From the 2021 NSMHWB (ABS 2022a) it is estimated that: Over 2 in 5 (44%) Australians aged 16–85 had experienced a mental disorder during their lifetime.
An estimated 9 percent of U.S. adults have at least one personality disorder.
BPD is estimated to affect between 2 – 6 percent of Australians.
The most common mental illnesses in Australia are Anxiety Disorders, Affective Disorders (such as Depression) and Substance use disorders (ABS 2022a).
A personality disorder refers to a long-term pattern of thinking, behaviour and emotion that is dysfunctional, extreme and inflexible. It causes distress and makes it difficult to function in everyday life. People with personality disorders find it hard to change their behaviour or adapt to different situations.
Personality disorders can significantly disrupt the lives of both the affected person and those who care about that person. Personality disorders may cause problems with relationships, work or school, and can lead to social isolation or alcohol or drug abuse.
Early life experiences
If you have been given a personality disorder diagnosis you are more likely than most people to have experienced difficult or traumatic experiences growing up, such as: neglect. losing a parent or experiencing a sudden bereavement. emotional, physical or sexual abuse.
Anxiety disorders (such as Social Phobia) are the most common type of disorder, affecting 1 in 6 (17%, or 3.3 million) Australians, followed by Affective disorders (such as Depressive Episode) (8%), and Substance Use disorders (such as Alcohol Dependence) (3.
By all accounts, serious mental illnesses include “schizophrenia-spectrum disorders,” “severe bipolar disorder,” and “severe major depression” as specifically and narrowly defined in DSM. People with those disorders comprise the bulk of those with serious mental illness.
Around 1 in 6 women in Australia will experience depression and 1 in 3 women will experience anxiety during their lifetime. Postpartum depression impacts 1 in 6 women during their first year after birth. Women also experience post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and eating disorders at higher rates than men.
Some people with BPD may meet the criteria for the NDIS, some have been approved already, many have not. It is possible for people to recover from BPD however, and to go onto the NDIS, it is required you have a permanent disability this is one of the challenges faced with being eligible for the NDIS.
National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIS), psychosocial support may be available as someone with a diagnosis of BPD. Carers may often need to assist in compiling the information to apply, although the process needs to be commenced by the person receiving the service directly.
Results: People with Borderline Personality Disorder have a reduced life expectancy of some 20 years, attributable largely to physical health maladies, notably cardiovascular. Risk factors include obesity, sedentary lifestyle, poor diet and smoking.
Surveys have estimated the prevalence of borderline personality disorder to be 1.6% in the general population and 20% in the inpatient psychiatric population.
Obsessive-compulsive Personality Disorder (not to be confused with obsessive-compulsive disorder, or OCD, a type of anxiety disorder), is the most common personality disorder in the United States.
Most modern personality models agree that the foundation of your personality is your biology. Your experiences and environment help you develop other aspects of your personality from that point on. In other words, you're not born with a set personality.
Right now, nearly 10 million Americans are living with a serious mental disorder. The most common are anxiety disorders major depression and bipolar disorder.
Borderline personality disorder (BPD) has long been believed to be a disorder that produces the most intense emotional pain and distress in those who have this condition. Studies have shown that borderline patients experience chronic and significant emotional suffering and mental agony.
Causes of Emotional Instability
These include genetics, mental health history (including past trauma), and exposure to certain stimuli such as drug use and abuse. Some of these risk factors cannot be controlled, while some can only increase the likelihood of developing emotional instability.
The National Study of Mental Health and Wellbeing conducted in 2021 found that an estimated 1 in 5 (21%) Australians aged 16–85 experienced a mental disorder in the previous 12 months (ABS 2022a).
It is estimated that approximately 1.3% of Australians live with a form of bipolar disorder. One in 50 adult Australians experience bipolar disorder each year.
Mental illness in Australia
Mental illness is very common. One in five (20%) Australians aged 16-85 experience a mental illness in any year. The most common mental illnesses are depressive, anxiety and substance use disorder.
It's not clear exactly what causes personality disorders, but they're thought to result from a combination of the genes a person inherits and early environmental influences – for example, a distressing childhood experience (such as abuse or neglect).
The nature of those thoughts and behaviors depends on which personality disorder a person has, such as obsessive-compulsive disorder, paranoid personality disorder or borderline personality disorder. The disorders do have one thing in common: They usually don't go away without treatment.
Know that you can live a normal life with BPD.
People with BPD often have risk-taking behaviors, such as overspending, drug use, reckless driving, or self-harm due to a lack of inhibition. Although these behaviors can be dangerous, and potentially life-threatening, many people with BPD are high-functioning individuals.