1 BPD often causes symptoms like extreme mood shifts and uncertainty in how a person views themselves and others-
at it’s core, BPD affects how a person thinks and feels about themselves and others enough to negatively impact their daily life, people with BPD don’t just experience mood changes, these shifts can be so severe they make a person feel overcome by massive waves of emotion, and the stimulus for these emotional reactions can be minor
one of the symptoms of BPD is unstable sense of self, another is volatile relationships with others, these symptoms are caused by, or are a cause of, these massive mood changes, it’s like when you’re first in love with somebody and you idolize them, but as time wears on and problems occur, you think less and less of them, until you either hate them and dump them before they dump you, or you wait until they dump you
2 BPD is thought to affect about 1 percent of the people in the United States-
it is still a rare diagnosis, but it is growing, I personally love to meet and talk to others who have Borderline, it’s great to have other people who understand you better than anyone else does
3 People with BPD often have other mental health conditions-
84.5 percent of people with BPD surveyed also had a co-occuring mental health disorder, but the relationship between BPD and other conditions is not completely understood
I have BPD and Bipolar Disorder, which makes it very confusing sometimes, there are times I don’t even really know what I am feeling, what are your co-occuring disorders
4 Borderline Personality Disorder and Bipolar Disorder are not the same thing-
they do share some significant similarities, namely that Bipolar also causes extreme shifts in mood and behavior
in Bipolar, the mood shifts often last long periods of time, while as with Borderline the shifts can occur quickly, sometimes within minutes and lasting between minutes, hours, or days
5 People with BPD are at an elevated risk for self-harm and suicide due to a mix of intense emotions and impulsivity-
between 8 and 10 percent of people with BPD will die of suicide, up to 75 percent of people with BPD attempt suicide
I believe the statistics are so high because of people impulsively deciding to try to commit suicide
self-harm is another symptom of Borderline, and many people with the condition engage in this, one way to squelch self-harm is to try using a marker and drawing on your body where you want to self-harm
6 There is no single cause of BPD, but experts believe there are several key risk factors involved-
research suggests that a combination of hereditary, neurological, and environmental factors increase a person’s likelihood of having BPD, thought the brains of people with BPD have structural and functional changes in areas linked with things like emotional regulation, but it’s not clear if those changes are a cause or a result of the condition
7 Some experts advocate for diagnosing BPD in adolescents while others prefer to wait until adulthood-
the earlier the intervention, the more likely you are to get help
I wasn’t diagnosed until I was 36 years old, I wish I had known sooner, because I feel like if I did research and started treatment a long time ago, I could be healed by now
8 The first-line treatment of BPD is therapy-
the gold standard treatment is DBT (Dialectical Behavior Therapy)
the next most used treatment is CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy)
there are other forms of treatment that are available
I’m trying to do DBT on my own, as well as trying my own methods
9 It can be hard for a person with BPD to trust their therapist, but that bond is often foundational to recovery-
I believe that this is true, how can get any real help from a therapist you don’t trust?
10 There are not any medications specifically recommended to treat BPD-
there simply aren’t yet clear enough benefits to using medications as the primary treatment of BPD, however, a psychiatrist may prescribe medications to address certain symptoms that some people experience
I am prescribed several medications for several of my symptoms as well as my commorbid conditions, including Lithium, Wellbutrin, Ativan, Viibryd, and Vraylar
11 BPD is often stigmatized, even among healthcare providers-
healthcare professionals, as well as laypeople, believe harmful myths about BPD, one of the most pervasive misperceptions among both professionals and non-professionals alike is that people with BPD are intentionally, maliciously trying to manipulate those around them with their displays of extreme emotion or self-harm, this is false, these symptoms are stemming from mental illness, not a person deciding of their own volition that they’d like to manipulate other people
12 People with BPD can be empathetic and lovely individuals-
many people with BPD are able to understand the feelings of other people to a greater degree, many are also unusually creative because they have a deeper and broader experience of human emotion from which to draw
I believe this is true, but there are some non-BPD people out there who judge the person with BPD as only BPD, they use Borderline against those they claim to love, it’s called gaslighting
13 With solid therapy and hard work, the long-term outlook for people with BPD can be bright-
remission rates are extremely high, studies show 85 percent remitted within ten years
Can you guys think of any other things people need to know about BPD? Let me know on my facebook page
The BPD Group 