Remarkable Achievers and Very Likeable People (Men Included!) Can Have BPD
OPI Intensive welcomes guest blogger Debbie Corso of HealingFromBPD.org …
When I heard that Brandon Marshall of the NFL’s Chicago Bears would be appearing on a show describing his transformation of overcoming Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), I was all over it. I Tivo’d up, intending to watch the show the next day and then compose this post. I couldn’t wait. I ended up live-tweeting throughout the program, earning a retweet from none other than Brandon himself.
What strikes me so much about Brandon’s story is that he is not the typical candidate one pictures when they hear about BPD. All too often, the general public (and even professionals in a clinical setting) tend to expect a story about someone suffering with BPD to be about a female. This is a misconception, and Brandon’s bravery and drive to break down stigmas is helping young men everywhere feel a bit safer to step out, to express their vulnerabilities, and to seek the help they need to heal and truly build a life worth living.
Resources for men with this disorder continue to be limited. I am honored to be guest posting for OPI Intensive, as it is the only facility in the nation specializing in inpatient programs helping both young women and men ages 17-28 overcome BPD. They are conveniently located in Woodland Hills (Los Angeles). One of their many successful graduates, Ben Morowski, raves about his experience as a young man who graduated from OPI Intensive to overcome great internal adversity and ultimately transform his life.
Brandon credits his recovery to learning skills (Dialectical Behavior Therapy/DBT) through outpatient at McLean Hospital to help him manage and regulate his emotions, along with the incredible ongoing support of his wife, Michi.
I captured Michi’s thoughts about her husband in this tweet:
Together, they have established The Brandon Marshall Foundation to help others to cope with their experiences with mental illness. Throughout the television program, Brandon reinforced that football is his platform, not his purpose. While he is, even at his young age, considered legendary in the NFL, this was not the focus of the program nor his life.
His purpose is to take his story, his suffering and pain, the lessons learned along the road of trial and error and before he received proper treatment throughout his twenties, to shine a light and a way for others who need help finding their voice and getting the services they need.
Brandon Marshall with psychiatrist Dr. Robert Fischer, Executive Director of OPI Intensive and Optimum Performance Institute at a National Education Alliance for Borderline Personality Disorder (NEABPD) dinner last year.
Keep doing what you are doing, Brandon. The mental health community, OPI Intensive, – and the world – are very proud of you.
For more information on receiving intensive, in-patient treatment at OPI Intensive, call 866-661-3982 or click HERE to submit a contact form.
If you enjoyed this article, read Dr. Fisher’s post on PsychCentral: “Men Can Have Borderline Personality Disorder, Too.”