In response to a comment to a post Misdiagnosis: Is It Bipolar Disorder or Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, I made this comment. I believe it could HELP others
I agree that the two overlaps and may co-exist hence why it is so very important to access a full history of life experiences from the person.
The difficulty of course is that the person has often lost trust with people including those who want and can help.
That is why TIME is so important - TIME to build a trusting relationship and TIME to unpack the life history
Plus people do not understand the impact of adverse experiences on their mental and physical health - that the body keeps a score (D. Bessel van der Kolk)
That is why people need to be TRAUMA-INFORMED
As to medication - YES there is a place for medication but it needs to be carefully administered and monitored. I was prescribed so many medications that I have no idea what but I do know this. I was prescribed medication to offset the side effects of the medication so I got layers of medication. And I got addicted to some medication - especially Lorazepam and Zoplicone and other benzo's.
The anger component was always there. I was an angry person because, well, people caused me harm. I constantly lived in a state of hypervigilance plus it is extremely difficult to run from my brain.
Anger versus dysregulation...is it anger and/or dysregulation
Anger management has such a negative connotation
Yes, I was and I still am angry and that won't go away until I resolve what happened to me and until I change my negative core beliefs.
So this is what I think would be a helpful course of action, from my life experiences
1. EDUCATE the person so that they KNOW about the impact of adverse experiences AND the importance of positive experiences like the importance of human connection
2. MEDICATE but only if required and PLEASE clearly INFORM the person and ensure they are ACTIVE PARTICIPANTS in the DECISION-MAKING process
3. BUILD a TRUSTING RELATIONSHIP with the person...WITH the person
4. Give the person TIME
Now I do understand that people are swamped and time is limited especially for psychiatrists and mental health workers so here is a suggestion:
REFER the person to a COUNSELLOR and give them a LIST of COUNSELLORS
And tell the person - If the COUNSELLOR does not work for you then keep looking because there WILL be a Counsellor that is a good fit for you
We all need to empower people.
We all need to believe that we all have the resources within ourselves to help ourselves.
We need to EDUCATE people and give them the TOOLS to help themselves
Because we will have to manage ourselves LONG AFTER our rescuers LEAVE US
We will all MOVE ON
So PLEASE give us the KNOWLEDGE and TOOLS to do what we need in order to survive
I HOPE this helps
HOPE helps us all
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