i have just been dignoised with eupd what dose this mean for me am i meant to feel depressed all the time i dont understand eupd
Hi there,
EUPD stands for "Emotionally Unstable Personality Disorder", but it's also known as "Borderline Personality Disorder" (BPD).
This diagnosis is usually given to someone who has very strong emotions - which can last for many hours or even days. Other signs of EUPD or BPD are acting impulsively, worrying about being abandoned or having mood swings. These are just some of the symptoms and experiencing those things doesn't necessarily mean you have EUPD.
Not all specialists and doctors agree on EUPD or BPD as a diagnosis. There are a lot of disagreements about whether someone's reactions and emotional responses should be labelled as a "disorder". Some people say it’s a condition that needs to be managed as those emotions can have a big impact on your ability to live a day to day life. There isn't really a right answer.
When you’re diagnosed with an illness - whether it's mental or physical - it comes from the symptoms you have. You're not "meant" to feel depressed all the time, but if you do that could be one symptom of any number of mental health problems. Your diagnosis of EUPD is there to help you. If you don't feel happy with the way your thoughts and feelings affect your life then having a diagnosis can be a starting point to managing that and changing things.
A diagnosis, particularly in mental health, can be just a label given to try and match your symptoms. The truth is mental health is very complicated and everyone is different. You might not fit all the labels, but you should try and find out what your particular needs are. Having a label like EUPD might be a good starting point for this but it doesn't have to define everything you do and more importantly, it doesn't define you.
You are still the person you have always been and this doesn't have to limit anything you do now or what you will become in the future. If you want to talk more about this then you could try chatting with other young people on the Childline message boards as you may find other people who have the same or a similar diagnosis who could share their own experiences. Or the Childline counsellors are always there to listen when you need to talk too.
Thanks for writing to me, take care.
Sam
You can talk privately to a counsellor online or call 0800 1111 for free.
You can ask me about anything you want, there's nothing too big or small. I read every single letter but I can only answer a few each week. My replies are published here on my page.
