Can People With BPD Have Long-Term Friendships? In short, yes, they can, but it can be challenging for both parties, and there are several caveats to note. We should also acknowledge that it can be very disheartening to read that, but there are circumstances in which BPD friendships can grow and thrive.
It can be challenging to make and keep friends if you live with any mental illness. If you have borderline personality disorder (BPD), your unpredictable behaviors, tumultuous emotions, and fear of abandonment can drive others away. However, managing your BPD symptoms can help you to stabilize your friendships.
“People with BPD often find themselves placing their attention on one specific person. This person may be a friend, family member, or romantic partner. A favorite person frequently is expected (consciously or otherwise) to help resolve unmet needs for the person with BPD.”
They might even be better in a friendship because they have a unique understanding of what it feels like to experience extreme emotions - while some friends might call you "dramatic" or complain that you're needy, a friend who also has BPD will better understand where you are coming from.
Loneliness may be common with BPD, but it's not impossible to overcome. There are many strategies you can use to feel less alone, such as joining a support group, taking classes, caring for an animal, and finding new ways to communicate with your loved ones. You may also want to consider engaging in therapy.
Someone with BPD might also push someone away in order to “test” whether the person will stay with them or come back to them after being pushed away.
Borderline personality disorder directly affects how one feels about him or herself, one's behaviors as well as how an individual can relate to others. Psychoanalytic theorists assert that individuals with BPD are often intolerant of being alone, which may be caused by experiencing “annihilation anxiety…
People with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) often have a difficult time maintaining friendships because of their tumultuous personalities. But these friendships can offer a source of stability in the midst of emotional turmoil.
In close relationships, a person with BPD may appear jealous, possessive, or hyper-reactive.
It's characterized by unstable moods and emotions, which affect relationships and behaviors. As a result, friendships with people with BPD can be rocky. Sometimes, people with BPD engage in behaviors that can seem manipulative, mean-spirited, or destructive.
Those who have BPD tend to be very intense, dramatic, and exciting. This means they tend to attract others who are depressed and/or suffering low self-esteem.
Your family member or loved one with BPD may be extremely sensitive, so small things can often trigger intense reactions. Once upset, borderline people are often unable to think straight or calm themselves in a healthy way. They may say hurtful things or act out in dangerous or inappropriate ways.
So, what exactly does the BPD break up cycle look like? It can look like fear of abandonment, distrust of a partner, cheating, lack of communication and self-blame. It can look like idolizing a partner, confusing strong emotions for passion, anxiety and overreacting to interactions perceived as negative.
FP is someone who individuals with BPD often hold in the highest regard trust with their life, and are heavily emotionally attached to and dependent on [19]. They often unintentionally put their entire self-worth into the relationship with their FP, thereby making frantic efforts to prevent their FP from leaving.
They do care about family and friends but find it difficult not to act selfishly when experiencing their own heightened emotions. They do want to change, but it is so hard.
Unstable Interpersonal Relationships
A person with BPD will have very intense and fraught relationships with their family, friends, and loved ones. They are prone to "splitting" — thinking in extremes (someone is either "all good" or "all bad").
“People with BPD lie often, but it is not because they are pathological liars,” says Nikki Instone, Ph. D. “Lying is not a symptom of the disorder so much as a consequence of their internal battle.” Lying is really rooted in emotional dysregulation, which is one of the main symptoms of Borderline Personality Disorder.
They typically endure frequent intense negative emotions and are unable to manage these strong feelings. This emotional rollercoaster can distort how they interpret the world around them. As such, someone with BPD can be easily angered and act viciously when confronted with something they view as “threatening”.
People with BPD are often on edge. They have high distress and anger levels, so they may be easily offended.
There are different triggers for everyone, but medical marijuana is often recommended for those who have trouble sleeping or need to calm down due to high-stress levels. The best strain for borderline personality disorder is cannabis sativa since it helps ease anxiety and boost mood.
This fear of abandonment and high rejection sensitivity may relate to their insecure attachment history, early traumatic interpersonal experiences, and their neurobiological vulnerability may also play a role.
The effects of untreated borderline personality disorder (BPD) can be devastating. For example, the physical and mental health impact of this disorder is so severe that life expectancy among people who have BPD is about 20 years less than the national average.
Someone with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) often has trouble maintaining friendships. They tend to search for emotional caregivers and have difficulty grasping the idea of friendship. In any sort of friendship, they have unreasonable expectations for attention, validation, and compassion.
I see how both sides are deeply hurt—those affected directly from living the hellish realities of suffering from BPD and the non-BPDs who may feel terrified, abused, scared and who can be even criminally hurt by those with the disorder. Overall, people with borderline personality disorder are extremely unhappy people.