Jaycee Woods

Despite several efforts, I am not completing story ideas featuring a character with Borderline Personality Disorder. Okay I did finish one draft by cheating when a Valerie put a gun in the BPD woman’s face, then told her to leave and never come back or else; all hail the no contact rule.

However, the disorder is the relationship horror story that should be dramatized as it is the root of the masculine cautionary rule of don’t stick it in crazy. The problem for me is there is no happy ending, no cure, only what I hold to be dishonest symptom suppression through DBT.

When arguing with Copilot I did have a new story idea approach rooted in the idea that Dr. Walton, marriage counselor and therapist, is becoming one of my most versatile supporting characters.

Here is how I described it to Copilot:
“Can I bring all this into a story? I have tried but failed with only incomplete stories resulting. My roadblock is that there are no known answers only hypothesis which aren’t going to be tested. This is good for fiction but it requires no resolution or it becomes fantasy. I think that the best option is to describe the problem. Put it into a clinical context like my Dr Walton, marriage counselor and therapist character. A couple seeks marriage counseling. She is a BPD and he is a non. Separately, Dr Walton has a come to Jesus session with the husband to admit the limitations of therapy with a BPD. Dr Walton presents the no contact option, but also suggests some non-sanctioned experimental options to skill up the husband to manage the crisis that always happens outside an office setting. Alternatively the husband and Dr Walton might work together so she goes into a BPD spiral in front of the therapist during a marriage counseling session.”

The core conflict in the story dramatizes BPD as a relationship-based disorder so treatment needs to incorporate not only the BPD but also the BPD’s victims if they have not gone no contact. Excluding the non is ineffective as it allows the BPD to manipulate the therapist with false self-reporting. Additionally, outside of involuntary commitment, a therapist is unlikely to have ever seen an unmasked BPD.

First scene, their first session as a couple. The wife had made a false accusations to the police that jammed up the husband temporarily. This marriage counseling is to move the marital conflict into a safe environment. At this point, no one knows that she is a BPD.

Second scene, show the contrast of the BPD outside of the therapist office. Have her split Dr Walton as totally black for “taking the husband’s side.” Dramatize her going into the full BPD rage while the husband is helpless.

Third scene, she skips the marriage counseling session but the husband has a one-on-one with Dr Walton. The husband confesses his deepest secret which is how the wife behaves behind closed doors. Dr Walton suspects but can’t make a diagnosis yet.

Fourth scene, the wife has a solo make up appointment with Dr Walton. The purpose is to profile her for a potential diagnosis. The effort is frustrated by her mistrust and dishonesty. The idea of her being potentially suicidal is evaluated.

Further steps, steal socks, make money. Okay so I don’t have all the steps mapped out.