Hello everyone. I think I last logged in about four years ago. So it’s been quite some time.
I should have announced that I was going to stop running my blog. This community has done so much for me and my recovery, and I owe you all an explanation.
So you all know how I was studying hard to be a therapist? Well, it happened. I’m finally a licensed therapist! That being said, it would be ethically quite sticky for me to give mental health advice to people who aren’t my clients. Therapists are supposed to refrain from offering any clinical interventions or interpretations to people who are not in our care, so I am not sure if answering asks is appropriate. But perhaps I can still post about coping skills and strategies for mental wellness that I find helpful, without necessarily recommending them to anyone in particular? I’ll give this some thought.
When I started this blog, I had just been diagnosed with BPD and was really suffering. This community helped me understand my disorder and connect with others who relate as well. I have met several friends through the BPD community here, and one of them I actually now live with!
All of you here—your guidance, support, feedback, and love—have made such a big difference in my recovery. I finished DBT (Dialectical Behavior Therapy) and I can now say I no longer meet criteria for BPD. Yes, some days are hard, but overall my illness is far more manageable and my quality of life has dramatically improved. I just wish everyone had access to therapy like I did.
Now that I’m a therapist, I do CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy), DBT (of course), CBTp (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Psychosis), and I have just completed training in CPT for PTSD (Cognitive Processing Therapy). The exciting aspect of this work is that there is so much more to learn and so many ways to help clients. It’s very rewarding, but admittedly I am struggling with feelings of inadequacy. I wonder if I was better at giving advice when I was running this blog!
My personal life has changed too. I found out that I don’t have major depressive disorder and persistent depressive disorder, like my therapists thought I did; it turns out I have bipolar II. I also have delayed onset PTSD. I have alluded to this before, but I had trauma in high school. Up until a few years ago, I was pretty much okay, but then I ended up in an environment that very much reminded me of my trauma and that triggered full-blown PTSD and the hypomanic episodes. This also triggered panic attacks and eventually panic disorder, though CBT has helped immensely with that.
Not gonna lie, these new diagnoses felt like a major setback. I made so much progress with BPD… and then these other disorders developed. PTSD in particular is really kicking my butt. Thankfully, it’s not affecting my work at all. I would still say that I’m not struggling nearly as much as I was several years ago, before I was in DBT. I’m trying Prolonged Exposure Therapy for PTSD, so I will see how that goes.
Anyway, I appreciate you all. Thank you for everything you have done to make my days brighter. It’s been a honor running this blog and being part of this community. Recovery is possible. And beautiful.
All my love,
TM

















