Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is a mental illness that severly impacts one’s ability to regulate their emotions, this lack of emotional control increases impulsivity, affects how they feel about themselves and negatively impacts their relationships with others. They are also more likely to engage in self-harm and experience symptoms of depression, PTSD, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorders, substance use disorders and eating disorders. These increased risks and challenges can lead to significant distress and a lower quality of life.
Key symptoms include emotional instability, or in medical terminology affective dysregulation, disturned patterns of thinking or perception, also known as cognitive distortions or perceptual distortions , impulsive behavior, and intense but unstable relationships. Other symptoms can include; a frantic effort to avoid real or imagined abandonments , perceptins of relationshsips alternating between idealization and devaluation, distorted and unstable self image that affect moods, values, opinuions, and goals, self harming behaviors that include cutting, suicide attempts or threats, periods of intense depressed mood, irritabilty and anxiety lasting hours to days, chronic feelings of boredom or emptiness, inappropriate, intense or uncontrollable anger that is offened followed by intense feelings of gult and shame, dissociative feelings , such as being out of, disconnected or out of body .
While the causes of BPD aren’t fully understood, there have been research that suggests people with a close family with BPD may be at a higher risk of developing it themselves. Also ,people who experience traumatic life events, such as childhood abuse and sexual neglect, are at an increased risk of developing BPD. Lastly, there have been studies that suggest that the emotional regulation system of people with BPD may be different from others, suggesting there may be a neurological basis for some of the symptoms. This is specifically related to the portions of the brian that control emotion, decision making, and judgment.
Like all other treatments, the best treatment is designed and based on the individual preferences and needs of the individual. However, the most common treatments include psychotherapy, medications, and short-term hospitilazations during times of stress, manic and suicidal behaviors to ensure safety. The most effective psychotherapies have been both CBT and DBT, and the most common medications have been mood stabilizers and antidepressants.
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