Published on 12, July, 2020
Following a recent hospital admission, I have had ‘EUPD tendencies’ noted on my medical history. I understand this to refer to Emotionally Unstable Personality Disorder. I have never had this mentioned to me before, nor am I diagnosed with this disorder, so I looked it up online to find out the features of it. Most of what I found did not appear to fit with my experiences, and the features I did have overlap with features of my Asperger’s or depression anyway, which I suppose is why they said I had ‘tendencies’, but then couldn’t I realistically have tendencies of all sorts of conditions? I think it’s important for me to determine if this diagnosis would be something that would fit me or not, because it would directly affect which psychological therapies would likely be of benefit to me, and for the last three years mental health services have failed to identify a suitable treatment plan for me.
I was therefore wondering if any of you have experience of EUPD and could shed some light on what it means for you? I don’t think I understand it properly from online resources, especially not from the viewpoint of someone who is autistic too, so I would appreciate any personal viewpoints on the topic. Also, does anybody know of any links/overlaps between ASD and personality disorders? As you can tell, it’s not an area of my expertise!
I got misdiagnosed with it during therapy and in hospital when I got sectioned. There are some overlaps such as emotional dysregulation and intense emotional reactions but these are also obviously autistic traits. My understanding is that in EUPD the emotional reactions are related directly to relationships whereas in autism from being overwhelmed. Are you a woman by any chance? It seems to be a label that mental health professionals put onto women who present in a more NT way. These professionals seem to view the criteria through a nt lens which is very different to our autistic brains although superficially the presentation can look similar.
One thing that that is common to both is our ability to "mentalitize" i.e. See things from another's perspective. I had psychodynamic therapy for 2 years for the pd I didn't actually have. However, the therapy has helped me hugely in improving relationships with my friends and husband and has reduced my meltdowns that were caused by misunderstandings. It has also helped me to identify more of my emotions and therefore be able to process them easier. It has been the most helpful thing I've ever done.
Btw, you say that you've had a recently had a hospital admission, I assume for mental health issues. I hope that you are feeling a bit better now
Yes, I am a woman. It’s true that ASD women are usually good at passing as NT, so I suppose that could cause confusion for a professional trying to diagnose us. That being said, the fact that I already have an autism diagnosis shouldn’t have been forgotten, but I suppose the consultant who saw me maybe didn’t understand the traits and therefore put them down to EUPD instead. I’m sorry to hear that you have been misdiagnosed with EUPD yourself.
Thank you for mentioning the psychodynamic therapy - I shall have a look into that and ask if it is available in my area. I’m glad to hear that it has helped you so much.
Indeed, I was admitted to hospital for mental health issues. Thank you for your well wishes - I’m still very up and down (hence my delayed response) but no longer in a dangerous crisis at least.