Marja Bergen

author, mental health advocate, follower of Christ

Tag: complex PTSD

My truth – marja’s story

  Have you read this book yet? It’s an account of a person who believes in justice and suffered for it. A line from John Swinton’s book about dementia caught my eye recently: “The question changes from ‘How can I tell my story well?, to ‘Who will tell my story well?’” I don’t have dementia, […]

Read More...

Borderline personality disorder – Misdiagnosis

BPD AND CHURCH SUPPORT According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), “BPD is one of the most commonly misdiagnosed mental health conditions. It’s so misdiagnosed, in fact, that there isn’t even an accurate prevalence rate for the condition. What we do have is an estimate of 2–6% of the population, which actually makes BPD very […]

Read More...

Psychiatric care denied

WRONG-DOING ACKNOWLEDGED BY THE ER In November 2021, my file was closed by a mental health department at a local hospital after I had been a patient there for eight years. Treatment for my bipolar 1 disorder (first thought to be schizophrenia) began at Riverview Hospital in 1965 where I was a patient for ten […]

Read More...

Psychiatrists have too much power

PSYCHIATRIC DIAGNOSIS, INPUT NOT ALLOWED In 2015 I was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder (BPD). My psychiatrist told me I had only about three features, “not the whole thing.” And yet, my file—for all medical personnel to see—showed that my diagnosis was borderline, the whole thing. In their book Beyond Borderline: True Stories of Recovery […]

Read More...

Denied our human right to speak and be heard

I have spoken with anger at the injustice I see towards people with mental illness like me. But angry words are not always counted as valid representations of what is believable and true. And so if that’s the way things are, I will endeavor to speak with the grief underneath that anger. You will hear […]

Read More...

Setting the record straight – complex PTSD

Here is some extra information on complex CPTSD for those of you interested in hearing more. From VeryWell Mind – https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-complex-ptsd-2797491 Both PTSD and C-PTSD result from the experience of something deeply traumatic and can cause flashbacks, nightmares, and insomnia. Both conditions can also make you feel intensely afraid and unsafe even though the danger […]

Read More...

What my psychiatrist didn’t know

  As many of you know, I had been diagnosed with borderline personality disorder (BPD). But I have investigated complex PTSD – a disorder that describes my condition much better but is not yet listed in the diagnostic manual used in North America. It is listed in the ID11 used in Europe, recognized by the […]

Read More...

Hard times – personally speaking

We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. 2 Corinthians 4:8-9 Dear friends, Please let me share some personal things with you. I’ve been writing to you for many years—for some of those years going through extremely tough times. […]

Read More...

© 2024 Marja Bergen

Theme by Anders NorenUp ↑