Mystery

Hi i was wondering if you could help me solve a mystery.  For as long as i can remember i have had a problem with a yet undiagnosed personality disorder that appears for about an hour then disappears only to reappear 1 month to 1 year later.  The symptoms are in cronological order: loss of concentration, feelings or disorientation, inability to perform any but the most basic mental tasks, irrational negative thoughts, increasing rage and anger, facial and neck muscles tense up, explosion of that rage, overwhelming urge to destroy, somtimes equally urge to hurt myself usually in terms of banging my head against somthing, rage stops and the crying begins intense at first then gradually dies down, rational thoughts return, feeling of extreme fatigue, mind clears up, everything back to normal
After this episode is finished my memory of what i did during that period is at best hazy. After the cycle is finished its usually a period of 1 month to 2 years before i see this again.

[HFHS MD - RG]

Dear Doc,

From the brief description you had posted, you may be suffering a type of personality disorder called Borderline Personality
Disorder. It is a pervasive pattern of instability of interpersonal relationships, self-image and affects and marked impulsivity beginning by early adulthood. Persons may feel real or imagined abandonment, have unstable interpersonal relationships,suffer from poor self-image, feel chronically empty and be inappropriately angry and impulsive. Regarding its natural history, the disorder is fairly stable in that patients with borderline personality may change little over time. Longitudinal studies do not show a progression toward Schizophrenia, but patients do have a high incidence of depressive disorders.The good news is that treatment can help patients change their behaviour and help with the mood swings.

Fortunately, a combination treatment of medications and psychotharapy is bringing you some relief.

I suggest a consult with a mental helath professional for an evaluation.

sincerely,

HFHS MD - RG