What is borderline personality disorder?

A person with borderline personality disorder (BPD) struggles to feel confident in themselves, has trouble controlling their emotions and impulses, and has trouble interacting to others.

High degrees of anxiety and fury are common in those who have BPD.

They are easily offended by the actions or words of others.

People who have BPD may struggle with distressing thoughts and beliefs about other people and themselves. Their social, family, and work lives may suffer as a result. BPD patients occasionally hurt themselves.

The majority of BPD sufferers have their first symptoms in adolescence or as a young adult, which typically subside as they get older. A person struggling with BPD has no  fault and did not cause it.

Why do some people have borderline personalities?

BPD’s precise causes are still unknown. It is likely brought on by both genes and experiences, not simply one or the other.

Life troubles during growing up may be particularly harmful for someone who is naturally very sensitive. These issues could be brought on by unpleasant events or the presence of another mental illness. It is impossible to determine who will experience BPD.

Signs of Borderline personality disorder

A person with BPD will exhibit a number of these symptoms:

• Having a propensity to worry that others would desert them. This can lead to them making frantic attempts to prevent being abandoned by others, even in circumstances when others wouldn’t feel betrayed or take it personally.
• Being in exceptionally passionate and unstable relationships (e.g. idealising another person, then intensely disliking them).
• Being extremely insecure about oneself; not really knowing who one is or what one should think of oneself.

• putting oneself at danger or acting rashly in ways that could be damaging (e.g. not thinking before spending money, risky sexual behaviour, risky drug or alcohol use, driving recklessly or binge-eating).
• Engaging in self-harm on a regular basis, acting suicidally, or discussing or considering suicide.
• Going through brief yet acute emotional “lows,” or having moments of agitation or anxiety. Normally, this only lasts a few hours at a time, but it can occasionally last longer.
• Constantly feeling as though you are “empty” inside.
• Feeling uncontrollably angry, with feelings that are extremely strong and out of proportion to the cause of the anger (e.g. having fits of temper or getting into fights).
• When under stress, developing a strong suspicion of others or acting strangely distant from their own feelings, bodies, or surroundings.

How is borderline personality disorder diagnosed?

BPD cannot be diagnosed through testing. Only a mental health professional who has spoken to and gotten to know the patient can diagnose it.

A person can be diagnosed with BPD if they show several of the symptoms. People with a diagnosis of BPD can appear very different from one another because there are many distinct combinations of these characteristics.

Before diagnosing BPD to a patient, a doctor or psychologist will carefully discuss about the patient’s life, experiences, and symptoms. Because some of the symptoms of BPD are similar to other mental health illnesses,  more than one sessions are required to confirm the diagnosis.

What is the treatment for borderline personality disorder?

Psychological treatments (talking therapies) are the best way to approach BPD. These therapies often involve in person sessions with a mental health specialist and occasionally attending at special group therapy. It is not advised to use medication as the major form of treatment for BPD.

Most BPD patients experience relief with treatment, at least temporarily. There is a good chance once someone recovers, they won’t experience symptoms ever again.

The majority of people discover that symptoms improves a few years after the diagnosis.

Many people have fulfilling social and professional lives. Even when their symptoms have improved, some pationes still experience certain difficulties in their professional and social lives.

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a mental condition that makes it difficult for a person to feel secure in themselves, causes issues with emotion regulation and impulse control, and creates issues with interpersonal relationships. BPD is a mental and neurological disorder. The person did not cause it, and it is not their fault. The majority of BPD patients can recover since the disease is curable.

Here are few certified therapists who you can get in touch and book a therapy session with:

• Simi Valecha Johnson
• Sharan Thiara
• Lynda Pabari