Ask the Therapist
Mother With Possible BPD
I believe my mom has BPD (from the resources I have read). She is very much in denial of even having a mental illness.
Her response to family members when we encourage she find help is we "are the crazy ones".
Do we have to wait until she hurts herself for her to be "forced" into
receiving help, or are there any strategies to break down her defense mechanism of denial?
Firstly, you need to be more careful. You sent this e mail from work and signed your full name. I now know where you went to school, where you work, what you do, where you live, what you look like and how to contact you. With that information I could spend $49.95 at 1-800-searchusa.com, do a complete background check on you, find out virtually anything I wanted to know -- including your social security number, with a little leg work -- and walk away with your identity...or worse. Please be more careful.
As for your Mom, don't presume to diagnose someone without the credentials to do so. If you feel that she is in serious trouble or a danger to herself or others, do an intervention and get her evaluated.
As for strategies, wouldn't that be nice. You're a medical professional, you should know that you can't help someone who doesn't recognize that they need help.
