“I don’t think that really any of the symptoms of it are my experience”: An interpretative phenomenological analysis of women who disagree with their diagnosis of Borderline Personality Disorder

Wyatt, Gemma

Abstract

Background
Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is noted to be a disorder of mood and interaction. This diagnosis is given to more women than men and can be stigmatising, with people being accused of being attention-seeking and manipulative. People have reported feeling that the diagnosis is used when they do not fully meet the criteria for other diagnoses and have reported negative experiences with mental health services after receiving the diagnosis. Some mental health care professionals have also reported finding it difficult to work with people who have this diagnosis. There is also a high correlation between experiencing trauma and receiving this diagnosis, so, a person who has experienced trauma, may then later find it difficult to receive support.
Counselling psychologists are interested in understanding the meaning behind experiences and alleviating distress. Considering that individuals have reported feeling the diagnosis does not match their feelings, and the stigma that they may have experienced, it is important to understand the impact of receiving a diagnosis that is not agreed. This study aimed to explore the experiences of women who have been diagnosed with BPD and have disagreed with their diagnosis, considering what meaning they ascribed to this label, and the impact of this on their mental health and wellbeing.

Methodology
A qualitative approach was used for this study. Eight women, aged between 21 – 44, took part in semi-structured interviews that were held online via Microsoft Teams. The transcriptions were analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA).
Findings
Five group experiential themes were developed:
1. When did everyone forget that I’m just a normal person?
2. This label made things harder.
3. Society needs order and needs labels to keep this order.
4. Problems within the system.
5. Wanting to feel that I am in control of my life.

These themes highlighted that receiving the diagnosis caused difficulties for the participants, feeling unable to trust themselves and worrying about judgements. Findings supported previous research regarding stigma and negative interactions with professionals and services, often receiving invalidating and unhelpful responses. The findings also discussed misdiagnosis, with some participants later finding out that they were autistic and other participants having trauma-related diagnoses. These findings are discussed in terms of related literature and suggestions are made for implications for practice, and recommended future research.
 

Citation

Wyatt, G. “I don’t think that really any of the symptoms of it are my experience”: An interpretative phenomenological analysis of women who disagree with their diagnosis of Borderline Personality Disorder. (Thesis). University of the West of England. Retrieved from https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/11515366

• Thesis Type: Thesis
• Deposit Date: Dec 13, 2023
• Publicly Available Date: Apr 11, 2024
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/11515366
• Award Date: Apr 11, 2024