Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a complex condition. It affects how a person feels about themselves and others. BPD is characterized by intense, unstable emotions and relationships as well as insecurity and self-doubt.
BPD makes everything about a person feel unstable, ranging from moods, thinking, behavior, relationships, and sometimes identity. People with this condition have described BPD as the feeling of having an exposed nerve ending, essentially leaving someone to be easily triggered by small things.
But there are effective treatments for it.
People with borderline personality disorder often feel a huge amount of emotional instability. It impacts a person’s self-image, likes and dislikes, and goals. This often makes them confused about their sense of self. The condition makes it difficult for a person to be comfortable in their skin.
Many people with BPD act impulsively, have intense emotions, and experience dissociation and paranoia when most distressed. This emotional volatility can cause relationship turmoil. Also, the inability to self-soothe can lead to impulsive, reckless behavior.
People with BPD are often on edge. They have high distress and anger levels, so they may be easily offended. They struggle with beliefs and thoughts about themselves and others, which can cause distress in many areas of their lives.
People living with BPD often have an intense fear of instability and abandonment. As a result, they have problems being alone.
The condition is also known for anger, mood swings, and impulsiveness. These qualities can dissuade people from being around someone with BPD. 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.
What Causes Borderline Personality Disorder?
BPD may be caused by genetics, brain abnormalities, and/or environmental factors. Due to the wide variety of suspected risk factors, it’s hard to determine who will develop it.
Environmental Factors
Early childhood adversity, such as child abuse or neglect, may be a cause.
Genetics
Research suggests that it may be an inherited genetic condition or linked with other mental disorders among other family members.
Brain Abnormalities
Certain brain differences are thought to be contributing causes of the disorder. When certain brain chemicals responsible for mood regulation don’t function properly, there are changes in some areas of the brain. This has been linked to aggression, difficulty regulating destructive urges, and depression.
BPD Doesn’t Often Occur Alone
Effective treatment involves addressing related disorders.
Many people diagnosed with borderline personality disorder experience other conditions, including:
- Depression
- Anxiety disorders
- Eating disorders
- Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
- Bipolar disorder
- Substance use disorder
There Are Many Misconceptions
This disorder is misunderstood by many, including some mental health practitioners. This confusion can impact and influence the way that people are treated. Even worse, long-standing myths can discourage people from seeking help for the condition, especially if they feel their experience is being misunderstood.
Some common myths and misconceptions are:
Myth: It’s Not Treatable
Borderline personality disorder is very treatable. In the past, since BPD affects someone’s personality, many were quick to conclude that it was untreatable because someone’s personality cannot be changed.
More recently, many therapies have been proven effective as treatments, including dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), mentalization-based treatment (MBT), and transference-focused psychotherapy (TFP). Now, a growing number of less intensive, generalist approaches, like general psychiatric management (GPM), are also being practiced around the world.
A BPD diagnosis doesn’t mean that someone will live with symptoms forever. With treatment, the symptoms ebb and flow. Many people with the condition can have high-functioning lives.
Myth: People With BPD Are Victims of Child Abuse
This is not always the case.
While some cases of borderline personality disorder stem from childhood trauma, a diagnosis is more likely to be the result of a combination of environmental factors. These can include attachment, childhood trauma, biological factors, and social factors.
Myth: It Affects Only Women
It’s estimated that over 14 million Americans have BPD. Once more commonly diagnosed in women, the largest study done on psychiatric disorders shows that it occurs equally often in women and men.
One explanation behind it appearing to affect more women is that women are more likely to seek mental health care than men. Since research on BPD is often conducted in a psychiatric setting, it was previously less likely for men with borderline personality disorder to be included in these research efforts.
Another explanation is that BPD is often misdiagnosed in men. Many men with the condition are often diagnosed with depression or PTSD.
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