Respectfully I disagree, I am a functional BPD and my medication DOES NOT have any worse side effect than an over the counter anti histamine...
It is the best pill I have been on and all others I've been on have had serious side affects, it is probably very different in Australia medication wise but lithium is rarely used as a BPD medication, in saying that it was the first medication I was given (as I've worked my BPD butt off to get stable) and I NEVER had the lithium shakes, it did however cause me to have blackouts where I was awake but not consciously present, one time I blacked out in the car driving my kids, i immediately stopped using lithium.
I'm not excusing arias for her actions, but if you look into BPD and abandonment issues it can make us BPD's do crazy thing, there's a comment unthread about her driving long distances and that she may of used stimulants, however many of our medications for BPD affect sleep, your generally trialled at the start of diagnosis on anti psychotics and sedatives..
BPD is an extremely horrible disease, one that is still very misunderstood on how to treat effectively and usually the BPD sufferer is also in denial, we deny everything in life so well, because sometimes it's better to have a nice story to share amongst the friends that are strong enough to stand by us rather than to tell the truth on how awful your life had truly been..
Thank you for sharing your journey with this disease. Yes, it is horrible. My mother and granddaughter have both been diagnosed with BPD. My granddaughter, in addition to several meds, receives dialectical behavior therapy. That has given her tools in which to recognize and help minimize her emotional outbursts. While there's no known cure for BPD, I truly believe having as many facts as possible about it is of significant benefit, for those afflicted and their family members.