment, this makes sense. BPDs crave attention and attachment, manufacturing trauma or illness is a potential path to that for them. Another major symptom of BPD is self harm which can contribute to the potential for Munchhausen's. It should also be noted that BPDs are also known for doing things like threatening or staging suicide and engaging in self harm specifically to prevent perceived/potential abandonment or otherwise get a desired reaction.

I would not be surprised at all if some Tumblrinas do have BPD or non manufactured mental disorders, but Tumblr has developed a culture where official diagnosis and treatment is a bad thing. It's rather horrible that all this self diagnosis and negative portrayal of mental illness and doctors encouraged by Tumblr can convince people not to seek out treatment when they do actually have problems.

 

[GarthMarenghisDankplace]

There's more success for treating BPD because people who *actually* have it are motivated to change because it's fucking horrible. There can be some success with NPD because not all narcissists are happy in themselves. Being preoccupied with how shit you are 100% of the time and constantly looking for validation is also NPD (which is associated with higher suicide risk). Psychopaths on the other hand are not in distress. I wouldn't even say they were ill, they are in fact uniquely well equipped to thrive in the world. A Psychopath cannot be 'cured' once they are an adult (though there have been some promising preliminary results from adolescents with callous-unemotional conduct disorders).

It's also correct that you cannot diagnose teens with PDs. Human brains mature from the inside out with the frontal lobes maturing last. When you're a kid it's fine cause everything is equally immature but for 5-10 years in the middle you striatum (dopaminergic reward function, want want want) and amygdala (emotions, fear, anger) are both functioning at 100% but the frontal lobes (which are involved in willful control and feedback signals to the first two telling them to shut their whore mouths) are that of a 5 year old. So all teens are neurologically predisposed to be impulsive, selfish, self-centred and neurotic. Adolescence is not a personality disorder, even though it can be hell.

 

[MetalParakeet]

I don't get people pretending to have bpd. Why would you want to mimic traits that make everyone on the planet hate you? What is glamorous about that?

BPD people are literally t he reason I don't work in my field of psychology.

 

[Piga Dgrifm]

I don't get people pretending to have bpd. Why would you want to mimic traits that make everyone on the planet hate you? What is glamorous about that?

BPD people are literally t he reason I don't work in my field of psychology.

I guess so they can be massive assholes to everyone and have a ready-made excuse.

 

[Lez]

IIRC, you're not supposed to be diagnosed with a personality disorder until you're at least 18. Self-diagnosing can be dangerous for young 'uns because they might start mimicking the symptoms or rather than try to avoid developing it, they will embrace it and almost in a way predispose themselves to acquiring it. And so many people with it will use it to try to excuse their behavior by saying 'Oh, I lashed out because I have BPD. You're ableist for telling me that I was hurting you!' They could have a different disorder that didn't pop up in an info post on their dashboard, and then seek out the wrong help.

Also some have 'don't follow me if you only have depression, anxiety, or AVPD' on their blog.

 

[WateredDownInk]

i agree. i have a theory that a lot of them, no matter if they're ill or not, avoid doctors on purpose. since, you know, those either won't find anything that will cost tumblr folk their snowflake's statuses (not like it'll stop some of them from playing pretend online though) or may actually suggest some kinda therapy.

but, you see, once you actually start to get better, you kinda can't count as an innocent troubled child due tumblr's anti-recovery mindest. so i guess that being mentally ill is just handy when you want to have a "get outta jail" card for your bitchy behavior and be oppressed without risking being exposed while posing as some ethnical minority.

That's one of the things that gets me most when i see someone complaining about being mentally ill - usually when you tell em to go get help, they refuse and take the bullshit tumblr logic. Like, yes, there have been cases of absolutely shitty doctors and therapists, but don't you want to take the chance of getting better and feeling like not wanting to kill yourselves for once?????

It's absolutely insane the mental gymnastics they'll take to NOT get help to keep up with their mentally ill status (if they even have it at all). They're honestly like a fucking disease who spreads their bad advice and methods to others who do need serious help.

 

[Audit]

That's one of the things that gets me most when i see someone complaining about being mentally ill - usually when you tell em to go get help, they refuse and take the bullshit tumblr logic. Like, yes, there have been cases of absolutely shitty doctors and therapist, but don't you want to take the chance of getting better and feeling like not wanting to kill yourselves for once?????

It's absolutely insane the mental gymnastics they'll take to NOT get help to keep up with their mentally ill status (if they even have it at all). They're honestly like a fucking disease who spreads their bad advice and methods to others who do need serious help.

There can be legitimate reasons for not seeking mental healthcare when mentally ill. If the symptoms are bearable, the medications can cause more distress than the illness itself. Typically, there's a weird grey zone where the symptoms cause problems but not enough to warrant spending time and money on therapy or medication, I.e. just read the list of symptoms associated with giving teenagers sertraline (Zoloft), a drug commonly used to treat BPD.

IMPORTANT WARNING:
A small number of children, teenagers, and young adults (up to 24 years of age) who took antidepressants ('mood elevators') such as sertraline during clinical studies became suicidal (thinking about harming or killing oneself or planning or trying to do so). Children, teenagers, and young adults who take antidepressants to treat depression or other mental illnesses may be more likely to become suicidal than children, teenagers, and young adults who do not take antidepressants to treat these conditions. However, experts are not sure about how great this risk is and how much it should be considered in deciding whether a child or teenager should take an antidepressant.

Sertraline may cause side effects. Tell your doctor if any of these symptoms are severe or do not go away:

• nausea
• diarrhea
• constipation
• vomiting
• difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep
• dry mouth
• heartburn
• loss of appetite
• weight changes
• dizziness
• excessive tiredness
• headache
• nervousness
• uncontrollable shaking of a part of the body
• changes in sex drive or ability
• excessive sweating

Some side effects can be serious. If you experience any of the following symptoms or those listed in the IMPORTANT WARNING or SPECIAL PRECAUTIONS section, call your doctor immediately:

• seizures
• abnormal bleeding or bruising
• agitation, hallucinations, fever, sweating, confusion, fast heartbeat, shivering, severe muscle stiffness or twitching, loss of coordination, nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea
• rash
• hives
• swelling
• difficulty breathing

https://medlineplus.gov/druginfo/meds/a697048.html

That all being said, tumblrites probably will never have this concern given that they probably haven't even been diagnosed with a mental illness by a reputable medical professional. Having a mental illness , as others have said, adds to your oppression score and you can't leave anything on the table in the tumblr oppression Olympics. Besides, if the symptoms were really as severe as the tumblrites claim, they would definitely not be part of the grey zone and would need immediate institutionalization, drugs, and therapy.

 

[Sylvie Paula Paula]

Also some have 'don't follow me if you only have depression, anxiety, or AVPD' on their blog.

It's actually a quickly-growing majority, even if it's self-diagnosed. Same with if you don't have your mental illnesses or physical disabilities listed on your blog - but any sensible person going to pull out their diagnoses and list what medication they take just to follow some rando on the internet. These types of people encourage you to overshare just so you can join some inner, "elite" "neurodivergent" circle of BYFs and petty callouts when most of them barely know anything about themselves. They'll resort to Wikipedia to try and fit the "missing pieces" (the mood swings of puberty), while claiming that actual therapists & psychiatrists are ableist for being paid to try and help fill in those emotional gaps.