The long-awaited Summer House Reunion special is here.
During Part 1 of the Season 10 special, there was more going on than the big show-down of exes (including ex-friends).
KJ Dillard opened up about his mental health, his years of distracting himself, and how he ended up in the hospital.
He told his castmates — and the audience — about his diagnosis, and about his lengthy recovery.
‘I actually had to go to the hospital for self-harm’
During Part 1 of the Reunion, KJ revealed that he was hospitalized.
He shared that he had been diagnosed with borderline personality disorder — often abbreviated as BPD.
“I actually had to go to the hospital for self-harm,” KJ confided to Andy Cohen.
“I was there for a week,” he then detailed.
KJ credited two castmates, saying: “Mia [Calabrese] and Ciara [Miller] were there almost every day.”
As he discussed his months of recovery, KJ teared up.
“I got to focus on myself,” he affirmed. “I needed that.”
KJ also shared that he is in therapy and is taking medication to help with his mental health.
“My whole life, I distracted myself and ran away from my issues instead of facing them head-on,” he shared.
When people self-medicate or find other ways to divert themselves (he mentioned impulsive tattoos and piercings, for example), it doesn’t directly address problems in a healthy and lasting way.
What is borderline personality disorder?
BPD is a Cluster B personality disorder that involves relationship instability, a (not unrelated) fear of abandonment, and also intense emotional outbursts caused by difficulties with emotional regulation.
These same challenges with emotional regulation can cause the self-harm behaviors that KJ mentioned.
Television and film too often portrays BPD — among other psychiatric diagnoses — as something scary, dangerous, and worthy of stigma. The facts don’t back that up.
Borderline personality disorder primarily impacts the individual, distorting their sense of self.
“I’m grateful that I’m here alive because I could have not been,” KJ expressed during the Reunion.
“I’m thankful for the support of my friends,” KJ affirmed. “Like everyone here has somehow shown their support in their own way. So, I appreciate that.”
He added: “I’m very thankful that the audience is embracing that, because it’s my truth,” he added.
KJ emphasized: “I’m not gonna not be honest about what I’m going through, especially if it can help others.”
He received an outpouring of support from his castmates, including Jesse — who teared up himself after KJ spoke.
Part 2 of the Summer House Reunion special will air on June 2.
KJ Dillard Reveals Hospitalization, Diagnosis, & Recovery at ‘Summer … was originally published on The Hollywood Gossip.
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