Alcohol can also affect memory and concentration, both of which are common for borderlines in times of stress or dissociation. Borderlines are already impulsive and have a high risk of self-harming behaviour. Alcohol makes people lose their inhibitions just the same and increases the risk of suicide.
Impulsivity is one of the symptoms of BPD, and for a person with BPD, alcohol can make an already impulsive individual even more impulsive. This means the individual is likely to go on spending sprees or participate in reckless driving, sexual promiscuity or binge eating.
Individuals with BPD can develop an addiction to anything from alcohol, to narcotics, to spending or giving away money they don't have. In any case, the addiction is always detrimental to the health of the afflicted.
Antisocial symptoms such as impulsivity, deceit and poor decision making also tend to worsen with alcohol use. Studies show that an individual diagnosed with antisocial personality disorder is 21 times more likely to develop alcohol dependence.
People with borderline personality disorder experience rejection sensitivity, which makes relationships very intense and dependent. Events that can worsen this can be losing a job, ending a relationship, or experiencing rejection of any type.
Shifting Self-Image
A person with borderline personality disorder is often unable to trust their own feelings or reactions. Lacking a strong sense of self leads to a sense of emptiness and sometimes a sense of being non-existent, which is another reason BPD hurts so much.
Fears like “Will my husband abandon me?” or “Do my friends actually like me, or do they just tolerate me?” can plague people with BPD to the point that it disrupts daily functioning. If this sounds familiar, you're not alone.
Borderlines struggle with a very unstable sense of self which often leads to extremely low self-esteem. As well as fickle desires, this wavering self-image can cause a borderline to sabotage their relationship through cheating, believing that they are undeserving of love.
Alcohol abuse can cause signs and symptoms of depression, anxiety, psychosis, and antisocial behavior, both during intoxication and during withdrawal. At times, these symptoms and signs cluster, last for weeks, and mimic frank psychiatric disorders (i.e., are alcohol–induced syndromes).
Alcohol is known to intensify bipolar disorder due to its sedating effects. It acts similarly to some medications, risking feelings of depression with each swig of alcohol. Alcohol also greatly increases the severity of mania, which many who suffer from bipolar find extremely pleasurable.
Consider cutting out all processed food and sugar for a few weeks and observe your energy level and your emotions. Avoid misusing alcohol or caffeine, as these also can intensify mood instability. BPD sometimes includes symptoms of self-harm or substance abuse.
People with BPD strongly desire a deep connection with those around them. This is partly because of their fear of abandonment but because they simply love people and crave deep connections. As a result, people with BPD tend to be very passionate partners.
BPD is considered to be one of the most serious mental illnesses, as it causes a great deal of suffering and has a high-risk for suicide.”
Borderline personality disorder usually begins by early adulthood. The condition seems to be worse in young adulthood and may gradually get better with age.
Addiction And Borderline Personality Disorder
Mental health disorders and addiction, unfortunately, oftentimes go hand-in-hand. Studies have shown that about 50% of those with borderline personality disorder have a history of prescription drug use.
Difficulty walking, blurred vision, slurred speech, slowed reaction times, impaired memory: Clearly, alcohol affects the brain. Some of these impairments are detectable after only one or two drinks and quickly resolve when drinking stops.
Frequency. Roughly 3% of persons with alcoholism experience psychosis during acute intoxication or withdrawal. Approximately 10% of patients who are dependent on alcohol and are in withdrawal experience severe withdrawal symptomatology, including psychosis.
“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.
In extreme cases, physical, verbal, or emotional abuse may occur. This can make dating someone with BPD challenging. It is important to remember that while having a relationship with a person with BPD can be challenging, they are not intentionally trying to hurt you.
Borderlines will usually end relationships as a form of seeking validation from their partner. The general pattern of BPD behaviour after a break-up sees them waiting for their partner to reach out to them to have their emotional needs met.
Two other BPD anger triggers include a fear of rejection and quickly changing views. Since an individual with borderline personality disorder views things and people as either extremely good or extremely bad, their opinion of someone can quickly change from a friend to an enemy.
What is BPD rage like? A person with BPD may react to an event that may seem small or unimportant to someone else, such as a misunderstanding, with very strong and unhealthy expressions of anger, including: Physical violence. Sarcasm.
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.