Borderline personality disorder is a mental health disorder that has an impact on how you feel and think about yourself and the people around you. BPD can impact every aspect of your life. You may struggle to get along with family members, friends, or co-workers. You may feel close to someone one day and avoid them the next without a logical reason. Depression or anger can be problems when you don’t know why you’re feeling the emotions you’re attempting to control.

What Is BPD or Borderline Personality Disorder?

Johns Hopkins Medicine refers to people with borderline personality disorder as having explosive emotions and resisting attempts to correct their behavior. Coping with BPD emotions is challenging. People with BPD have severe mood swings and may behave recklessly. Managing their moods is complex and can affect family members. They often have self-image and thought pattern issues. BPD disrupts people’s lives and often results in problems, including:

• Alienating family and friends
• Holding onto a job
• Handling obligations
• Completing daily tasks

Living with borderline personality disorder makes each day problematic. You never know how you’ll react in different situations. Some people find special life events like birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, and holidays a challenge they can’t handle. They may alienate themselves from other people to prevent problems. Some sufferers use alcohol, food, or drugs as a way to cope. Borderline personality disorder is also a frequent problem with young adults. Treatment is essential since people with borderline personality disorder are at risk for anxiety, depression, or substance abuse.

BPD Has Significant Effects on Your Life

Borderline personality disorder makes it challenging to live an everyday life and maintain stable relationships. BPD has an impact on how you feel and think about yourself and other people. The Mayo Clinic offers BPD resources including the symptoms and effects of the disorder. The impact of BPD may include:

• Attempts at self-harm or health problems
• Divorce, spousal conflicts, and legal issues
• Life conflicts, including parenting, marriage, and family relationships
• Risks including drug abuse, accidents, and unplanned pregnancies
• Workplace stability and disputes with co-workers

What Are Common BPD Misconceptions?

Myth: There aren’t any treatments for borderline personality disorder.

Depending on your needs, different BPD treatment options and resources are available. BPD can successfully be treated with intensive therapy, and there are a variety of effective treatment options. One of the first treatments often suggested by therapists is talk therapy sessions with a mental health provider. This type of treatment helps alleviate anger and suicidal thoughts.

Although there aren’t specific medications for borderline personality disorder, a mental health practitioner may prescribe a medication commonly prescribed for depression, anxiety, or a co-existing medical condition. Your doctor can create an individualized treatment plan to alleviate your symptoms. The doctor will explain how the medication works and if there are any side effects. Treatment options are different for each person.

The dialectical behavioral therapy for BPD module that deals with emotions is one of the emotional regulation techniques that’s effective in alcohol abuse treatment. This module can teach people with BPD how their emotions work. The technique teaches people how to manage emotions instead of being controlled by them. Learning the methods helps build positive experiences instead of being handled by negative emotions.

 Schema-focused therapy  can determine the needs of the person that aren’t being met and use positive ways to meet those needs. The integrated method focuses on the client/therapist relationship, everyday life, and any traumatic experiences from childhood.

Systems training for emotional predictability and problem-solving involves 20 weeks of therapy with the family, friends, and the person’s medical team, in conjunction with other treatments. Transference-focused treatment is designed to understand interpersonal skills and emotions. The treatment focuses on moment-by-moment therapist interaction. The belief is that the client will display their unhealthy perceptions in therapy sessions.

Mentalization-based therapy can identify the negative thoughts that control a person and teach skills to think before acting. The therapy focuses on the client’s emotional state in relation to other people’s state of mind. Therapy involves understanding how the mental state affects behavior. Psychiatric management involves a total approach that requires counseling for BPD, group therapy, education, and medication.

Myth: People with BPD can’t lead fulfilling, happy lives.

A person who gets the treatment geared toward their needs can lead an everyday life without the lasting effects of the disorder.

Myth: Borderline personality disorder is an attention-getter.

Impulsive behavior attempts to harm oneself or suicide attempts aren’t a way to get attention. Behaviors like this are a cry for help.

Myth: People with BPD don’t take their lives.

Statistics show that  10% of borderline personality disorder clients die as a result of suicide. Family members and friends should be supportive and not judgmental. Unfortunately, some people struggling with borderline personality disorder think it’s the only way out. A person who attempts to take their own life is in emotional distress and needs support and empathy, not condemnation. It’s essential for families to be in close contact with someone struggling with borderline personality disorder. Sometimes, it seems the person is recovering, and that’s when they attempt to harm themselves.

Myth: People with BPD don’t do anything to help themselves.

People with this condition who don’t feel well or don’t know how to cope have experienced trauma, abuse, or neglect and don’t have the skills to help themselves. These people can learn self-care with treatment, support, and empathy.

Symptoms and Diagnostic Criteria

For a diagnosis of borderline personality disorder, a person must have a combination of at least five of these BPD Symptoms.

• A pattern of severe mood swings that lasts for hours or days
• Consistent feelings of emptiness
• Feelings of being disconnected from reality, one’s body, or paranoia
• Going to extremes to avoid being abandoned or abandonment fears that may be imagined or real

• Problems controlling anger or excessive anger over minor incidents
• Rapid changes in behavior, values, or goals due to a change in sense of self
• Relationship issues with family or friends that run between feeling close and hatred or anger with some people suddenly changing their feelings for no rational reason
• Self-destructive behaviors, including eating disorders, substance abuse, money mismanagement, gambling, or driving recklessly, which can result in serious repercussions
• Self-harm behavior that includes burning, cutting, hair pulling, or suicide attempts
• Impulsive behavior that results in quitting a job or ending a relationship

An important point to consider is that symptoms of borderline personality disorder may be similar to other medical conditions. It’s essential to get a diagnosis from your medical provider.

Causes and Risk Factors

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration categorizes BPD as a mental health disorder that causes people to have long-term problems with unstable emotions. Mental health professionals don’t entirely understand BPD or all the factors that cause the condition. Researchers do know that certain factors are involved, including:

• Genetics
• Environment
• Structure of the brain

Some research indicates that borderline personality disorder is generational and could be passed down in families. You’re more likely to develop BPD if a family member has it.

Cultural and social factors in a person’s environment can play a role in the development of BPD. If you’re not in a stable relationship or you had a problematic childhood, you may be at higher risk for developing the disorder. Other high-risk factors include:

• Abuse or neglect as a child
• Parents or guardians with substance use disorder
• Criminal activity in the family

Some people may have BPD due to changes to specific sections of the brain that control emotions and impulses. When the chemicals in the brain, including dopamine or serotonin, are out of balance, the result can be impulsive behavior and feelings of aggression,

Diagnosis and Assessment

If you have any borderline personality disorder symptoms, it’s essential to see a licensed mental health provider and get a diagnosis as soon as possible. BPD may be diagnosed by:

• Clinical social workers
• Psychiatrists
• Psychiatric nurse practitioners
• Psychologists

You’ll be asked about your symptoms and any problems you’re experiencing. A doctor will thoroughly examine you to determine if any other medical conditions could contribute to your symptoms.

Following a medical exam, you’ll be asked questions about your medical history and incidences of mental health conditions or physical problems in your family. The examination must be thorough to determine if you have any medical conditions that could be a source of your symptoms.

Treatment Approaches

Although borderline personality disorder is a complex condition to treat, quite often, the long-term prognosis is more promising than bipolar disorder or depression. Treatment from mental health professionals can change dysfunctional thought patterns, feelings, and actions that you accept as usual. Treatment involves a lot of determination and patience but is well worth the effort. The excellent news about BPD is that the symptoms tend to diminish as you get older. When many reach their 40s, the symptoms may no longer be an issue.

When borderline personality disorder occurs with another type of mental illness, doctors may recommend psychotherapy treatment in a clinic or psychiatric hospital. Treatment in a hospital is a precaution if you may be in danger of harming yourself. Inpatient treatment will adjust medications to the exact dosage that will benefit you the most.

Coping Strategies

When you’re suffering from borderline personality disorder, learning practical coping skills can help minimize aggressive behavior and emotional outbursts. Coping strategies can improve confidence and help in handling different situations. Activities including Tai Chi, meditation, and yoga are all beneficial in relieving the symptoms. Playing loud music or engaging in favorite activities like gardening may alleviate angry or restless emotions. Grounding techniques include listening for specific sounds, studying them, or watching particular objects. This technique can help alleviate negative emotions and focus on the positives. Deep breathing exercises may also be helpful in relieving stress.

BPD support groups are an excellent way to connect with others dealing with BPD. Support from therapists, family, and support groups is beneficial in recovery. People can share experiences and ask questions. A person with this disorder can ask their mental health provider for borderline personality disorder resources to learn new coping skills.

How Granite Recovery Centers Resources Can Help You

It takes time to recover from BPD, and intensive therapy is beneficial to recovery. Granite Recovery Centers has helped people suffering from borderline personality disorder and other mental health problems recover and live an active life. If you have symptoms of BPD, it’s vital to get medical help as soon as possible. We provide a hands-on approach to treatment with individual treatment plans and 12-step programs. Contact us at 855-712-7784.