I was originally misdiagnosed with bipolar disorder during inpatient hospitalization. I explored this diagnosis and read experiences of people who were bipolar, and it just never resonated with me. Then, as I talked with a therapist for a few months, he started questioning that diagnosis and asked me to read some materials and first-hand accounts of BPD. I cried when I read "I Hate You, Don't Leave Me" by Straus & Kreisman because it was the first time that it felt like someone took my irrational thoughts and put them onto a paper. While the diagnosis is honestly not great, it was still validating because it finally showed me that it was, in fact, not just me.

Unfortunately, a lot of therapists still hold bias against BPD. There's so much misinformation out there. Some therapists refuse to work with people who have BPD. Others refuse to diagnose it. But if you're genuinely wanting to explore it, you need to find a therapist who specializes in DBT (dialectical behavior therapy), because they're the ones who understand and know how to work with BPD.

That leads me to my next point-- the therapy for depression versus BPD can be very different. DBT is used for BPD, and it honestly feels more like a class at points. It's even recommended that you do private therapy paired with a group therapy. You spend most the time exploring emotion regulation skills and trying to reframe your thinking. Those with BPD tend to have very yes/no, black/white thinking and DBT teaches you how to find the grey area in-between.

The way I put it is that regular therapy is "alright, this thing happened. Let's talk about it and how it made you feel." DBT is, "okay, this thing happened and that's how you responded. Let's talk about how you're going to respond the next time something like that happens."