People with Borderline Personality Disorder, for example, experience intense black and white thinking, which can in turn affect their perceptions of their relationships with others and with themselves.
For someone with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), common mental garbage comes in the form of “black or white”, “all or nothing”, extremes in thinking. The big, psychobabble term for this is dichotomous thinking (in case you're interested).
Borderline personality disorder is a mental illness that causes people to experience intense feelings of anger, anxiety, and depression. They often will have symptoms of poor impulse control and frequently display black and white thinking.
Some ways that a person with BPD thinks include having paranoid ideation, dichotomous thinking, and dissociation. If you believe that you might be experiencing thinking associated with BPD, talk to your doctor. They can evaluate your symptoms and refer you to a mental health professional.
Black-and-white thinking is sometimes a symptom of a personality disorder, like narcissism or borderline personality disorder, as well as eating disorders, depression, or anxiety, according to APA. Many people engage in black-and-white thinking even when they don't have a mental health diagnosis.
Emotional Dysregulation
Bursts of emotion from both ends of the spectrum show in people with ADHD, like explosive anger or wild excitement. People will describe this as having emotions that are hard to hide and difficult to regulate. Those with ADHD may also struggle with black-and-white thinking.
Quiet BPD vs.
The National Institute of Mental Health (NIH) describes borderline personality disorder as marked by erratic mood swings, poor self-image, impulsive behavior, extreme “black-and-white” thinking, self-harm, and an inability to maintain stable interpersonal relationships.
One of the most common misdiagnoses for BPD is bipolar disorder. Both conditions have episodes of mood instability. When you have bipolar disorder, your mood may shift from depression to mania, in which you experience elation, elevated energy levels and a decreased need for sleep.
Borderline personality disorder is one of the most painful mental illnesses since individuals struggling with this disorder are constantly trying to cope with volatile and overwhelming emotions.
Some people with quiet BPD can hide their condition and appear successful, independent, and overall high functioning. You might be able to hold a job during the day, but crash into a depressive, anxious, or dissociative state when the day is over. Think of quiet BPD as a mask.
Individuals with borderline personality disorder (BPD) display an impoverished sense of self and representations of self and others that shift between positive and negative poles.
Individuals diagnosed with BPD can display symptoms similar to or different from other people. Some people diagnosed with BPD experience the diagnosis as “earth-shattering,” while other people may seem very in control and “together. “This is what makes the diagnosis so very hard for others to understand.
On top of this, many people with the condition struggle with self-awareness and how others perceive them. This makes them extremely sensitive. BPD is a mind and body condition. Its symptoms begin to manifest during the early teenage years and gradually improve during adult life.
Compared to non-patients, BPD patients showed the anticipated higher crying frequency despite a similar crying proneness and ways of dealing with tears. They also reported less awareness of the influence of crying on others.
People with BPD score low on cognitive empathy but high on emotional empathy. This suggests that they do not easily understand other peoples' perspectives, but their own emotions are very sensitive. This is important because it could align BPD with other neurodiverse conditions.
A person with BPD typically has an unstable self-identity. Sometimes, lies help them bridge the gap between their true identity and the one they've adopted for the time being.
Instead of being honest and calmly expressing their needs, they turn to “manipulation” tactics like self-victimizing, blaming others, picking fights, making threats, etc. For instance, instead of saying “I've been feeling anxious.
Many people with BPD thrive in creative roles which allow them to continually work on new projects. Creative career paths include copywriting, graphic design, photography, set design and video editing.
Romantic fantasization is a common feature of borderline personality disorder (BPD). The unpredictable emotional state associated with borderline personality disorder can cause confusing fluctuations in how borderlines view their romantic partners.
Someone suffering from Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) may start giving you the silent treatment. Manipulation, difficulty controlling and regulating emotions, and the consequences of fear of abandonment are the most common causes of this behavior.
Examples of BPD splitting behavior include: Perceiving everything in black and white: Splitting forces the person into a position of thinking that everything is either perfect or awful, and since life is full of struggles and disappointments, they will usually see things as awful.
“This can look like poor self-image and excessive self-criticism, feelings of emptiness and instability in goals, values and opinions.” Individuals living with quiet BPD may have decreased levels of empathy, high conflict relationships, clinginess and fear of abandonment, adds Dr. Lira de la Rosa.