I've worked with women with Emotionally Unstable Personality Disorder (EUPD). I'm not surprised that Kiena was so easily dismissed. This client group is largely female and largely dismissed as ‘manipulative’, ‘attention seeking’ and needing behavioural change (as opposed to in-depth trauma focused psychological therapy). Many of these women are not ‘disordered’. They have suffered unbearable childhood abuse, neglect and trauma. I believe their resulting ‘behaviours’ are a response to these situations and faulty coping mechanisms they developed to protect themselves (physically and psychologically) from intolerable pain. To me they would be ‘disordered’ if they had remained unscathed from their abusive experiences.
Women with EUPD cannot win in our mental health system. In the NHS trust where I worked, ‘treatment ’ was based on whether the woman accepted the diagnosis (label). If she challenged it, this was seen to be as a symptom of her EUPD. If she became upset or angry, well that’s a symptom of her EUPD. If she ‘kicks off’ (and those words were used), it’s a symptom of her EUPD. I could go on but the point is, as soon as I saw Kiena had the label of EUPD my heart sank. The system that could have saved her, played right into that bastards hands.
How fascinating that you have first hand experience of these EUPD diagnoses, Rebecca. I am absolutely sure that you are right, it is definitely an area I would like to look into a little more as part of my own writing so anywhere you could direct me would be much appreciated 🙏🏼
There is a book called ‘Borderline Personality Disorder - an evidence guide for generalist mental health professionals’ by Anthony Bateman and Roy Krawitz’ which was recommended to me from the lead psychiatrist of the team I was working with. It gives a good overview of EUPD/BPD.
Thete is also a really interesting hospital/ therapeutic community called the Cassel
Hospital in Ham, Richmond which has pioneered work and treatment in the field of personality disorders. It’s worth checking out their website and would be great if you could find a contact there.
Also have a look at Marsha Linehan. She is a leading name in the treatment of BPD/EUPD (she has the diagnosis herself). She created dialectical behaviour theory (DBT) which is a form of treatment/support for BPD/EUPD patients. My role was a ‘DBT reinforcer’ as the patients went through the ‘steps’ programme.
I finished working in mental health services in 2020 but I know then there was a move towards renaming BPD/EUPD as ‘Emotional Intensity Disorder’ (EID) to move away from the negative connotations of ‘personality disorder’. Gives you a bit of a clue of how difficult it is to be treated for this ‘disorder’ when the professionals can’t even stick to one name!
My grandmother suffered similar treatment in the 1950s, her story is, sadly, uncannily similar to your own grandmother's. She was labotomised as well as receiving ECT. Then on pills for her nerves all her life, which resulted in liver failure in her early 70s. A life time of extreme abuse from my grandfather who was extremely violent.
There is a progression from the label of 'Witch' to the label of 'mad' across the past 400 years or so. It is something I'm interested in researching more.
Thank you for sharing, Tara. I feel this is the story of a lot of our grandmothers, and while they can’t lock us up anymore, they find other ways to curtail and label us. I’m sorry to hear your grandmother suffered similarly. Out of interest, where in the world are you? Or rather was your grandmother?
Sadly although fewer women are locked away as in our grandmother’s time, sectioning is very common within some conditions that are not psychiatric but that affect women more than men
I found this 2-year-old note from another time and place, hummed and hah'd over adding another comment/note to this important and serious piece but in the end...
>>
We have to stop labelling things that happen and the ways people respond as disorders, with the implication that they are somehow disorderly, as a drunk on a Saturday night street.
"Excuse me, madam, I'm arresting you for bein' traumatised and disorderly in public in a complex manner likely to cause a breach of the status quo around these 'ere parts. Anything you say will be ignored, discounted or condescendingly dismissed on account of the aforesaid disorderliness."
Psychiatry is a male dominated branch of medicine in the UK. Although more women have trained in recent years the majority of Professors are male. The most influential psychiatrist in this country has a controversial record (with a misleading WiKi page) especially with some female dominated conditions, he also led the review of mental health care under Teresa May when she was PM. Medical misogyny and the psychologisation of conditions that predominantly affect women is a huge area that urgently needs investigating.
In this case a vulnerable woman was targeted by a man with a known history of domestic abuse. Hopefully his new girlfriend and child are as far away from him as possible but he will find another woman until he’s finally jailed.
I have a friend who committed herself to a psychiatric hospital in order to prove she was sane and get out of an abusive marriage. This isn't only our grandmothers, it's young mothers, young women, everywhere. So important that you shared this very very sad story.
I'll keep it short. Far better observers and commenters than me here will attest to the horrors of this story, your grandmother's experience and so many similar travesties of humanity.
I am often left with a suspicion that DSM XXVlll will contain the term "womanity disorder".
Hysterical is a widely used word, originating in a male view of female behaviour.
There seems to be no equivalent so I offer this: testicularal .
Testicularal describes behaviour derived from a general ability to throw a spear further or punch harder than another and by extrapolation to have the right to determine what is normal and thus what is abnormal, a sign of illness, a fragility of character, a disorder, insanity, and ultimately the root cause of another's behaviour (where it does not match one's expectations).
In my late teens / early 20s (late 1970s) I worked cleaning at a small private psych hospital. It astonished me that half the patients were wives of the doctors. In for ECT. 😔
Makes me sad and angry. Labeling women with a diagnosis so you can go and abuse them. Narcissist men are great at doing that. Kate Spicer’s latest post also gives additional food for thought on this. Thank you, Anna!
Thanks for this article Anna.
I've worked with women with Emotionally Unstable Personality Disorder (EUPD). I'm not surprised that Kiena was so easily dismissed. This client group is largely female and largely dismissed as ‘manipulative’, ‘attention seeking’ and needing behavioural change (as opposed to in-depth trauma focused psychological therapy). Many of these women are not ‘disordered’. They have suffered unbearable childhood abuse, neglect and trauma. I believe their resulting ‘behaviours’ are a response to these situations and faulty coping mechanisms they developed to protect themselves (physically and psychologically) from intolerable pain. To me they would be ‘disordered’ if they had remained unscathed from their abusive experiences.
Women with EUPD cannot win in our mental health system. In the NHS trust where I worked, ‘treatment ’ was based on whether the woman accepted the diagnosis (label). If she challenged it, this was seen to be as a symptom of her EUPD. If she became upset or angry, well that’s a symptom of her EUPD. If she ‘kicks off’ (and those words were used), it’s a symptom of her EUPD. I could go on but the point is, as soon as I saw Kiena had the label of EUPD my heart sank. The system that could have saved her, played right into that bastards hands.
How fascinating that you have first hand experience of these EUPD diagnoses, Rebecca. I am absolutely sure that you are right, it is definitely an area I would like to look into a little more as part of my own writing so anywhere you could direct me would be much appreciated 🙏🏼
Hi Anna.
There is a book called ‘Borderline Personality Disorder - an evidence guide for generalist mental health professionals’ by Anthony Bateman and Roy Krawitz’ which was recommended to me from the lead psychiatrist of the team I was working with. It gives a good overview of EUPD/BPD.
Thete is also a really interesting hospital/ therapeutic community called the Cassel
Hospital in Ham, Richmond which has pioneered work and treatment in the field of personality disorders. It’s worth checking out their website and would be great if you could find a contact there.
Also have a look at Marsha Linehan. She is a leading name in the treatment of BPD/EUPD (she has the diagnosis herself). She created dialectical behaviour theory (DBT) which is a form of treatment/support for BPD/EUPD patients. My role was a ‘DBT reinforcer’ as the patients went through the ‘steps’ programme.
I finished working in mental health services in 2020 but I know then there was a move towards renaming BPD/EUPD as ‘Emotional Intensity Disorder’ (EID) to move away from the negative connotations of ‘personality disorder’. Gives you a bit of a clue of how difficult it is to be treated for this ‘disorder’ when the professionals can’t even stick to one name!
Hope this helps. X
That’s all great, thank you so much Rebecca! X
My grandmother suffered similar treatment in the 1950s, her story is, sadly, uncannily similar to your own grandmother's. She was labotomised as well as receiving ECT. Then on pills for her nerves all her life, which resulted in liver failure in her early 70s. A life time of extreme abuse from my grandfather who was extremely violent.
There is a progression from the label of 'Witch' to the label of 'mad' across the past 400 years or so. It is something I'm interested in researching more.
Thank you for sharing, Tara. I feel this is the story of a lot of our grandmothers, and while they can’t lock us up anymore, they find other ways to curtail and label us. I’m sorry to hear your grandmother suffered similarly. Out of interest, where in the world are you? Or rather was your grandmother?
Sadly although fewer women are locked away as in our grandmother’s time, sectioning is very common within some conditions that are not psychiatric but that affect women more than men
I also believe that the figures with regards to those receiving ECT to this day are weighted towards women 70/30
She was from Belfast and came to England after the war
I found this 2-year-old note from another time and place, hummed and hah'd over adding another comment/note to this important and serious piece but in the end...
>>
We have to stop labelling things that happen and the ways people respond as disorders, with the implication that they are somehow disorderly, as a drunk on a Saturday night street.
"Excuse me, madam, I'm arresting you for bein' traumatised and disorderly in public in a complex manner likely to cause a breach of the status quo around these 'ere parts. Anything you say will be ignored, discounted or condescendingly dismissed on account of the aforesaid disorderliness."
<<
Jan 12th, 2023
Psychiatry is a male dominated branch of medicine in the UK. Although more women have trained in recent years the majority of Professors are male. The most influential psychiatrist in this country has a controversial record (with a misleading WiKi page) especially with some female dominated conditions, he also led the review of mental health care under Teresa May when she was PM. Medical misogyny and the psychologisation of conditions that predominantly affect women is a huge area that urgently needs investigating.
In this case a vulnerable woman was targeted by a man with a known history of domestic abuse. Hopefully his new girlfriend and child are as far away from him as possible but he will find another woman until he’s finally jailed.
I have a friend who committed herself to a psychiatric hospital in order to prove she was sane and get out of an abusive marriage. This isn't only our grandmothers, it's young mothers, young women, everywhere. So important that you shared this very very sad story.
Nancy, what a story your friend has!
I'll keep it short. Far better observers and commenters than me here will attest to the horrors of this story, your grandmother's experience and so many similar travesties of humanity.
I am often left with a suspicion that DSM XXVlll will contain the term "womanity disorder".
Hysterical is a widely used word, originating in a male view of female behaviour.
There seems to be no equivalent so I offer this: testicularal .
Testicularal describes behaviour derived from a general ability to throw a spear further or punch harder than another and by extrapolation to have the right to determine what is normal and thus what is abnormal, a sign of illness, a fragility of character, a disorder, insanity, and ultimately the root cause of another's behaviour (where it does not match one's expectations).
Oh if only they could just be done with it and get away with calling it ‘womanity disorder’ 🤣
So so sad.
In my late teens / early 20s (late 1970s) I worked cleaning at a small private psych hospital. It astonished me that half the patients were wives of the doctors. In for ECT. 😔
Wow, Sarah, how frightening!
My God!
😲😲😲
Makes me sad and angry. Labeling women with a diagnosis so you can go and abuse them. Narcissist men are great at doing that. Kate Spicer’s latest post also gives additional food for thought on this. Thank you, Anna!
Thanks Liza, I’ll take a look at Kate’s post.
Thank you for sharing this story, and for recognising this life, Anna. Such important work