About Me (Updated 2023)


My name is Joyce.  I am 54 years old, widowed with two kids and five grandkids.  I live with my son and granddaughter, (his niece), who I’m raising.  It’s a long story.  Maybe someday I’ll tell it.  I enjoy writing, photography and baking.

I suffer from/have suffered from:  Borderline Personality Disorder, Depression, Post-Partum Depression, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Social Anxiety Disorder, Agoraphobia, Dermatillomania and Insomnia.  I take Cymbalta, Wellbutrin and Abilify to manage my symptoms.  I have been in therapy for over 30 years.  I took a DBT (Dialectical Behaviour Therapy) program about 20 years ago to learn how to manage my emotions better.  I did a lot better until recently when a lot of stuff happened which is extremely difficult to deal with.  I’ve lost some people in my life who were very dear to me.  I’ve just moved.  I am revisiting my binders from that program and trying to implement those skills as needed.

I feel so alone a lot of the time, like no one can possibly understand what I’m going through.  It’s so hard for people without BPD to understand what it’s like.  I believe they can, but usually only to a point.

I would like to see things less in black-and-white, and more in lots of colours.

Follow my blog on my path to recovery.  I hope you will learn more about BPD along with me.

– Joyce.

42 thoughts on “About Me (Updated 2023)”

  1. it will be so exciting to read your book on BPD. I’m also very interested in the DBT techniques. I love the idea of awareness and acceptance. Thanks for sharing your personal story.

    Like

    Reply ↓

  4. Great to meet another mom joyce, we seem to be arare breed , but i think it is the one thing that makes us fighters.

    Like

    Reply ↓

  7. Hi Joyce, great website and blog. I came across DBT while I worked as a psychiatric nurse, and thought it was pretty amazing! Hope it has been useful for you and also helps you at present. You are right, It can be very difficult for us guys without BPD to understand what it is like to have BPD. Good luck with your book and wit life in general. Rupert

    Like

    Reply ↓

    • Hello Rupert! Thank you for checking out my site. DBT is helping me at the present. I’ve had a difficult year, but I’m working hard on using my DBT skills. All I ask is that those of you without BPD at least try to understand the best you can, and validate that our intense emotions are real to us. Thanks for wishing me luck. I’ll need it!

      Like

      Reply ↓

  9. Thank you Joyce for creating this blog. It is educating me as well as confirming that everyone is worthy to live a good life regardless of what life has dealt them. Shout it from the roof tops for those of us to continue fighting the battle of stigma.

    Like

    Reply ↓

  10. Joyce,
    I have been following your site and wanted to let you know I strongly support your message of reducing stigma for BPD. It is terrible how people with BPD are often vilified and discouraged by those who don’t understand the condition. I experienced this myself when I was first diagnosed with the disorder.
    My own blog about BPD is unconventional and we may not agree on some points. I was diagnosed with BPD 10 years ago, and have been working on recovering from it since then, without using medication. Today I am no longer remotely diagnosable as BPD. I am healthy and normal, and I really enjoy my life. Given the currently prevailing views on BPD, I fully expect that people will not believe that or not believe that I ever had BPD. But that doesn’t bother me one iota – I have worked very hard to be fully free of BPD, which I now am,, and will not be discouraged by anyone.
    My own site is about reducing stigma of BPD, defining the BPD diagnosis in a different way, rejecting pessimism about the disorder, and promoting the vision that full, lasting recovery is possible. I hope you’ll take a look.
    – Edward

    Like

    Reply ↓

  11. Hi Joyce, thank you so much for this site and for your tweets on twitter (which is how I found you…) I was diagnosed BPD nearly two years ago having been depressed, anxious and ” out of sorts” for 20. The BPD label didn’t really fit though until last week and I came across your links about the “quiet” borderline and it all suddenly fell into place, I almost felt happy, I’m not alone anymore! I can never thank you enough for the little piece of me that now feels accepted 🙂 Much love…
    Dizzysqueaks xxx

    Like

    Reply ↓

    • Thank you so much for your kind comment. 🙂 I was also misdiagnosed for about 20 years as just having depression. I was diagnosed in 2005. It was such a relief to finally have the correct diagnosis and correct treatment after all those years!

      Like

      Reply ↓

  12. Joyce, I believe in the adage, “Write about what you know.” One of the positives (if there is such a thing) about having suffered from any disorder, abuse, etc, is that we do become expert on the subject, and we become the best ones to write those books to help others. I wish you much luck in your journey and book when it is finished!

    Like

    Reply ↓

    • I’m sorry that you grew up with that. I hope that things are getting better for you today. I’m trying to raise awareness and reduce stigma so that people don’t have to live like that anymore.

      Like

      Reply ↓

  17. Pingback: About Me | judymeibach1

  18. I’ve recently been diagnosed as having BPD to go alongside my depression. Reading your posts helps me to understand none of us are alone. There is some hope out there but life isn’t easy for us. Good luck in your life, I’ll be following the blog to see how you get along.

    Like

    Reply ↓

  19. Hi Joyce, I look forward to reading your blog! I too have BPD and have struggled with the stigma it brings, which has lead me here. I hope you are well!

    Like

    Reply ↓

  20. Hi Joyce, I am so glad I found your blog. I am older and have suffered for as long as I can imagine. Misdiagnosed with depression. And I am just now really accepting and putting the pieces together to see how long I have really had this condition. I know I have resisted the term ‘mentally ill’. I have RUN from that and in doing that I have really screwed myself. I sure am in a falling apart place right now. So my support system is almost non-existant, I am about to be homeless and that uncertainty is a killer.
    I feel less alone when I read from someone like you. Thanks for the blog and I will follow.

    Like

    Reply ↓

    • Hi Merry, I am so glad you found my blog. I hope you find it helpful. I’m glad you feel less alone reading it. That’s what I hope for everyone who reads it. Thanks for following my blog. Take care.

      Like

      Reply ↓

  21. Best wishes with your book, I’ll look forward to it.
    I wasn’t diagnosed until I was 52, 5years ago. I hid my symptoms very well for forty years. Then a traumatic event happened five years ago, and I had a break down.
    I lost my family, work, friends, myself….it’s been a struggle to come to terms with my past and figuring out just how BPD fit into my behaviors through out the years. I hid everly thing so we’ll. Things are better today mainly with good therapist and accountability for my actions. I’m wondering though are there any other options 50 persons with BPD? I feel like it’s seen more in younger folks. Thanks

    Like

    Reply ↓

    • They say that sometimes you grow out of your symptoms as you get older, but my symptoms just got worse. I did Dialectical Behaviour Therapy and got a lot better. There were a few people in the program who were over 50. I think it’s seen more in younger people sometimes because older people with it are missed in receiving a proper diagnosis. If they got the right diagnosis, then they could do DBT and have a much better life. I’m glad you’re doing better today.

      Like

      Reply ↓

Comments?