With his public admission over the weekend that he was diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), Miami Dolphins wide receiver Brandon Marshall is ready to become the new “face” of BPD.
“I’ll be the face of BPD. I’ll make myself vulnerable if it saves someone’s life because I know what I went through this summer helped save mine,” Marshall told reporters during a press conference on Sunday. “My purpose moving forward is to raise awareness of this disorder — how it not only affects the patient but the families and the people in the community.”
Marshall’s admission does more than just raise awareness of the existence of Borderline Personality Disorder. It provides hope to other males who may have been embarrassed to admit to a BPD diagnosis because it is more commonly associated with women. His admission may also go a long way toward reducing the stigma of mental illness, both in professional sports and the community at large.
Marshall said he was inspired to reveal his struggle with Borderline Personality Disorder after Dr. Marsha Linehan, who developed Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) to treat BPD, came out about her own struggle with BPD earlier in the summer.
“She has given all us hope … that we too can live a healthy and effective life,” Marshall said.
Marshall’s BPD Treatment
Marshall, who was diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder earlier this year, received BPD treatment at a treatment center on the East Coast. While there, he participated in individual and group therapy, and treatment using Dialectical Behavior Therapy.
“This is the most stigmatized disorder out there, but yet it’s very treatable and with the right help, the right treatment program, the right treaters, one diagnosed with BPD can live a healthy, effective, peaceful life,” Marshall said.
“I am not saying that I am cured,” he continued. “What I am saying today is that I am confident today that with the skills that I have learned and the intensity of the program that I went through that I am in a position where I can live an effective and healthy life.”