Does BPD Really Exist?

[Guest guest]

I saw this video today talking about psychiatric labels and how they are

over-assigned these days. One doctor suggested that none of these mental

disorders are even real, and that psychiatry isn't all that real in the first

place. That, of course, is one extreme. I have been thinking about this lately

as it relates to BPD. It's sort of like when it comes to sociopaths and

anti-social personality disorder, no one really says " That person is mentally

ill. " They declare, " That person is an evil human being and there is no

excuse! " Now, when it comes to depression I really don't believe that exists,

even in the least bit. It's caused by a number of things: 1) something in your

life is making you unhappy, 2) sleep deprivation, 3) Nutrient deficiencies.

Depression is either a sign to fix your life or fix your body.

So what is BPD? Are they deep down just really evil-hearted people? Or do they

have a true mental illness for which we should look upon with sympathy and

understanding? Where is the line exactly? If someone is murdered, no one looks

at the killer and says, " That poor man just couldn't help himself. " Real

murders are not like on the show Dexter. I've even heard of a book that labels

child molesters and excuses it, claiming its a part of who they are and its okay

because they just can't help themselves. Of course, this is a bit more extreme,

but back on the subject... Where is the line with BPD?

On a personal note... I've watched my father do horrible things to both my

mother and I our entire lives. For one, I learned recently that he's had one

affair for sure, one that is currently going on (but we cannot prove), and ever

since he said to my mother, " You had affairs on me while I was living in

Australia for 6 months didn't you? " I had a sinking feeling. That's exactly

what my ex did to me when he cheated on me, accused me. No telling how many

times he's cheated on my mother, he comes up with this outrageous BS that is so

far from ever being true, he's abused me, abused my mother, won't stop cheating,

threatens divorce on my mother 3 times a year since I was born, and when he was

a kid he told his little brother, " I'm going to leave the house now, and if you

step outside that door, there is a big black guy outside who is going to shoot

you and kill you. " That was not the first occasion, he used to mentally torture

his little brother quite a bit. He came in my room recently and said, " If

anyone ever killed you, no one would come looking for you. " Sadly, this is not

the worst of what he has said to me in my lifetime. Needless to say, my life

has been like one long horror movie, as all of you know from personal experience

I'm sure... The part that makes me sick is that he's getting away with all of

it. My mother won't leave him because, " he's mentally ill. " No one believes

how insane he is because he's so good at acting charismatic. From where I'm

sitting, my dad looks flat out evil. I honestly don't believe there is a good

bone in his body. Any act of " kindness " always has a string attached and some

sort of expectation, even if its because he feels like he needs to convince

others (or himself) that he's a good person.

I read a book called " Why Does He Do That? Inside the Minds of Controlling

Angry Men, and one of the things about abusive men is that its all well

calculated. They would rather abuse their partner than get up off their lazy

butt and do work. Am I supposed to lump the BPD and NPD person into the

" abusive " bunch, or am I supposed to excuse it as mentally ill?

What do you think? Do you think it really exists? Or is it just a sugar-coated

way of describing an evil-hearted person?