BPD related rage and aggression - can simple anger managment treat it even if its deep rooted?
years ago i was diagnosed with BPD personality disorder and ptsd traits to.
iam now 31 and rage and aggression have been the number 1 chronic problem in my life.
i feel the rage comes from years of abuse, taunts, being victimised and being bullied, where anger was built up and stored up for many years because it wasnt addressed properly at the time.
i was a sensitive soft adolescent and never stood up to my victimisers. this is where i let them bully me and anger went internal for many years.
years ago i used to go outside , not intensional, to do my errands, i would become paranoid, feel jealous of happy people , my mind would race, stress and pressure would build up, if i saw someone , mainly another youth , i would think he was threatening me if he made eye contact , and BAM !
i would completley lose control of rage and conduct, start attacking and picking fights with people , shout, clench teeth, threaten people, push people over - get attacked by strangers, hurt at times , cautioned by the police - ive been very lucky not to get in serious trouble …….as ive had countless of those outbursts in public.
for many years ive been pursuing help and therapy, managed the rage superbly considering how hard it is to control impulses.
i still think the local community has a negative perception of me even though ive live a stable life for many years , even though very lonely living as a recluse in my own apartment on the edge of society.
im 31 nearly, and are working very hard on my conduct, chasing help from psychiatric services - even though the help i want is not available from the mental health services ( individual psychotherapy )
ive missed out on the normal things in life, forming relationships ever, being employed, studying , gaining qualifications , having a life.
i suffer very low self esteem and its very difficult to make friends with people as i cant maintain conversation, expect to much, get to clingy, act to desperate for their friendship etc.
iam determined to reach my goals of leaving england and living in spain a remote part near the coast or where my grandparents were from madrid - with a wife , a simple life and a computer job, even though im at big disadvantages.
but i wont be able to achieve that if my rage defeats me and i explode , lose it , or do something detremental - its a constant battle - there are MANY triggers i find.
what i want to know is , with rage this bad, so deep rooted , can a simple anger management course have any effect ?
Posted in children psychotherapy
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February 24th, 2010 at 7:02 pm
By the time a family member has been diagnosed as suffering from a borderline personality disorder, so much stress has been generated in the family that everyone is affected. For this reason, it is advisable for the entire family to seek support services.
If outpatient therapy reaches a stalemate or is interrupted by repetitive suicide attempts, or if the patient cannot stay consistently with a therapy and continues to disrupt his or her own life and that of others, the family and patient may want to seek consultation in a center specializing in the treatment of borderline personality disorder. A thorough assessment may lead to the recommendation of a more specific individual therapy, adjunctive group or family therapy, referral to substance abuse treatment, or more intensive treatment in the form of hospitalization or a day hospital program.
Day hospital treatment, where the patient is committed to attending daily therapy sessions and workshops but resides at home, is helpful both in enabling patients to understand their problems and how these affect others, and also in bringing patients into close daily contact with others who are working on those problems. Borderline patients tend to support each other–sometimes in a negative way, to be sure, but more often in a very positive way. Articulate, candid and forthright, they are often extremely effective in cutting through the denials and excuses and the blaming of others that so hamper a person’s ability to see his or her own problems. The recognition of the illness and the determination to overcome it have everything to do with successful treatment.
Without adequate treatment, the illness is lifelong, and all too often ends in suicide. With good treatment, the outlook is very favorable indeed in many cases. Among the 500 borderline patients studied by Dr. Michael Stone at the Columbia Psychiatric Institute over more than 20 years, 4 out of 10 are clinically recovered 10-20 years after their point of entry into the study during hospitalization. Seventy-five percent are self-supporting and doing reasonably well. The suicide rate was 7% as of 16 years post-admission. The patients who recovered tended to be those who persisted in psychotherapy over many years.
Psychotherapy Approaches
Treatments for BPD have improved in recent years. Group and individual psychotherapy are at least partially effective for many patients. The individual outpatient psychotherapy for the borderline patient usually consists of 2-3 therapy sessions a week over a period of years. The therapist works with the patient to understand the meanings and motives of his or her behavior, and to strengthen his or her capacity to endure frustration, anger and loneliness without acting impulsively upon those feelings.
One form of therapy that is psychodynamic in nature, is known professionally as transference-focused psychotherapy (TFP). This therapy is geared primarily at understanding the underlying causes of the patient’s borderline condition and working to build newer, healthier ways of thinking and behaving for the patient.
About Transference-Focused Psychotherapy (TFP):
by Frank Yeomans, M.D., Ph.D.
TFP is a treatment based on psychoanalytic concepts designed especially for borderline patients. This twice-per-week individual psychotherapy has been developed over a period of decades and is described in a treatment manual. Although it dates back many years, TFP combines many of the elements described in the recently published Guidelines for the Treatment of Borderline Personality issued by the American Psychiatric Association. For example, TFP places special emphasis on the assessment and on the treatment contract and frame. The setting up of the contract and frame has a behavioral quality in that parameters are established to deal with the likely threats both to the treatment and to the patient’s well-being that may occur in the course of the treatment. The patient is engaged as a collaborator in setting up these conditions.
After the behavioral symptoms of borderline pathology are contained through structure and limit setting, the psychological structure that is believed to be the core of borderline personality is analyzed as it unfolds in the transference [the relation with the therapist as perceived by the patient]. While TFP emphasizes the role of interpretation within psychotherapy sessions, it acknowledges the possible role of auxiliary treatments (e.g. for active eating disorders or substance abuse) and includes pharmacological interventions to address specific symptoms as needed.
A distinguishing feature of TFP in contrast to many other treatments for BPD is the belief in a deep psychological structure (structure of the mind) that underlies the specific symptoms of BPD. The focus of treatment is on a fundamental split in the patient’s mind that divides perceptions of self and others into extremes of bad and good. This internal split determine
February 24th, 2010 at 7:02 pm
guy what ‘I wonder’ said is good advice’
you already have the reason for your anger
it is not ’simple’ anger management…it is complex and it will help you too.
to root out the problem and dig it out and get a new start consider my last answer to a person with another problem yet it is the same solution;
and be glad you dont have issues that bring on even worse feelings;
my answer to a past question dealing with being very very very down’
lucky? I got more than luck every day is the happiest of my life.
every day cause i got self respect and once i was a slutty guy i thought it was luck too, but it got me to the point of such pain for those i had used and been used by too i was going to commit suicicde.
its not really luck that is what the mouse said when it found cheese in the mouse trap, just befrore its lights went out.
do you think this girl was lucky ..crying with a broken heart;
Christmas will have a new meaning for you this year more blessed than ever before.
you have to determine your life for yourself, look up to the unconditional love and dont let anyone provoke you, He will have a responsibility as we all do for our actions.
in any case this is how i answered another girl that was in pain over a guy that she said had used her;
I am sorry this has happened to you
now get a new start from your heart, this has worked for me.
with the past gone cast as far as the east is from the west =any thing done wrong is gone, as God promises. Psalm 103
vow in your heart to become in love with someone who will never use you, with help from above. and when thinking of this past person, remember to never let anyone have what is for marriage, till the day you marry.
a prayer "Help me Jesus to do what is right, I am sorry for my past sin, come into my heart and help me do better, be my best friend, amen.
He promised in Revelation 3:19&20 to do this.
David in Jesus amazing grace and thanks
February 24th, 2010 at 7:02 pm
This is so sad…. Many people with BPD have found relief through medication and counseling. Are you sure you were diagnosed properly? Anyway…I’m sure an anger management class would come in handy, however i think it would be like spitting on a forest fire. I have a friend who has a different kind of disorder and took a course called "Landmark Education" This course is pretty aggressive, however it teaches you how to communicate with people, how to not accept other peoples "crap" how to control your anger and impulses. This program is NOT for everyone but i think that for my friend, it saved his life! he is successfully leading a pretty normal life. I have had a few glimpses into the way he was before and …….SCARY! good luck.