Get Me Out of Here: My Recovery from Borderline Personality Disorder

This book provides hope not just for people with BPD and their families but also for those who suffer from other mental illness. The insights and honesty with regards to the authors feelings and therapy and pain and behavior is truly a gift and a blessing. This author is very articulate and the book is a compelling read. While it can be triggering, if a person who is suffering from mental illness reads it in its entirety rather than stopping at the triggering moments, I believe it can be very helpful. It can bring up a lot of stuff though so it is good to have a great support system around if you choose to read it. Thank you "rachel" and thank you "dr. padgett" for taking this journey to wellness. And thank you "rachel" for your candor and honesty. I don't think I have ever read a book that has touched me so much and has given me such hope. It is definitely your gift to the world. UPDATE: I allowed my teen daughter to read this. She is suffering from PTSD and has borderline traits. She is psychologically sophisticated and can understand the topic. She is in therapy herself. With those things in mind, it has turned out to be a great thing for her. It has given her hope, given her courage to face her own inner demons in therapy, helped her to feel not so bad about herself for feeling the way she does, etc. So, depending on your child and your situation, and their treatment, this could be helpful to their treatment. You could always let the therapist read it to get their opinion. UPDATE 1/8/10: I have bought this for 2 of my friends and they have also both found it extremely helpful and hopeful. 1 of the friends was diagnosed with BPD and the other was dealing with general anxiety and depression. They both felt that the book gave them insight as well and an anchor to turn to when things got desperate for them--because this woman had a difficult journey and was painfully honest and came through it empowered.

Diagnosed several years ago with Bipolar/PTSD, I was given the diagnosis of Borderline Personality Disorder about a year and half ago. Wanting to know anything and everything about this unknown to me illness, I bought Reiland's book. I angrily put it away as I could not and would not believe that I could have BPD and remained in denial for some time. Having been in weekly therapy for a year and half, I am thankfully making progress towards a healthier ME. I opened this book again about a month ago, and could not believe how much of what Reiland wrote resonated with me. I felt like I was learning so much about who I am now and how so much of my younger years contributed to my actions and reactions today. Every page was another light bulb going off in my mind....lighting the darkness of the past and explaining it in a way that makes SO MUCH SENSE. Reiland had a truly amazing experience with Dr Padgett as her psychiatrist who helped guide her towards a healthy sense of herself and love for herself that she never had. I am blessed to have found a well trained, caring and patient therapist whom I have given my trust to and who is continually helping me learn how to understand and nagivate my way towards recovery. It can be an extremely painful journey. Reiland's therapy was a very intensive Freudian based treatment. My therapy is more working with Dialectical Behavior (DBT) which has been very positive for me. But, after reading Reiland's book I realize that accepting and understanding the past is critical for of successfully treating BPD. Anyone who has been diagnosed wih BPD or who loves someone with BPD should definitely read this book. It's heartwarming, encouraging, enlightening and honestly, reflects so very well how difficult mental illness can be to live with, but also how much proper therapy can make a huge positive change in someone's life. Thank you thank you Ms. Reiland for sharing your story.

I can fully understand why some people would hate this book, but I am one person who is thankful that Ms. Reiland wrote it. Borderline personality disorder is a confusing and extremely emotional illness. The people who suffer with it struggle and feel completely out of control. Ms. Reiland writes thoroughly of the depths of her despair and of the intense therapy in which she faces her past and comes to terms with it. I think it is almost impossible for people who are not mentally ill to understand the control mental illness takes of a person's life. It's ugly. Ms. Reiland's story is ugly and she understands that her behavior was out of control and destructive. But she CHOSE to face her illness, undergo therapy and learn how to live differently. She writes: "As long as a person was still alive, help and hope were there if the individual dared seek it." She bravely confronted her own behavior and with the guidance of her wise psychiatrist, she learned how to control her own emotions. I've known plenty of people who never learned this valuable life skill. I am impressed with her journey and learned a great deal from reading about it.

This is an amazing book on the subject of borderline personality disorder (BPD). A patient recommended it to me, and it's one of the best psychological/self-help books I've ever read. Never have I read a book that so honestly and vividly depicts the painful mental gyrations of a person suffering with this personality challenge. It reads like a novel, and I had a hard time putting it down. I rarely read books more than once, but I could easily pick this one up again and start all over. It is so powerful and descriptive. I have since recommended this book to numerous patients and providers. Patients report feeling normalized or "less crazy" (their words) upon reading this book. Ms. Reiland's story encourages them to work hard in treatment and keep the faith that things can be better with hard work that is sometimes painful and always challenging in the beginning. As a provider, it gave me a greater understanding of the depth and breadth of the thoughts and feelings that those with BPD deal with on a daily basis. This has helped me develop new techniques--as well as refine the old ones--for combating the issues associated with BPD. I truly admire Ms. Reiland for her bravery and willingness to be so honest with herself and the world as to what it's truly like to live with BPD and face its demons on a daily basis. So many of those with BPD suffer in silence, mutilate themselves and/or take their own lives, so I try to proliferate this book as much as possible in an effort to alleviate any suffering possible. I recently recommended this book to the mother of a budding BPD so that she could better understand her daughter and start helping her before her daughter leaves home for college, with the hope that her daughter will continue her treatment even after she leaves the family home. I also commend Ms. Reiland's hard work and persistence, very evident in the book, at overcoming the urges and impulses that accompany this personality style. Kudos and thank you for writing such an impressive and enlightening work.

It's been three years since I started researching BPD, after a friend of mine, who had previously studied social work mentioned "your mom is a classic borderline" after I had shared yet another crazy anecdote from my childhood. I had never heard of BPD before, and I had to do a lot of reading to finally be able to put a label on the crazy that I experienced growing up. It was crazy, and I felt crazy for having lived it. My mother was a walking case of contradictions, erratic outbursts and violence, mixed with the occasional moments of what seemed like love, at least for her. Reading this book somehow validated my experiences, and it also helped me to sympathize with this woman, with whom I can never have a relationship. Although some of these negative reviews on here lambasted Rachel Reiland for writing an "unhelpful" or "narrowly focused" book, I felt confused by these reviews and wondered what they were really angry with, and if we'd even read the same book. This book, obviously, is written from the author's personal experiences, not from psychological or academic research or literature. That's exactly why I bought it. One negative reviewer was incensed that Rachel did not give more "hope" to the reader. That's bizarre to me. BPD is inherently one of the toughest psychological disorders to treat, (as far as I understand) as it requires the willingness and tenacity of the patient to do the hard work of introspection and change. As far as I can tell, there is immense hope in Rachel's writing, but it's not hope to be easily meted out to all who read it. For me, I was left not with "hope" for an improved relationship with my mother, but rather a better understanding of why I knew in my gut we never could. It was validating and an important read for me personally in my journey of healing from child abuse. I agree with the vast majority of reviewers that this was a very well written book that obviously took a lot of courage to write and could not have been written by anyone who didn't have a lot of strength and intelligence to pursue it to this degree. I am personally extremely grateful that she took the time to write it.

I had been looking for the perfect book to read to help me with my ever increasing struggles with borderline personality. I had read the "self help" books and the books that tell the symptoms accurately, and in depth, but what I wanted this time was a book written by someone like me, in hopes of feeling less alone. When I was reading the reviews for this book, I found many of them that said the book was "inspirational" and everything like that, and then I read reviews that said it was "simplistic" and "reiterated points over and over", and I wasn't sure if I should even bother. After getting the book for free, I decided there was no reason not to at least read it. The book starts off as described by negative reviews: simplistic. Symptoms of borderline that everyone with borderline sees in themselves were laid out in plain language and not presented in any way that can't be found in the vast "self help" books. At this point, I started to become disappointed and afraid that the book was going to be a waste of time. As the book progresses, Rachel becomes worse, she finds herself, although in recovery, lashing out in ways she never imagined and hurting everyone around her. There were times that I read the book and I found myself hating her, and worse, I hated myself. And then, as Rachel finds herself becoming sucked in to the depths of her disorder, and getting out of control, layers and layers of broken coping mechanisms that had appeared nothing more than abusive, manipulative and selfish reveal the true nature of the borderline personality: never ending fear of being forever alone and unlovable. It was at this point that the mere presentation of common symptoms became much more: as Rachel begins to understand herself, the symptoms are shown to the reader as more than dysfunctional coping mechanisms: they are given a sense of humanity and drive and begin to show the motives of nothing more than a terrified, humiliated child, reaching out to be unconditionally loved. This was when I realized that the progression of the book was perfect: the book begins, as described, very simplistic, as Rachel doesn't understand herself and only sees destructive behaviors that she can't make sense of. And then eventually the complexity of the book becomes overwhelming, as Rachel sees her inner most feelings and tries to cope. This book, to be blatant, could not be fully appreciated by someone who has not personally felt what it is like to live with borderline personality disorder. To someone on the outside: it is just a case of a psychotic woman who finds treatment and recovers. To someone with borderline: it is a chilling account of their very own life, innermost fears worked through by complete strangers. There are so many things in this book that are revolutionary for me, that trying to sit here and convey them feels almost impossible. Although I read reviews of the book that complain that it is reiterative, and the basis of therapy is nothing more than constantly repeating the same explanation... that is the core of the borderline personality. A persistent need by that person to find love and hold on to it as tightly as possible, and no matter how many broken coping mechanisms they force themselves to work away from, they find themselves with more, different broken coping mechanisms in hopes of achieving the same task. Dr. Padgett presents a therapy technique for Rachel that is so much more than I could have ever imagined experiencing in therapy. He presents the one thing that people with borderline truly need: unconditional love, a feeling of safety, while still experiencing limits and boundaries in the face of their destructive behaviors. Although Rachel becomes painfully aware of how dysfunctional she has become, she is never led to feel by Dr. Padgett as though she is bad or wrong, or that she doesn't deserve to be happy. Without this, I don't believe that her feelings could have been dealt with. The explanation of the book is correct in saying that it is in no way a self help book, and will never lead anyone to recovery. What it offers, instead, is something much more realistic: measurable, achievable results for someone suffering from severe borderline, in turn giving the reader an intense sense of hope. The book shows the many many layers of borderline defenses come crashing down, and never for once is there an unrealistic overnight "Aha!" where Rachel suddenly feels better, because this is not how it works. As someone who has suffered from borderline for what feels like every waking hour of my entire life, and struggled with therapy and medications to find no answers, this book gives me something to hold on to and helps me believe that I can one day be like Rachel. I hope that many other people with borderline, out of answers, pick up this book and find the strength to continue on.

I am a BPD (male, 28), and I must first say that I came to this book after 3 other BPD books - 3 books that totally disappointed me (I list them at the end of this review). This book was so wonderfully different and touching ! It made me both laugh and cry throughout its course. Unlike "guide" books that are written by "experts" and simply list steps to take to supposedly "fix" BPD, this book was written by someone who actually went through the kind of suffering that we BPDs go through everyday and really understands BPD. It was just what I was looking for ! What's great about this book: - The language used is simple and easy to follow, unlike other authors that can't stop using really obscure vocabulary that makes you run to the dictionary every sentence (which can get quite annoying) - The flow from chapter to chapter is natural and intuitive, making it easy for the reader to follow. Also, she doesn't jump wildly back and forth between the past and present, which other books do, and which can be disorienting. - The author found a way to reach out and touch me with her warm (as opposed to cold and satirical) style of writing and describing her life. I was very much able to identify with some of her behaviors. Some passages in this book made me cry quite a bit, and that felt really satisfying. If a book can do that to you - the reader, you know that it has some value to it. What I thought was missing in this book: - As some other reviewers pointed out, it would have been great if she could have explained or analyzed, in a bit more detail, how the therapy helped her actually recover long-term. Bottom line: A great book and a must read for BPDs (even male BPDs like me !) Other books I read prior to this one: Lost in the mirror (Moskovitz), Girl interrupted (Kaysen), and Sometimes I act crazy (Straus & Kreisman)

As a "borderline," I have conflicting feelings on this book. I was diagnosed 12 years ago, at the age of 19. BPD is often misdiagnosed, as it was in my case, until I saw the best psychiatrist I had ever had. The main thing with BPD is that it is very difficult to treat. I admire Rachel's tenacity in her treatment, but I (and I know I am not alone) sometimes struggle with this. This book is good, but I just fear that people may be miseducated about BPD: not many people can say they're "recovered." I am very proud of her, but I've been working 12 years on this, and I am still a very long way from being recovered. Just as a warning: please don't think that your loved one can be "cured" by doing what she did. Everyone is different, and what worked for some people may not work for anyone else.

A must read for everyone with bpd and their loved ones.

As someone who has been diagnosed with BPD, I am reading everything I can get my hands on as I battle to recover from this very intense illness. This book has been helpful, but it’s also been eye opening and insightful in a way I didn’t expect. Whether you suffer from BPD or know someone who has, this is a must read.

Thank you so much Rachel for writing this incredible and accurate account of what it is like to live with Bpd. I'm also diagnosed with Bpd. i can relate to so much of the events you describe in this book. I found the first few chapters difficult to read as i thought it was going to be about a whinging, swearing looser. What transpires is a book that skillfully shows how Rachel worked why she reacts the way she did. The accounts of Rachels discussions with the psychiatrist are deep!y thought provoking, and helped me immensely, in thinking about events from my own past. The memoire is skillfully written, a page turner. Rachel is shown to develop and change into a new healed person. I cried and smiled at many points in the book because i could relate to it. The examination of Rachels recurring dreams about her home collapsing is one i suffered myself, except in my dream, the house and my family and son were swollen up by the earth. it's incredible to realise that dreams like these relate fears of abandonment, something which haunts me. it is fascinating how Dr Pagent helps Rachel understand she has two inner childs, a boy and a girl representing strength or vulnerability. ive long felt i have a inner girl, but thanks to this book, I'm now identifying my inner boy and my tough image i have worn for too long. Thank you. Reading this book has been a life changer.

La verdad es que cuando lo elegí esperaba que se tratara más a fondo el TLP y me ha parecido más un diario que una obra que pueda ayudar a alguien con este transtorno

Good but triggers me from the first page!