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| © Sarah Dale |
Sarah Dale
Sarah has also worked incredibly hard over the past few years as a regular contributor to the Engage to Change group, which is a sub-group of the PMHPDP. This group was established to "more widely promote the Mental Health Planning and Development Partnership’s activity, to proactively challenge any stigma associated with mental health and to collect "service user" views / experiences, co-ordinate resolution and feed back on resulting change to people using services."
And during the Covid-19 pandemic Sarah has also created and delivered a hugely valuable training session on Self-Injury Awareness to many of those working in the provision of statutory mental health services in the county. Sarah is absolutely passionate about raising awareness of mental health issues and brings an honesty and openness to the work which allows greater understanding for all those watching / reading / exploring more about these issues.
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© Sarah Dale |
Sarah's experience of Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD)
Sarah's latest project is an indepth look into Borderline Personality Disorder to promote during Borderline Personality Disorder Awareness Month this May.
"You are probably wondering... "what is Borderline Personality Disorder? And you are not alone. This is the response I get when I tell people I have BPD, and yet I still haven't been able to accurately explain what the disorder is, and how it affects me.
The reason you probably haven't heard of the disorder is that most people with (BPD) have experienced a lot of stigma. Often being described as 'manipulative', 'attention seeking' and 'incurable'. You have probably seen over the years, celebrities opening up about their depression, anxiety or bipolar disorder, thus more people are speaking up about their own struggles.
However, no one wants to talk about the more 'scary' or 'shameful' issues like self-injury, eating disorders, psychosis and personality disorders."
After exploring What is BPD? Sarah considers why it has this particular name, what it's like to have BPD, some of the feelings that people with BPD experience such as extreme emotional instability, fear and abandonment, and people's struggles with a sense of identity. Sarah then turns to the positive side of BPD and explores the empathy and compassion that people with the condition experience, plus an often increased creativity. To finish off Sarah debunks some of the commion BPD myths, such as that people with BPD are incurable and / or attention seeking.
You can read the whole piece, A Look into Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), on our Powys Mental Health website.
If you have any queries for Sarah, or experiences to share, then do pop them in the comments' section below.
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© Sarah Dale |
Read more from Sarah
Sarah has written for this blog previously on:
And on the PAVO Health & Wellbeing blog:
You can also catch up with Sarah on her Facebook page - Sarah Mental Health Rep.
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