Psychobabble ala Carte

[UM Review RN]

Could someone please tell me what exactly is meant by the terms "passive-aggressive" and "borderline personality"?

I just got off the phone with someone who called another person's behavior "passive-aggressive" because they missed an appointment because the person had a car problem, for pete's sake! And anyone who is disliked by this same person, for whatever reason, has a "borderline personality."

Oh, really? :stone

Maybe I should've posted this in the Pet Peeves thread, but it does really torque me when people who know nothing about psych diagnoses start throwing these terms around for no other good reason than they don't like the person they're talking about. It's almost as if a derogatory amateur psych diagnosis is the New Age Insult.

IMHO, that behavior tells me a lot more about the person doing the name-calling.

Any words of enlightenment from any real psych nurses would be appreciated.

[UM Review RN, ASN, RN]

It's okay, angie, I didn't quite follow the line of reasoning here either. Looks like the poster is having some ambivilant feelings, possibly brought about by mixed messages she received in her childhood. I hope these vacilating emotions aren't the signs of a deeper problem, related to damage done to her inner child in it's formative stages of development...

:chuckle *snort*

Stop that! You tryin' to get me in trouble or something?

[UM Review RN, ASN, RN]

Frankly, it sounded to me a little like she was trying to find an adult way of saying "it takes one to know one". I have no idea what she would base such a statement on, given that she doesn't know any of us, but that's sure what it sounded like to me.

It did look like that, mercy, which is probably why I couldn't follow it. I criticized someone for calling names, but in doing so, was calling names?

Actually, the entire point of my post was to register a little disgust for a rude behavior that's become all too common in our society.

I guess we'll just have to wait and see if she'll be agreeable to a clarification.

In the meantime, maybe I should've asked for examples?

Basically, what I'm saying is:

The terms "passive-aggressive" and "borderline" are insults.

"Borderline" now seems to be used to describe patients who appear to be more demanding than others. In the first scenario, Ms. "Passive-Aggressive" was termed "passive-aggressive" because when the car broke down, the first phone call was made, not to the BF, but to the tow truck. Therefore, the BF then dx'd her on the basis that she somehow unconsciously wanted to avoid her meeting with him and somehow (by telekinesis or osmosis or some weird feminine logic) actually caused the vehicle to break down so she could avoid telling him that she didn't want to see him that day. The call after the tow truck got there meant nothing; the dx had been made.

In a similar way, we see the "borderline" insult:

I had to work with a patient who, I was told, was "a complete borderline." Apparently the nurse on the shift before me was tired of answering this patient's light, as the patient was extremely demanding. By the time I came on, the patient had worked herself up into quite a frenzy of frustration and anger and was threatening to call the State.

I was not impressed. I asked her if she had the number.

The thing that angered me was that, in the final analysis, all of her requests were reasonable and necessary to her condition at the time.

For having more needs than the usual patient, she gets labelled a psych case??!!

I spent time to answer her questions and respond to her needs. By the end of the shift we were buddies and she'd actually gotten a couple of hours of sleep. She never gave anyone a hard time for the rest of her stay. Everyone thought the change was remarkable.

So, what? Did she have some sort of miraculous recovery? Am I some kind of Dr-Phil-like Wunderkind who blinds people with brilliant insights on a daily basis?

No. The patient had an inexperienced nurse who didn't have the time or the energy to explain and orient the patient.

So I was a tad irritated at this bandying about of psych dx's made by non-professionals because in this case, it affected the quality of care that the patient received.

[LydiaNN]

Well, Angie, you are completely right that these terms have termed into laymen's insults. It is always a problem when that happens, because it makes it easier for everyone to then discount the challenges faced by those who actually do have these conditions. These are diagnoses that only can be made after clinical assessment by trained personnel and a complete history of the person in question. It is obvious why the people used in your example shouldn't be making diagnoses, since they clearly don't even fully understand the characteristics of the disorders.

[UM Review RN, ASN, RN]

It is always a problem when that happens, because it makes it easier for everyone to then discount the challenges faced by those who actually do have these conditions.

Voila! Someone understands! :flowersfo

[JennLynn2006]

It's okay, angie, I didn't quite follow the line of reasoning here either. Looks like the poster is having some ambivilant feelings, possibly brought about by mixed messages she received in her childhood. I hope these vacilating emotions aren't the signs of a deeper problem, related to damage done to her inner child in it's formative stages of development...

Whoa people. Take it easy. I was simply saying that people are so quick to sit and gripe about the actions of the other people, while they have probably done something like that themselves. No name-calling here!

Mystery5, do me a favor, and keep your PSYCHOBABBLE to yourself. I have no idea what your post about "a deeper problem" is about, you are delving way too deep into this.

Remind me to make sure I no longer post comments to anything you people have posted on previously...

Clarification... venting is fine, but can you HONESTLY tell me you have never been like, that person is NUTS, CRAZY, PSYCHO... put your finger to your ear and make a circular motion, indicating psychoses????

Don't discredit yourselves!!

If you need further clarification, I suggest you consult a physician.

[Nurse Ratched, RN]

Asking everyone to cool it.