Borderline Personality Disorder
Borderline Personality Disorder can be harmful for your personal and professional life if left untreated.
Omnihelp will help you get in touch with an expert to answer all your queries, suggest therapies, and provide prescriptions.
Service offered to: Adolescents and Adults
Overview
- Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a mental illness that affects the way you feel and thinks about yourself and others.
- It causes problems functioning in routine, such as self-image issues, trouble while handling behavior and emotions, and a pattern of an unstable relationship.
- BPD begins in early childhood. The situation turns worse in young adulthood and then improves with age.
- People with BPD tend to be sensitive. Small things can trigger intense reactions. When they are upset, they feel difficulty calming down.
- If you suffer from a borderline personality disorder, don't feel disappointed. Many people recover with appropriate treatment of BPD and learn to live a healthy life.
Borderline Personality Disorder Symptoms
People having borderline personality experience mood swings and can feel a great sense of insecurity and instability. Some key signs of BPD symptoms may include:
- A fear of abandonment, even going to severe measures to prevent imagined or real rejection or separation
- A pattern of insecure intense relationships such as idealizing someone one moment and then thinking the person doesn't care anymore
- Recurring thoughts about suicidal behaviors or threats.
- Quick changes in self-identity and self-image and considering yourself bad
- Episodes of stress-related paranoia and loss of interaction with reality, lasting from a few minutes, few hours and few days
- Impulsive and risky behavior such as reckless driving, gambling, drug abuse, binge eating, quitting a job or relationship
- Feelings of emptiness
- Intense anger, such as losing your temper, being sarcastic, or physical fights
Personality Disorder Diagnosis
Personality continues to develop throughout the child and adolescent phases. Therefore, healthcare providers don’t typically diagnose someone with borderline personality disorder until age 18. A person younger than 18 years may be diagnosed with BPD if symptoms last for at least a year.
BPD can be difficult to diagnose, as most people with a personality disorder lack insight into disruptive behavior and thought patterns.
A licensed mental health professional, i.e., psychiatrist, psychologist or clinical social worker, can diagnose BPD by following the diagnostic criteria of the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.
Borderline Personality Disorder Types
There are four main types of BPD. You can be diagnosed with more than one type at the same or different times.
| Causes | What it Entails |
| Impulsive BPD | Impulsive behavior is one of the primary signs of BPD. A person can act in impulsive and often dangerous ways. People with this disorder may be charismatic, energetic, motivating, or flirtatious. Some example behaviors include bingeing, being aggressive, and being self-destructive. |
| Discouraged | It is also known as quiet BPD, and people with this disorder are afraid of being abandoned. They may keep their emotions hidden, and always blame themselves. Signs of discouraged BPD include clinginess and codependency. |
| Self-destructive | People who suffer from this type of BPD, struggle with self-hatred and often feel bitter. Its symptoms are similar to other types but some additional symptoms are increased energy, less sleep, and a feeling of euphoria. |
| Petulant BPD | People who have petulant BPD may shift randomly from one emotion to another, and feel unworthy. It can lead to relationship challenges and an unhealthy desire for control. Example behavior of people with this type of BPD includes impatience, irritability, aggressiveness, and extreme mood swings. |
Borderline Personality Disorder Causes
Similar to some other mental illnesses, the causes of borderline personality disorder aren't fully known. In addition to an environmental factor, this mental disorder may be linked to:
- Genetics
- Brain Structure and Function
Some studies show that personality disorders may be inherited with other mental disorders among family members.
Some research has proved that certain brain areas are involved in emotion regulation, aggression, and impulsivity - especially in the areas that control impulses and emotion regulation.
Borderline Personality Disorder Risk factors
Some factors boost the risk of developing borderline personality disorder that involves:
- Hereditary Predisposition
- Stressful Childhood
You may be at a higher risk of borderline personality disorder if one of your close relatives has the same disorder.
Many people suffering from this disorder report being physically or sexually abused during childhood.
Borderline Personality Disorder Treatment
BPD treatment can help you learn skills to manage and cope with your condition. With treatment, you can feel better about yourself and live a peaceful life.
The treatment options for BPD are:
Psychotherapy
Medication
Hospitalization
The standard treatment for signs of BPD is psychotherapy. It includes dialectical behavior therapy (BPT), schema-focused therapy, transference-focused therapy, and metallization-based treatment (MBT).
Although no medication is approved by FDA for the treatment of BPD, certain medications may help with BPD symptoms test. These medications may include antidepressants, antipsychotics, or mood-stabilizing.
Sometimes intense treatment in a psychiatric hospital becomes necessary. It keeps you safe from self-injury or addresses suicidal behaviors.
BPD links to other mental disorders such as anxiety and depression. Medication prescribes to treat the symptoms of these conditions. However, there is no specific medication to treat BPD. Every person reacts differently to a medicine. So it's better to consult your doctor before using a medication plan.
A borderline personality disorder is not very common and is estimated to occur in 1 to 2% of the general US population. It is more found among people seeking treatment for mental disorders.
The best way to explain BPD is to use the phrase emotional regulation. A person may face severe reactions to an action or event that upsets them. It can lead to impulsive behavior. People who suffer from BPD have 'black and white thinking and might struggle to recall that their friend has not disappointed them. When explaining BPD, describe your struggle rather than your BDP diagnosis.
If you have an extreme fear of abandonment and difficulty tolerating being alone, you may have BPD. Yet frequent mood swings and inappropriate anger are also signs to diagnose BPD.
Research has shown that people who suffer from BPD can read emotions and facial expressions better than others. They put their emotional expression into music, art, and writing.
Talk to your doctor or a mental health provider if you know you have any of the signs or symptoms above. If you have suicidal thoughts or mental images about hurting yourself, immediately get help by calling 911 or your local emergency number.
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