Borderline Personality Disorder Exchange

I may be speaking out-of-turn here (and Mary, even though I know you're taking some time off, I hope I'm not stepping on your toes) -- but I just want to say that

1.) This is a board aimed at helping each other. Diagnosing people, even those most dear to us, is not something we do. It seems like all the posts on this board are simply people coming to drop in and ask if what their relative/friend has is BPD. We're not professionals, we cannot diagnose people or recommend doctors, medications or treatments.

2.) We share our experiences, good and bad, here. Though I cannot moderate this board (again, Mary, is that your challenge?), I'd like to say that we need to let each other know if a post is triggering (meaning that if someone who is in a vulnerable spot at the moment reads it, the post may further upset them). I have read some doozies out there and although I'm in a good enough place to handle them, there are those who cannot. Please mark your post "TRIGGER" or "MAY TRIGGER" in the subject line. As an additional nod to keeping others safe, please put something innocuous in the first couple lines of your post, as they are displayed on the board. (I find that song lyrics work well.)

3.) Mary, who created this exchange for us to have a place to come and feel safe, is currently taking a break and attending to personal issues. Let's be kind and not make this any more difficult on her than necessary. Again, because this is her creation, I suspect that she is the moderator on this board. While she is away we're going to have to "behave" ourselves.

4.) Mary, this is for you: I think we need to created a general "what is BPD" FAQ -- frequently asked questions -- and keep it around on someone's computer (preferably more than one someone's) to post when people ask what this disorder is all about. It must be exhausting to continually answer the same thing over and over, and if that is part of what contributed to your decision to take a break, I can certainly understand that.

5.) Everybody is welcome to contribute to the above-mentioned FAQ. Ideally, I would like to created a document that is both clinical and experiential -- meaning that along with the listing of symptoms and what they can mean in a person's life, we would have stories about how those symptoms manifest themselves. I would really enjoy putting together something for everyone's approval, acceptance, and even enjoyment. Contributions are absolutely not required to have names, though if people want to submit their user names, that is also fine.

So, if anyone's out there, what do we think? I think that this place needs some organization and poor Mary can't do it all on her own. It being about a month since anyone posted besides me (on a semi-regular basis), I'm not sure anyone out there is going to reply to this. But if you're lurking, please chime in.