Daniel Fox - Complex Borderline Personality Disorder

This book provides an excellent, engaging resource for individuals with borderline personality disorder (BPD), and anyone wishing to learn more about the complexity of the disorder and its clinical manifestations. Daniel J. Fox skillfully distills a wealth of complex information and years of practice into an easy-to-read narrative. The manual offers an outstanding guide for fostering deeper understanding and supplementing clinical practice.

Anka A. Vujanovic, PhD , associate professor of psychology, and director of the Trauma and Stress Studies Center at the University of Houston

Daniel J. Fox has created a tremendously valuable resource for those struggling with BPD symptoms, alone or along with co-occurring issues. This book serves as a great tool for helping individuals understand the issues they deal with on a daily basis, and also as a map that provides direction on how to get to a place of meaningful and fulfilling relationships, as well as greater peace and acceptance of oneself.

Russ Wood, PhD , founder and director of Clear Fork Psychology Services

Knowledge is empowerment! Foxs book is exceptional in providing a road map to understanding the often-misunderstood journey of those with complex borderline personality disorder (CBPD). Fox provides tools to identify symptoms (surface structure), as well as core content that must be addressed to manage CBPD and live a meaningful life. This self-help resource is filled with lots of strategies and up-to-date research needed to achieve wellness.

Diane Stoebner-May, PhD , training director at the counseling center, and clinical assistant professor in the department of psychology at Sam Houston State University

In this highly accessible and clearly written book, Fox takes on one of the most complex manifestations of the mindour personality function. Drawing on years of clinical experience with complex patients, he delivers an essential guide for those hoping to understand and manage their BPD and its overlap with other mental health problems.

Carla Sharp, PhD , professor of clinical psychology at the University of Houston; internationally known for her work on the development, phenomenology, and treatment of personality disorders

Publishers Note

This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering psychological, financial, legal, or other professional services. If expert assistance or counseling is needed, the services of a competent professional should be sought.

Distributed in Canada by Raincoast Books

NEW HARBINGER PUBLICATIONS is a registered trademark of New Harbinger Publications, Inc.

Copyright 2021 by Daniel J. Fox

New Harbinger Publications, Inc.

5674 Shattuck Avenue

Oakland, CA 94609

www.newharbinger.com

Cover design by Amy Shoup

Acquired by Elizabeth Hollis Hansen

Edited by Gretel Hakanson

All Rights Reserved

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Fox, Daniel J., Psychologist, author.

Title: Complex borderline personality disorder : how coexisting conditions affect your BPD and how you can gain emotional balance / Daniel J. Fox, PhD.

Description: Oakland, CA : New Harbinger Publications, [2022] | Includes bibliographical references.

Identifiers: LCCN 2021031369 | ISBN 9781684038558 (trade paperback)

Subjects: LCSH: Borderline personality disorder. | Borderline personality disorder--Treatment.

Classification: LCC RC569.5.B67 F693 2022 | DDC 616.85/852--dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021031369

This book is dedicated to my three heartbeats: my wife, Lydia, and my two children, Alexandra and Sebastian

Contents

Introduction:

Not Another Rabbit Hole

No one ever reads the introduction, but you should read this one.

This book is designed to bring you value and not to waste your time or send you down a useless rabbit hole of unnecessary information. This introduction is the meet-and-greet between you and how this book is constructed. Skipping this short section could cause confusion that leads to frustration that concludes with you putting down the book and missing out on a resource that could be a central part of building insight and knowledge, as well as the skills and abilities, to manage your BPD and co-occurring conditions.

How This Book Is Structured

This book is designed to provide foundational knowledge of BPD and what makes it a disorder. Chapter 1 includes an exercise to help you identify not only general personality symptoms and issues but also those related to your BPD so you gain valuable insight. Chapter 2 explores the difference between pure BPD and complex BPD (CBPD). You might be surprised by what you learn.

In chapters 3 through 12, well explore the various disorders that likely co-occur with BPD, which causes CBPD. These include bipolar disorder, depression, psychosis, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and complex PTSD (C-PTSD). In these chapters, youll first learn about the details and symptoms for each co-occurring condition. Then, youll do activities to help you manage and control not only the BPD symptoms but the co-occurring conditions as well.

Chapter 13 pulls it all together and helps you identify the top ten symptoms related to your CBPD as it pertains to all the likely co-occurring disorders discussed in the book. This helps you direct your efforts at decreasing the most troublesome symptoms while increasing the probability of success and sense of empowerment going forward. It doesnt stop there; this chapter also gives you resources to help you avoid feeling overwhelmed by your symptoms and issues, ways to build clarity for success, methods for challenging negative self-value judgments, and a leg up to grow beyond your CBPD.

The final chapter helps you find a mental health professional who can accompany you on this journey by giving you questions to ask and tips on what to look for to get the help you need and find a good therapeutic fit. It also addresses common blockades to treatment that you can and need to address before working on CBPD symptoms and issues.

This book uses an approach that considers not only the underlying disorder, BPD, but the co-occurring conditions as well to address your unique symptoms, issues, expression, and experience that make up your CBPD. Your uniqueness is an asset, not a liability. Accessing that part of you through these pages will assist you in not only learning more about yourself but your world as well.

Consider This In each chapter, there are Consider This exercises and activities to learn more about your CBPD symptoms and issues that will help you learn strategies to lessen their adverse impact. These are concrete and applicable skills and abilities you can use as you move away from the challenging symptoms and toward a life of self-determination on your terms, in an adaptive, healthy, and productive way.

Your CBPD Journal

Youll need a composition book or another notebook to serve as your CBPD journal. This will be where you enter all the information you learn about yourself, your symptoms and conditions, and your CBPD. Youll also have a place to put your responses and any insights you glean from the Consider This exercises and activities.

Your journal will quickly become a valuable resource as it will provide you a space to review all the information about yourself and your CBPD, as opposed to having to flip back and forth to find it here or there. You may want to find a journal thats decorated in a particular way or that has a certain cover or material that speaks to you. Make it unique, as it can become a very special tool as you go through this process of discovery and growth.