Involuntary treatment is controversial, but sometimes necessary. While the rights of the patient are important, how far down the functionality scale should we let the patient go? Should we make it easier to hospitalize a patient who is severely impaired but not suicidal or homicidal? More Than Borderline's Becky Oberg explores this issue.

I'll be honest, I hate country music. For example, as someone who lived next to train tracks for a year, I don't consider listening to the "Night Train" romantic because the horn is too dang loud. And leaving my abusive ex was not themed like "Independence Day" or "Goodbye, Earl", as much as I would've loved to get even. But some of it just rings true, especially Tim McGraw's "My Next Thirty Years". Maybe I'm a bit reflective because I turn 35 tomorrow, but it seems to fit with my attitude towards life.

On Monday, Aaron Alexis went into the Washington Navy Yard and started shooting. Within hours his mental state was questioned--we're now learning Aaron Alexis had a psychiatric history and "slipped through the system". While there is no definite link between mental illness and a risk of violence, there is a pattern emerging between mass shooters and inadequate mental health treatment. (read: Should People with a Mental Illness have Firearm Rights?) There but for the grace of God, go I.

For a long time I've been interested Shogun-era Japan. I even have a book called Bushido: The Way of the Samurai, which is based on the Hagakure by Tsunetomo Yamamoto. One story in it is called "Story of the Thwarted Ghosts."

In the book Hagakure, samurai Tsunetomo Yamamoto writes about an alcoholic samurai. More Than Borderline blog author, Becky Oberg, examines what this tale can teach us about making mistakes.

My family got together for Labor Day. While we had a good time (my nephews and niece, all age 3 and younger, have discovered water balloons), I left worried about my brother Dan. Dan is depressed because his cat, Elfman, is sick, possibly cancer. He's doted on this cat for twelve years, and was down enough to not have interest in the steak Dad grilled (if you know Dan, you'll know that's serious). It reminded me that some people with borderline personality disorder (BPD) may take the loss of a pet especially hard. So here are some tips on how to get through the loss of a "best friend" of the fur variety.

I love hearing from my readers. The other day, one wrote: "[T]he facility here in a Central Florida receiving center puts everyone together, whether they be folks who are well in touch with reality; but are having emotional issue, or they be folks who are totally out of contact with reality. Everything is "dumbed down" (I do not like using that term, but I cannot think of one better) to those who don't know front from back, so to speak. I know there is a shortage of beds, but it would help if those of us who are aware, so to speak, would be treated as such. Sadly, for those who are not in touch, there seems to be no long-term place for them, and that is not right." She hit the nail on the head. Mental health treatment is often treated as "one size fits all", which makes it difficult for people to get the treatment they need.

Good news--my friend Ann from AA is okay. Her house was burglarized around 5 p.m. yesterday, but fortunately she was not at home. Her neighbors noticed a car parked the wrong way in the driveway and a 15-year-old boy running around the house carrying a flat-screen TV, and called the police with a description of the perpetrators and their vehicle. The suspects were caught near a Ruby Tuesday, where they reportedly held a person up with a sawed-off shotgun--during the dinner rush. Thankfully, a deputy sheriff was close by, so they were caught and Ann got most of her belongings back. She surprised me, however, when she said that the perpetrators were probably desperate for drug money. Who robs a house in broad daylight? Who holds up a person in a crowded parking lot? She said she hoped they got help. The power of grace and forgiveness kept her sober. As people with borderline personality disorder (BPD), we have a lot to learn from Ann.

Addiction, whether it's to a substance such as alcohol or a behavior such as casual sex, is cunning, baffling, and powerful--and a common trait of borderline personality disorder (BPD). We need help to fight it. But some of the addiction battle is up to us. One important way to fight addiction is by replacing your addiction with a positive hobby. In my case, I have replaced my alcoholic lifestyle with the production and consumption of kombucha.

People with borderline personality disorder(BPD) are especially vulnerable to abusive relationships due to the intense self-hatred and fear of abandonment common to the disorder. Due to the relatively weak sense of self, it is difficult for a person with BPD to leave a relationship, even an abusive one. People with BPD may believe they deserve the abuse and have a hard time believing the relationship is abusive.