How To Cope With Borderline Personality Disorder After Being Diagnosed?

A recent diagnosis of borderline personality disorder may have left you feeling overwhelmed and anxious. It's natural to feel this way, but it's crucial to bear in mind what to do next. If you or someone you love has recently been diagnosed with borderline personality disorder, this article will offer some suggestions for how to handle this newfound difficulty. Remember that everyone's life is different, and that means that what works well for some individuals might not work as well for others. The single most important action you can take is to identify and commit to your own unique path to success.

Understanding the Ups and Downs That Come With BPD

Instability of feeling is a common symptom of borderline personality disorder. Individuals' sense of identity, their preferences, and their aspirations are all impacted. It causes them to question who they are and what they want out of life. The illness also makes it hard for the affected individual to feel comfortable in their own skin.

Many people with borderline personality disorder (BPD) exhibit impulsive behaviour, intense emotions, detachment, and paranoia in times of high stress. Having such a propensity for emotional swings can wreak havoc on interpersonal relationships. An individual's failure to self-regulate their emotional state may also contribute to harmful levels of impulsivity.

High anxiety is common among people with borderline personality disorder. They are prone to getting easily aroused due to their high levels of sadness and anger. They also struggle to regulate their emotions, which can lead to tension in many areas of their lives.

Relational instability and an intense fear of abandonment are common symptoms of borderline personality disorder. This makes it hard for individuals to function when they are alone themselves.

Anger, mood swings, and impulsive actions are also linked to the condition. Because of these traits, it's possible that being around someone with BPD may be uncomfortable. On top of that, many people with the illness struggle with self-awareness and figuring out how other people see them. As a result, they have a heightened sensitivity to their surroundings.

BPD is a multidimensional condition that manifests in both mental and physical symptoms.

The onset of symptoms typically occurs in early adolescence and is accompanied by a slow but steady improvement throughout adulthood. Check this list of Rehabilitation Programmes to help you make an informed decision for your treatment.

What Contributes to the Development of Borderline Personality Disorder?

Some research suggests that both genetic and neurological abnormalities as well as environmental factors have a role in the onset of BPD. However, it is challenging to anticipate who will end up acquiring the illness because there are so many potential risk factors.

Environmental Factors

Being ignored or abused as a child, either physically or emotionally, is one of the possible causes.

Genetics

The outcomes of this study suggest that it may be a hereditary condition or linked to other psychiatric disorders that tend to run in families.

Abnormalities of the Brain

Some variations in the brain are thought to play a role in the onset of the disease. When specific chemicals in the brain that are essential for the regulation of mood are disrupted in their normal function, changes might occur in related brain regions. It's linked to hostility, an inability to rein in harmful impulses, and melancholy.

BPD Doesn't Usually Happen by Itself Very Often

Effective treatment requires attending to secondary issues. A wide range of co-occurring disorders is common among those with a BPD diagnosis.

• Depression
• Conditions characterised by excessive worry and fear
• Disorders of eating
• The disease commonly referred to as PTSD (PTSD)
• Mood swings caused by bipolar disorder
• Substance dependence

Criteria For The Diagnosis Of Borderline Personality Disorder

The diagnostic criteria for borderline personality disorder are outlined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition (DSM-V), which was published by the American Psychiatric Association. A mental health professional will use these guidelines to arrive at a diagnosis of borderline personality disorder.

At least five of the following nine symptoms are required for a BPD diagnosis to be made:

• Having been through the highs (thinking "He's amazing for me!") and lows (thinking "I can't stand him!") of a highly volatile and intense relationship with another person.
• I have trouble keeping a stable sense of who I am.
• You participate in risky and impulsive activities like overspending, unsafe sexual encounters, substance abuse, careless driving, and excessive eating.
• My intense and prolonged feelings of wrath, worry, and melancholy could last anywhere from a few hours to a few days.
• A pervasive sense of emptiness throughout the body.
• I had problems with anger that included outbursts of inappropriate rage, a short fuse, chronic rage, and frequent physical altercations. I, too, had difficulty keeping my temper in check.
• Feelings of detachment from one's body or one's own intellect are common symptoms of psychosis, as is the presence of paranoid ideas during times of high stress.

Who Is More Likely To Have Borderline Personality Disorder?

Recent research has shown that many people with BPD have also experienced traumatic situations and survived them. One's genetic makeup may play a role in whether or not they develop borderline personality disorder (BPD). Numerous studies have found that having a parent, sibling, or child with borderline personality disorder (BPD) increases your risk of developing BPD by a factor of five. Some parts of the brain don't seem to be able to effectively communicate with others in people who have borderline personality disorder (BPD), suggesting that BPD is a neurological impairment.

Borderline personality disorder typically manifests itself in adolescence or early adulthood. Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is thought to affect 1.6% of the population, but this estimate is likely low. Although women are more likely to be diagnosed with BPD, research suggests that men are more likely to receive a diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or depression instead.

There Are A Great Deal Of Erroneous Beliefs.

Many people, including some mental health experts, have inaccurate conceptions about this disorder. Unfortunately, this misunderstanding might affect how people are treated. Persistent myths might discourage people from getting medical help, which is especially troublesome if they feel their own experience is being misunderstood. Misconceptions and common misconceptions include those listed below.

Myth: It Cannot Be Treated in Any Way

Borderline personality disorder can be effectively treated. The fact that BPD affects a person's personality has led many in the past to prematurely conclude that it is untreatable, however this is no longer the case. Some of the most promising therapies currently available include dialectical behaviour therapy (abbreviated as DBT), mentalisation-based treatment (abbreviated as MBT), and transference-focused psychotherapy (TFP). There is also a growing number of less intense and more generalist approaches being used all around the world, such as general psychiatric management (GPM). Are you trying to find a top-notch facility for drug or alcohol rehabilitation? Refocus Rehab Melbourne  might be the answer. 

Just because someone has been labelled with BPD doesn't mean they'll always have to deal with the symptoms. The symptoms fluctuate as a result of the treatment. Despite this, a large percentage of those who suffer from this condition lead fulfilling lives.

Myth: People Who Suffer From Bpd Are More Likely To Abuse Children

But that's not always the case. While childhood trauma may have a role in the development of borderline personality disorder, the disorder is more often the product of a complex interaction of environmental factors. Factors such as attachment, childhood trauma, biological make-up, and social environment may all play a role in the development of this disorder.

Myth: Only Females Are Affected by It

An estimated 14 million Americans have borderline personality disorder. While it was previously believed that women were disproportionately affected, the greatest study ever undertaken on psychiatric disorders found the opposite to be true.

The fact that women are more likely to seek help for mental health problems than men may explain why it seems to affect a greater percentage of women. It used to be far less likely that males with borderline personality disorder would be included in studies of this sort because research on BPD is typically conducted in psychiatric institutions.

Men may be more likely than women to obtain a false diagnosis of BPD, for example. Many males with this condition are also diagnosed with depression or PTSD.

Things People With Borderline Personality Disorder Want You To Know

Even When Things Are Good, We're Afraid You'll Leave. So Do We.

Anxiety about being abandoned is a common symptom of borderline personality disorder (BPD), and it can surface even when everything seems fine between the two people involved. While the worry that others will reject us or that we aren't good enough for that person may seem irrational to an outsider, it can feel quite real to the individual struggling with it. Fear that others may reject us or feel that we don't measure up to their standards is always present.

Someone with BPD may appear possessive or needy because they will do everything they can to stop it from happening. Although it may be hard to understand, it comes from a place of fear, and that can be a lot to bear.

Everything Is Hot And Painful To Touch; It's Like Having Third-Degree Emotional Burns.

People with borderline personality disorder often experience extreme, fleeting emotions that might linger for several hours or even days and shift dramatically and unexpectedly. This person is spot-on with their assessment. For instance, our emotions can rapidly shift from elation to profound despair. When we have borderline personality disorder, it might be challenging to maintain emotional stability since our moods swing wildly and unexpectedly (BPD). It's like trying to avoid breaking any eggs while walking.

Keep in mind that being labelled "overly sensitive" isn't always something we have any say over.

Good And Bad Are Felt More Intensely. Our Reaction To Such Feelings May Seem Disproportionate, But It's Not.

If we suffer from borderline personality disorder (BPD), we may feel that we are continuously switching between two quite different states of mind. It's probable that our exhaustion will rub off on those around us. What must be remembered, however, is that in the mind of a person with borderline personality disorder, anything they are thinking at any particular time is quite reasonable. Thank you for not making us feel like we are being silly or unimportant by not dismissing our worries or labelling us foolish.

I Do Not Possess Several Different Personalities.

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is sometimes mistaken for dissociative identity disorder (DID), which causes people to take on many identities. However, this is clearly not the case. Borderline patients do not switch between different personalities. As an alternative, borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a form of personality disorder characterised by difficulties in regulating one's emotions and thoughts about oneself and others, as well as by the resulting impairment in one's interpersonal relationships and other aspects of daily functioning. It's crucial to recognise that dissociative identity disorder is not the same as other mental illnesses, but it doesn't mean it should be stigmatised.

We Are Not A Risky Or Manipulative Organisation.

The stigma around borderline personality disorder (BPD) is very strong. Many people have the misconception that folks who suffer from it are dangerous or manipulative because of the symptoms. While this may be true for a tiny fraction of those with borderline personality disorder, for the vast majority it simply describes struggles with identity and interpersonal relationships. It's crucial to stress that no one here poses any danger to anyone else. People with mental illness, on the other hand, are more prone to harm themselves than others.

Exhausting And Frustrating. Hard To Find Affordable, Quality Treatment.

Unfortunately, many people with BPD do not seek therapy, but this is not because they do not want to. The reason for this is that there is currently no treatment for this ailment, unlike many other forms of mental illness. To begin, no medication currently exists that is effective in the treatment of BPD. The only approach that has shown beneficial in treating this illness is therapy, such as cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT) (CBT). There is currently no proven pharmacological therapy for BPD (though sometimes medications are used off-label to relieve symptoms).

It's also true that some doctors assume that patients with BPD would be tricky people to treat because of the stigma associated with the disorder, which makes it harder to get successful therapy.

Many people with borderline personality disorder (BPD) can benefit from intensive dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT) programmes, although these are not always easy to get. That is to say, if you know someone who suffers from borderline personality disorder (BPD), and they aren't "getting better," don't jump to conclusions and assign blame; it's already a challenge to obtain help.

We Aren't Unlovable, And We Love Big.

Those with borderline personality disorder often overwhelm others with their displays of emotion. When two people click romantically, it can feel like a tornado is raging over their lives. On the other hand, the high a person with BPD gets from making a genuine connection with another person can rival any other emotion they have. This is especially true if they have been experiencing continuous feelings of isolation and emptiness.

Being in a relationship with someone who suffers from borderline personality disorder (BPD) might be trying, but it also shows that they have a lot of love to give. They need reassurance that their feelings are shared by you, and they might need to probe a little more to make sure the relationship is still fruitful for both of you.

If you are dating or have a loved one with borderline personality disorder (BPD), you should learn as much as possible about the condition. Be wary of the stereotypes you might come across as well. A person with borderline personality disorder probably wouldn't appreciate it if you assumed something about them based on what you read about the disorder that you wouldn't want assumed about you.

Relationships can be saved or lost depending on how much effort is put into learning to empathise with the struggles of a loved one and how to best aid that person and yourself in times of difficulty. Talk to someone about how you're feeling if you think you might use some additional support; if it's a therapist or clinician, that's even better, because they can give you some aid and advise on how to improve your mental health. It's important to remember that taking care of yourself will allow you to give your loved one the greatest possible care.