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Preparing for your appointment
By Mayo Clinic staffIf you have a pattern of difficult relationships or personality traits that seem common to borderline personality disorder, call your doctor. After an initial appointment, your doctor may refer you to a mental health provider, such as a psychiatrist.
Use the information below to prepare for your appointment and learn what to expect from your doctor.
What you can do:
- Write down any symptoms you or people close to you have noticed, and for how long.
- Write down key personal information, including traumatic events in your past and any current, major stressors.
- Make a list of your medical information, including other physical or mental health conditions with which you've been diagnosed. Also write down the names of any medications or supplements you're taking.
- Take a family member or friend along, if possible. Someone who has known you for a long time may be able to ask questions or share information with the doctor that you don't remember to bring up.
- Write down the questions you want to be sure to ask your doctor so that you can make the most of your appointment.
For symptoms common to borderline personality disorder, some basic questions to ask your doctor or a mental health provider include:
- What is likely causing my symptoms or condition?
- Other than the most likely cause, what are possible causes for my symptoms or condition?
- What treatments are most likely to be effective for me?
- How much can I expect my symptoms to improve with treatment?
- How frequently will I need therapy sessions, and for how long?
- Are there medications that can help?
- If you're recommending medications, what are the possible side effects?
- Do I need to follow any restrictions?
- I have these other health conditions. How can I best manage them together?
- Are there any brochures or other printed material that I can take home with me? What Web sites do you recommend visiting?
In addition to the questions that you've prepared in advance, don't hesitate to ask questions during your appointment at any time that you don't understand something.
What to expect from your doctor
A doctor or mental health provider who sees you for symptoms common to borderline personality disorder is likely to ask a number of questions, including:
- What are your symptoms?
- When did you first notice these symptoms?
- How are these symptoms affecting your life, including your personal relationships and work?
- How often during the course of a normal day do you experience a mood swing?
- How often have you felt betrayed, victimized or abandoned?
- How well do you manage anger?
- How well do you manage being alone?
- Do you get bored easily?
- How would you describe your sense of self-worth? Have you ever felt you were bad, or even evil?
- Have you had any problems with self-destructive or risky behavior, such as reckless driving, wasteful spending, gambling or unsafe sex?
- Have you ever tried to harm yourself or attempted suicide?
- Do you use alcohol or illegal drugs? How often?
- How would you describe your childhood, including your relationship with your parents?
- Were you physically abused or neglected as a child?
- Have any of your close relatives been diagnosed with a mental health problem, including a personality disorder?
- Have you been treated for any other mental health problems? If yes, what treatments were most effective?
- Are you currently being treated for any other medical conditions?
What you can do in the meantime
If you have fantasies about hurting yourself, go to an emergency room or call 911 or your local emergency number immediately.
- Borderline personality disorder. National Institute of Mental Health. http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/borderline-personality-disorder-fact-sheet/index.shtml. Accessed March 4, 2010.
- Cluster B personality disorders. In: Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders DSM-IV-TR. 4th ed. Arlington, Va.: American Psychiatric Association; 2000. http://www.psychiatryonline.com. Accessed March 4, 2010.
- Skodol AE, et al. Personality disorders. In: Hales RE, et al., eds. The American Psychiatric Publishing Textbook of Psychiatry. 5th ed. Arlington, Va.: American Psychiatric Association; 2008. http://www.psychiatryonline.com. Accessed March 4, 2010.
- Kernberg OF, et al. Borderline personality disorder. American Journal of Psychiatry. 2009;166:5.
- Oldham JM. Guideline Watch: Practice Guideline for the Treatment of Patients With Borderline Personality Disorder. Arlington, Va.: American Psychiatric Association, 2005. Accessed March 4, 2010.
- Silk KR. Personality disorders. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed March 4, 2010.
- Hall-Flavin D (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. March 4, 2010.
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