Borderline Personality Disorder

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a mental health condition. It is one of many types of personality disorder. Borderline personality disorder can cause people to have unstable relationships. It may lead to a rapidly changing sense of self and other symptoms that disrupt daily functioning.

People living with BPD can benefit from comprehensive treatment that includes therapy and medications. Treatment can help people with BPD have healthier relationships, improve functioning, and have a better quality of life. 

This article will explore what borderline personality disorder is and how to treat it. You will learn:

• The symptoms of borderline personality disorder
• How BPD can affect quality of life and functioning
• What treatment is available to manage the symptoms of BPD
• Where to find treatment for borderline personality disorder

If you or someone in your life lives with borderline personality disorder, treatment is available at Agape Behavioral Center. Reach out to our specialists to find treatment for BPD or to schedule an intake appointment. 

What is Borderline Personality Disorder?

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a type of personality disorder. This personality disorder can severely impact people’s abilities to regulate emotions. 

Lack of emotional regulation can affect many aspects of a person’s life and functioning. People with borderline personality may experience:

• Impulsive behaviors
• Self-destructive behaviors
• A rapidly changing sense of self
• Relationship strain

People with borderline personality disorder often struggle with feelings of emptiness. They may exhibit destructive or dangerous behaviors, including suicidal behavior, unsafe sex, and substance use disorder. 

People with BPD can benefit from holistic treatment that includes specialized types of talk therapy. 

What are the Symptoms of BPD?

People with borderline personality disorder often live with symptoms that significantly impact their ability to function in daily life. Some symptoms of BPD include:

• Intense mood swings
• Unstable self-image
• Quickly changing feelings about others (cycling between intense like and dislike of others)
• A “black and white” way of thinking (things are all good or all bad)
• Quickly changing interests and values
• Impulsive or reckless behaviors
• Intense fear of abandonment
• A pattern of unstable or unhealthy relationships with family, friends, and others
• Chronic feelings of emptiness
• Difficulty controlling anger (inappropriate outbursts of anger)
• Feelings of dissociation, as though they are observing life from outside their body

People with BPD may experience some of these symptoms or all of them. Their symptoms may change over time. The severity and type of BPD symptoms vary from person to person. 

How Does BPD Affect People?

An estimated 1.4% of U.S. adults have BPD. 75% of people with BPD are women. Borderline personality disorder can affect a person’s functioning in many ways. Here are some of the ways BPD can make life more challenging. 

Relationships

People with BPD often struggle to maintain consistent or healthy relationships with others. They may act in ways that hurt others’ feelings. They may have “hot and cold” relationships that are confusing to their loved ones. 

Family members or friends may take on a caretaking role for someone with BPD. This is especially common if they struggle with self-harm or other challenges. People with BPD can also have intense mood swings that make them unpredictable or volatile. 

Work

People with BPD may struggle to maintain employment because of intense interpersonal difficulties. Impulsive or reckless behaviors can make it hard for people with BPD to maintain long-term employment. 

Emotional health

People with BPD often live with feelings of emptiness. They may isolate or have intense interpersonal difficulties that lead to emotional turmoil. 

Safety

People with BPD often struggle with impulsivity. This makes them more likely to engage in destructive behaviors like substance abuse or risky sex.

Feelings of emptiness can also lead to a higher risk of self-harming behaviors, including cutting and suicidal behaviors.

Treating Borderline Personality Disorder: An Overview

Many mental health professionals agree that treating BPD can be very challenging. However, new treatments and therapies have shown to be more effective at helping people with BPD manage their symptoms. 

Here is an overview of the treatment for BPD. 

Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT)

Dialectical behavior therapy is a specialized type of talk therapy. During DBT sessions, people learn specific skills to reduce the impact of BPD symptoms. These skills include:

• Mindfulness
• Stress tolerance
• Interpersonal effectiveness
• Emotional awareness

People who learn and practice these skills can improve their relationships and sense of self. They can also help reduce BPD symptoms and improve functioning. 

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)

Cognitive behavioral therapy helps people identify and change destructive thoughts and behaviors. It also teaches people how inaccurate perceptions of themselves can affect their behaviors and emotions. 

CBT helps people to develop skills that can improve relationships, reduce anxiety, and minimize mood swings. These improvements can lead to a reduction in self-harm and better functioning. 

Medications

There are no medications developed to treat borderline personality disorder. However, mental health practitioners may recommend medications to address depression or mood instability. 

Find Treatment for Borderline Personality Disorder

If you or someone you love lives with symptoms of BPD or another mental health condition, you are not alone. Contact the intake team at Agape Behavioral Center to explore our holistic personality disorder treatment programs. You may also contact us with questions or to schedule an intake appointment. 

References:

1. National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH): What is borderline personality disorder?
2. National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI): Borderline Personality Disorder
3. Johns Hopkins Medicine: Borderline Personality Disorder