Borderline Personality Disorder

Learning to communicate needs directly and effectively is something everyone struggles with at some point in their lives. For folks with borderline personality disorder (many of whom grew up in incredibly invalidating or abusive environments) this can be especially difficult. Maybe you “test” loved ones to determine if they love …

Narcissistic personality disorder (NPD) is a personality disorder that frequently co-occurs with borderline personality disorder (BPD). The addition of NPD into the diagnostic picture may complicate the treatment and course of BPD. Narcissistic Personality Disorder NPD is one of 10 personality disorders recognized in the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical …

If you live with borderline personality disorder (BPD), you might be familiar with some of the seemingly “harmless” but incredibly hurtful things people often say to those struggling with it. Sometimes “harmless” comments can come in the form of a question. (Did you take your meds today?) Sometimes they come with a …

When you live with a health condition, oftentimes there are some unwanted — or “embarrassing” — symptoms you have to learn to live with. This is something many people who live with borderline personality disorder (BPD) are familiar with. For those who don’t know, BPD is a mental illness characterized …

If you have borderline personality disorder (BPD), you might have experience with being called “obsessive.” What loved ones may not realize though, is that for someone with BPD, the core issue is usually not about the object of the obsession — it’s often the result of underlying symptoms of BPD. Mighty contributor …

How borderline personality disorder can affect relationships People with borderline personality disorder (BPD) often have rocky relationships, both romantic and platonic. Romantic relationships present a unique set of challenges for people with BPD and for their partners. Symptoms of BPD can cause constant changes in emotions. For example, a person …

Borderline personality disorder, otherwise known as BPD, is a mental illness that is estimated to affect 1.6 percent of U.S. adults, though that number may be as high at 5.9 percent. While all mental illness carries the weight of stigma, BPD is one of the most misunderstood and least accepted, both by …

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a mental illness affecting approximately 1.6% of adults in the U.S. Symptoms — usually beginning in adolescence and early adulthood — include emotional instability, extreme reactions, distorted sense of self, chronic feelings of emptiness, self-harm, and suicidal thoughts or attempts. Research on BPD is in fairly …

Let’s face it, expressing ourselves in an honest and vulnerable way can be a difficult feat for most of us. Especially when revealing to others how we feel when it’s not all sunshine and rainbows. For people with borderline personality disorder (BPD), another layer gets added to the struggles of communicating. Many …

Imagine being part of a family where everyone walks on eggshells all the time. Visualise a home-life punctuated by the histrionic outbursts of an adult child or sibling who is given to rollercoaster mood swings, verbal aggression and even self-harming, and who is seemingly unable to sustain employment or form …

Living with a mental health condition can mean keeping a lot of secrets. Not necessarily because you want to keep them, but I’ve generally found people often don’t want to know about what they don’t understand — what is not perceived as “normal” behavior. Try, for example, answering someone who asks how …

Someone said something hurtful today or something I perceived as hurtful. Now, I am afraid. They told me they forgot we had plans today and would need to reschedule. Something else came up. Something more important than me, I guess. They really don’t want to see me, and they really …

Borderline personality disorder (BPD), also known emotional unstable personality disorder (EUPD), is one of the most stigmatized mental illnesses. BPD is already complicated due to the effect it has on one’s personality. One struggles with their identity because they often feel empty, or their emotions are so intense and change so frequently …

One of the most powerful things you can do for someone in need is to help them remember they are not alone. Whenever someone is feeling suicidal, showing support to them can be the lifeline they didn’t know they needed during their most trying times. But let’s be real, it can …

If you grew up with an “emotionally fragile” parent, chances are, you didn’t have the typical, idyllic childhood you often see in movies. Maybe your parent lived with debilitating depression that thrust you into the role of caregiver from a very young age. Maybe your parent was always teetering on the …

I wake up with a sense of dread. How is today going to go? How are my moods going to be? How are the people in my life going to act towards me today? How am I going to perceive the people in my life who interact with me today? …

If you have BPD, your children most likely will not get borderline personality disorder. It’s true that if you have BPD, your kids are at greater risk of having the condition themselves. But, there is also a good chance that they will not have it. And, there are things you can …

More than 11 million Americans experience a serious mental illness in a given year. While the terms borderline personality disorder (BPD), bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia are often used interchangeably, Dr. Bella Schanzer, a psychiatrist with Baylor College of Medicine, says it’s important to know the differences between these conditions. Borderline personality disorder BPD …

Getting the right diagnosis often isn’t easy for psychiatric conditions. In our field, we don’t yet have biologic tests that can easily define one condition from another. If your blood pressure is 140 over 90, you have hypertension or high blood pressure. In mental health, we have to rely on …

When we talk about borderline personality disorder (BPD), we usually think of nine classic symptoms, including symptoms like: intense fears of abandonment, uncontrollable rage and “splitting.” While many folks with BPD express these symptoms outwardly in sometimes painful ways, the reality is not everyone with BPD “acts out” — some “act in.” The perception …

When you live with borderline personality disorder (BPD) oftentimes your symptoms present outwardly. But for people with “quiet” BPD, that’s not always the case. “Quiet” BPD is acting in, rather than acting out, but internalizing all the emotions they feel. The fears of abandonment, mood swings, anxiety, self-injurious behaviors, impulsiveness and even suicidal tendencies and black and …

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a mental illness characterized by trouble regulating one’s own emotions, which can lead to painful and unstable interpersonal relationships. Below, we’ve listed the nine classic symptoms of BPD, outlined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM-5). To receive a diagnosis of BPD, a patient typically meets five …

The “quiet” borderline. It’s not something most people are familiar with, the perception of borderline personality disorder (BPD) is one who acts out. That’s the “classical” definition, but like every disorder, the condition manifests itself in different ways. BPD is one of the most misunderstood and I believe one of …

I am an introvert, and I have borderline personality disorder (BPD). Being an introvert does not necessarily mean I am a recluse and am always hiding away, although I do struggle with social skills. As someone who is very quiet and diagnosed with BPD, I focus my intense emotions, impulsivity …