Now that we know more about psychology than we did in the 1960s (thank goodness), therapists have suggested renaming BPD something more accurate and with less stigma attached. Suggested names include “Emotion Dysregulation Disorder” and “Complex PTSD”, as people with the disorder have often experienced early trauma.
Explains borderline personality disorder (BPD), also known as emotionally unstable personality disorder (EUPD).
BPD was originally thought to exist on the borders between neurotic and psychotic behavior. Even after it was defined, BPD carried some negative stigmas about being untreatable, and people diagnosed with BPD were even sometimes referred to as evil or bad.
The “borderline” label can be stigmatizing for people suffering from the psychiatric disorder because people make different assumptions about the term. It also suggests that the person's personality is flawed, which can be upsetting to people with an already unstable sense of self.
Many people who live with borderline personality disorder don't know they have it and may not realize there's a healthier way to behave and relate to others.
Individuals with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPDs) become overwhelmed and incapacitated by the intensity of their emotions, whether it is joy and elation or depression, anxiety, and rage. They are unable to manage these intense emotions.
Symptoms of personality disorder are: Moody, Criticizing everyone, Overreacting, Intimidating others, and Dominance over another person. A borderline personality disorder is the hardest to treat.
BPD Looks Like So Many Other Mental Health Conditions
People with BPD typically also meet the criteria for multiple other diagnoses, including depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, substance use disorders, eating disorders, bipolar disorder, and so on.
BPD splitting destroys relationships because the behaviour can be impulsive or reckless in order to alleviate the pain, often hurting loved ones in the process. It can feel like everyone abandons or hurts them, often causing them to look for evidence, and creating problems from nothing.
A person with BPD tends to see things in extremes, and their feelings can change quickly. It's really about emotional dysregulation rather than being psychotic, neurotic or something on the borderline between them.
Finally, during this period, treatment for BPD was almost exclusively psychoanalytic psychotherapy. However, negative therapeutic reactions were common with the use of psychoanalytic psychotherapy for patients with BPD. At the time, these negative reactions were explained as the pernicious motives of the patient group.
Separations, disagreements, and rejections—real or perceived—are the most common triggers for symptoms. A person with BPD is highly sensitive to abandonment and being alone, which brings about intense feelings of anger, fear, suicidal thoughts and self-harm, and very impulsive decisions.
Many people with BPD feel emotions deeply and find working in a caring role fulfilling. If you are an empathetic person, consider jobs such as teaching, childcare, nursing and animal care.
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.
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.
Fact: People with BPD are capable of giving and receiving love. People with BPD have a lot of difficulty in relationships, but that doesn't mean they're incapable of love.
People with borderline personality disorder may experience intense mood swings and feel uncertainty about how they see themselves. Their feelings for others can change quickly, and swing from extreme closeness to extreme dislike. These changing feelings can lead to unstable relationships and emotional pain.
Concern About Patients Sabotaging Treatment. Sometimes individuals with symptoms of BPD lash out so intensely that it sabotages the treatment in such a way that even the most skilled therapist cannot stop this process. A common example is a patient cutting off all contact, or ghosting the therapist.
Additionally, relationship instability is a feature of BPD, and clinicians may be wary of patients with whom establishing a therapeutic bond could be difficult. They may also hold the mistaken belief that treatment is ineffective for BPD patients.
The Victim
Someone with BPD may struggle to take an active role even in simple tasks or enjoyable activities without the assistance of another. In this instance, the person with BPD will seek out a persecutor or rescuer to validate their experience of victimization.
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.
Another hallmark of borderline personality disorder is having a favorite person—usually a family member, romantic partner, or someone in a supportive role, such as a teacher or coach. For someone with this type of BPD relationship, a “favorite person” is someone they rely on for comfort, happiness, and validation.