*Get the book on Amazon here*
Borderline Personality Disorder, BPD from here on out, has quite a few symptoms that some of us might experience today: a shaky sense of identity, sudden violent outbursts, over-sensitivity to real or imagined rejection, brief and turbulent love affairs, frequent periods of intense depression, eating disorders, drug abuse, or other self-destructive tendencies, an irrational fear of abandonment, and an inability to be alone (taken from the book). I am not familiar with this particular disorder, especially in this day and age when so many different psychological disorders exist and are talked about in the mass media almost constantly. The authors lay a groundwork through examples and the above listed behaviors to introduce a disorder that is not easily solved by a magic pill or a little therapy.
However, and this is a big However, the book is marketed as a self-help book, but reads like a very difficult and very dull academic paper that was presented at a conference somewhere. The authors cover all of this material, and yet can only suggest therapy and medicinal help to solve the problem. The authors also suggest to therapists how to work with BPD patients, family and friends get advice on how to deal with BPD sufferers, but virtually ignore anyone reading this who might think they are experiencing BPD, except to talk about long therapy sessions, and how BPD sufferers may not react well to that therapy.
The book has a copyright date of 1989, and has been reprinted dozens of times, but the book's publishers never felt a need to update the text when I read it in the early 2000's, making awkward references to the Soviet Union and the Challenger explosion. Advances in anti-depressants are also ignored. With the modern cover, and reader friendly back cover notes, you might pick this up thinking "I have those symptoms, this will help." If anything this tome will lull you into complacent and calm boredom. I do not recommend I Hate You, Don't Leave Me. If you believe you are suffering from the above symptoms, you are better off seeking professional help instead of this.
