Apparently May is #BPD awareness month? Really??! Has this always been a thing? I am acutely aware of BPD. Those f*cking criteria are burned into my brain. I second guess everything I think or do. Is this anger 'inappropriate'? If I say I'm sad, will this be labelled as 1/

'emptiness'? If I say I'm not sure if I want to continue with my PhD, will this be taken as evidence of my 'unstable sense of self'?

If the above sounds hysterical, the psychiatrist who added BPD back into my records last year did so on the basis of talking to me on the phone 2/

For 20 minutes, having previously never met me. His conclusive 'evidence' for BPD includes that *EIGHT YEARS AGO* I used to self harm, & that *SEVEN YEARS AGO* I had DBT. I kid you not.

How about, instead of being more aware of BPD, we abolish it altogether? It's a collection 3/

Of loosely related symptoms often linked to complex trauma & attachment difficulties. It is riddled with stigma, hatred, sexism, homophobia and transphobia. It is a tool used to silence and exclude. Have a look at materials for #HighIntensityNetwork/ #SIM if you are in doubt. 4/

This has been rolled out across London and parts of England despite VERY little evidence behind it. Despite the rollout flying in the face of MRC guidance for evaluating complex interventions. Seemingly with no ethical oversight. Without collection of service user outcomes. 5/

This is what happens when a label such as #BPD is used to vilify a whole group of people (mainly women & queer people); people who are distressed and traumatised are criminalised for being distressed and traumatised, with clinician endorsement.

How about we start being aware 6/

Of the complexity of people's distress, & of our ability for compassion? How about we stop spending money on ridiculous campaigns such as #BPDawarenessweek & start loudly asking questions about the harm this label does to people's lives???


#BPD #EUPD #TraumaNotPD @MadCovid

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