Knowing from personal experience the totally consuming effect that depression can have on your life, I’ve wondered how those suffering from its paralyzing symptoms find it in themselves to get help.
Help is out there, for sure. There are treatment centers that offer a variety of approaches to recovery plans, that offer truly individualized help, that offer what someone suffering from depression really needs — hope.
But in order to get help, you have to be able to reach out for it, something that is difficult to do when you are in the middle of a depressive episode.
Once you’ve managed to reach out, you’ve taken the first step along your journey to recovery. What if, however, you have a co-occurring disorder, such as Borderline Personality Disorder? Will your recovery be more difficult? Is there a different type of treatment for depression for those with co-occurring disorders? Will different types of treatment either strengthen or weaken the effect if you have co-occurring Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD)?
Study on Depression and BPD
A recent study conducted by Jessica C. Levenson of the University of Pittsburgh’s Department of Psychology examined those questions.
Levenson enrolled 275 people suffering from major depression in a treatment protocol made up of either interpersonal psychotherapy or medication. She then evaluated those participants for the severity of their depression and for the possibility of co-occurring Borderline Personality Disorder.
Gauging remission rates from the conclusion of the participants’ treatment to three months post-treatment, she concluded that the participants who also suffered from BPD took longer to achieve remission, whether or not they were treated with therapy or medication.
“The findings support our hypothesis that a higher level of personality pathology is related to longer time to remission from depression, with borderline personality pathology carrying the majority of this effect,” Levenson said.
Need for an Accurate Diagnosis
This study underlines the importance of accurate diagnosis. If you are being treated for depression and have been incorrectly or under-diagnosed for a co-occurring disorder such as Borderline Personality Disorder, your therapists will not have all the information needed to treat you properly.
A complete and accurate diagnosis will shed light on any resistance to treatment and give you and your health professionals the chance to address the situation with a clear outlook on the situation.
Finding a depression treatment center that also treats Borderline Personality Disorder and has the capacity to really individualize a strategy for the recovery from your particular diagnosis is imperative in your journey to remission.