Treatment for Borderline Personality Disorder
Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is marked by pervasive instability in moods, interpersonal relationships, self-image and behavior. This condition is often misdiagnosed and even more often misunderstood. BPD is characterized by emotional vulnerability to intense reactions (positive and negative), difficulty regulating/modulating emotions, and a lack of effective skills to manage emotions and behaviors.
Symptoms of Borderline Personality Disorder:
- Fears of abandonment
- Extreme mood swings
- Difficulty maintaining relationships
- Unstable self-image
- Difficulty managing emotions
- Impulsive behavior
- Self-injuring acts
- Self-destructive behavior
- Suicidal ideation
- Transient psychotic episodes
Lived experiences of individuals with Borderline Personality Disorder:
Borderline Personality Disorder is considered a serious mental illness.It is characterized by pervasive instability in moods, interpersonal relationships, self-image and behavior. People with BPD often report the following:
- Intense bouts of emotions (ex. anger, depression, anxiety) that last hours to at most a day
- Feeling mistreated, misunderstood and/or empty
- Fears of abandonment and rejection with short separation from social relationships (business trips, holiday, etc)
- Sudden shifts from idealization to devaluation of social relationships (love/hate)
- Impulsive behavior or risk-taking behavior
- Very intense relationships that often end as quickly as they begin
- Tend to rotate jobs (because of relational difficulties)
- Difficulty taking responsibility for their actions
- Avoiding reality-oriented problem solving
- Self-destructive behavior
Self-destructive Behavior often associated with Borderline Personality Disorder
- Suicide attempts
- Banging head
- Cutting, scratching, or pinching skin enough to cause bleeding or a mark that remains on the skin
- Banging or punching objects to the point of bleeding
- Ripping and tearing skin
- Carving words or patterns into skin
- Burning self with cigarettes, matches, hot water
- Pulling out hair
- Skin Picking
What can begin as a “bad habit” can quickly escalate and become out of control. We offer specialized treatment for people struggling with self-destructive behaviors to take control of their behavior and take back their lives – Please see Self Destructive Behavior Section for more information.
Tips on how to help someone with Borderline Personality Disorder:
- Be supportive
- Be conscious of the possibility of a sudden shift in emotion
- Validate their feelings while not encouraging or agreeing with destructive or aggressive behavior towards others
- Introduce yourself to concepts of ‘limit-setting’ and boundaries
- Be careful not to enable dependencies
- Maintain neutral relationship with individual.
- Educate yourself about this illness and encourage your loved one to ask for help
In a Crisis:
- Focus on ‘here and now’ problems
- Do not minimize their crisis
- Give the person options for resolution
- Call 911 for emergencies
With the appropriate supportive therapy and skills training, research shows that individuals with Borderline Personality Disorder can and do get better by gaining control over their lives, their behavior and their relationships.
Please don’t hesitate to schedule an appointment if you would like more information.