Tag Archives: mood swings

Mood Swings and Perimenopause

Mood swings in women have mostly been attributed to PMS. Sometimes we will hear comments like, “She must be PMSing.” Although mood swings can be a result of PMS there is a time in a woman’s life when it’s actually related to perimenopause. As women approach age 40 they may begin to experience intense mood swings not realizing they are due to perimenopause. Our family has been going through a difficult time with a failing marriage. When we got together for Easter we were without one particular family member and were discussing the marriage problems. It was brought up how … Continue reading →

Please Be Kind

Dear Future Pregnant Self, Congratulations, you are expecting baby number (2? 3? 10?)! Do you remember the first time you were pregnant? Your poor husband cringed every time you opened your mouth. Go ahead; ask him if he remembers that first pregnancy. “You were mean,” he’ll say. It’s time to face the truth. You were not a very nice pregnant woman. Even though you blamed your sharp tongue and bossy behavior on your raging pregnancy hormones, there is no excuse. You even made your sister cry when labor set in. That’s just wrong. This time you need to do a … Continue reading →

Living with a Parent with Borderline Personality Disorder (2)

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In the first article of this series, we read about the difficulties a child encounters when their parent suffers from borderline personality disorder (BPD). We looked at the story of Anna, a 21-year-old woman whose mother suffered from BPD. Anna did well to become a functioning adult, but with her mother’s erratic lifestyle and rapidly changing moods, Anna had many difficulties to cope with. The least was her mother’s continual on-off relationships. Always volatile and intense, Anna’s mother, Claire, made Anna’s childhood a misery. Constantly disappointed in her mother’s failure to attend important school days, she would sometimes believe in … Continue reading →

Borderline Personality Disorder: Diagnostic criteria

The term “Borderline Personality Disorder” is often bandied about by the media and laymen alike. Many of the behaviors that constitute the disorder are common to other disorders and indeed, normal human behavior. However for an accurate diagnosis to be made, a person must exhibit a pervasive pattern of instability in personal relationships, self esteem, and moods, in addition to marked impulsivity in behavior which typically begins in early adulthood. For a decisive diagnosis to be made at least five of the following characteristics must be present: 1. Frantic efforts to avoid real or imagined abandonment. The sufferer reports feelings … Continue reading →