Customer Reviews

Lost in the Mirror: An Inside Look at Borderline Personality Disorder

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I have BPD and this book is the best book I have read yet. It explains just what I have been feeling but could not explain myself. It is easy to read and understand without a lot of jibberish. It is a Must Buy!! I would rate this book much higher than a 5 star if I could!! It really helped. In fact I highlighted parts and take it to my therapist and we go over it together. I just can't say enough about how much this book has helped me

I had to work hard to finish this book. There were times when the author would say "If you are borderline....." and then go on to attempt to explain some dynamic of the disorder. No one IS borderline! There are many people who have been given a diagnosis of borderline personality disorder but on one IS borderline. People are people, not their diagnosis. I feel this is one of the many fatal flaws of this book. Especially with diagnosis such as BPD it is very important for clinicians to help people realize that they are not their diagnosis. I am appalled that an apparently well trained and highly experienced clinician would make such a major blunder.

It is very clear that the author has a strong passion for his work; however I also feel that he has highly romanticized the people he works with. The book is also full of sweeping generalizations.

The only real treatment model he discusses is long-term therapy with as needed hospital admissions that last several days to weeks. In the reality of managed care, these models of treatment are finically available to only a select few. By putting this out as the only model of hope the author sets up an expectation that this is the only path towards healing. This is far from the truth. There are many roads to healing.

There were a handful of points that helped me gain some new insights; however they were too far and few between.

While I will not get rid of this book, it will not be one I put on the bookshelf in my office. I would not want to imply to anyone that I recommend this book. I especially would not a person who I am working with to assume that since it was on my book shelf that it was something I might recommend they read.

i'm only half-way through this book, but every time i pick it up i feel a tremendous sense of release. as someone who has been diagnosed with bpd i find this book very comforting, as the author is immeasurably kind in describing the borderline personality. as another reader has said, this book provides an excellent (though contrived and somewhat patronizing) overview of extreme bpd but does not address less-extreme, more functional forms of the illness. i would recommend this book for people who are suffering from bpd and are looking for a compassionate and soothing voice, though not for bpd's looking for practical behavior modifying skills and/or bpd's looking to start treatment.

I read this book after being 'officially' diagnosed with BPD. I found it extremely easy to read with short chapters and good examples of real people. I didn't like the rather simplistic approach to medications and treatment options and the assumption that recovery without a professional is impossible. I think a bit more about how to help oneself in recovery would have been very nice.

I recommend it for Borderlines as well as significant others and loved ones of Borderlines.

This book has some good information and details one specific case. As I was reading this book I kept thinking, "no, that doesn't explain my mother at all".

The book doesn't do a very good job of explaining the different types of personalities someone with bpd exhibits. I already know that my mother has bpd. I already know what bpd is. I bought this book to help me learn how to avoid being manipulated and emotionally hurt by my mother. This book didn't really offer much to help family members at all.

I think it is a decent resource for someone with bpd, I only wish I could get my mother to read it.

For the lay public, and easy to read

1) "Lost in the mirror" to validate the suffering of someone with BPD
2) "The Siren's Dance : My Marriage to a Borderline: A Case Study" to validate what the partner of someone with BPD goes through.
3) "Stop Walking on Eggshells; Coping When Someone You Care about Has Borderline Personality Disorder" as a blueprint of how loved ones can deal with the condition.

I think the information in this book is extremely helpful, although I was annoyed by the author's attempt at romanticized prose. He should stick to writing as a doctor and not Lord Byron.

If you are someone with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), no doubt you are in much pain. Perhaps you've just been diagnosed and are looking for information. Or perhaps you've known you are a borderline for some time, but are wanting to investigate further into the resources available. Whether you suffer from BPD, know someone who does, or work in the mental health system, this book is a MUST read!

Breaking the issues down into easily readable chapters, this book covers a large amount of ground. Some items discussed include: the fact that borderlines have very little idea of who or what they are; the unbridled mood swings that accompany this condition; dissociation and comparisons with Multiple Personality Disorder (some feel that these disorders are closely related); that the large majority of borderlines have suffered some sort of abuse (usually sexual) in their lifetime; lack of identity; impulsivities such as sex, shopping, food; information on self-mutilation that is sometimes seen as the "hallmark" of BPD; suicide risk and statistics; anger and intimacy; therapies, including group, individual and specialized (DBT); living with the borderline; is there a cure?; therapists encountering borderlines; and even a list of resources!

This book has just about everything you could need on BPD and is in a very easy-to-read format. Well worth the money spent, this is a highly recommended addition to anyone's librbary. :v)

For anyone interested in borderline personality disorder, who has it themselves or copes with a loved one who does, THIS BOOK is a great help and a great resource!!!

...I have bpd and have found this book very helpful to me. It has helped me to understand my disorder and treatment.