Borderline Personality Disorder

Borderline personality disorder is a mental health condition. It impacts how you handle your emotions. It is relatively rare. Out of all the cases of borderline personality disorder 75% of them are female. Other risk factors for this condition are having another mental health condition such as anxiety, depression, or an eating disorder. Another risk is if you had any childhood trauma or abuse. Genetics may also play a role, it seems that borderline personality disorder can be passed down through families. Brain changes can also be a cause. Borderline personality disorder usually is diagnosed after the age of 18 years old. Symptoms usually become known during young adulthood.

Borderline personality disorder causes you to have mood and behavior changes that are rapid in response to stress. They seem to get worse especially when interacting with other people. Severity, frequency, and duration of symptoms are dependent on the person. If you suffer from borderline personality disorder you will have trouble regulating emotions, you may have unstable moods that change quickly, and have anger management problems that are intense and sometimes inappropriate. You may also have trouble with relationships, keeping them or making them. Borderline personality disorder can also cause you to act impulsively. Another common symptom is having a strong fear of abandonment and having a negative self-image. Borderline personality disorder can raise your risk of self harm or thoughts of suicide. You may also experience an ongoing feeling of emptiness.

Borderline personality disorder can affect your daily life. It can cause you to have to change jobs or lose your job repeatedly. You may also find it hard to finish your education, especially if your interests and values change quickly. Borderline personality disorder can cause legal issues that cause you to get into trouble and result in jail time. Conflict-filled relationships may be a complication, or having abusive relationships. Injuring yourself or having impulsive or risky behavior accidents can also be a complication of borderline personality disorder. Another complication that can arise is having other mental illness conditions such as depression, alcohol abuse, substance abuse, eating disorders, bipolar disorder, post traumatic stress disorder, or ADHD.

Mental illness conditions can be hard to diagnose. Your doctor may do a physical exam to rule out any other cause of your symptoms. Afterwards if it isn’t medical they may refer you to a mental health provider. This could be a psychiatrist, psychologist, clinical social worker, or a psychiatric nurse practitioner. Borderline personality disorder usually is only diagnosed in adults over the age of 18 years old. This is because symptoms that are caused by borderline personality disorder in children or teenagers may go away with maturity. Your mental health provider will start diagnosing you by asking you some questions. They will want to know about your own personal medical history as well as your family medical history. They will ask about your previous work history and how well you have impulse control. They may also look to speak with your friends and family to get more information.

People with borderline personality disorder who seek treatment usually have a good outcome from it. One of the main treatments is talk therapy. Talk therapy can help you focus on your ability to function, learn to manage emotions, reduce impulsiveness, and work on making relationships. You can do talk therapy one on one, in a group setting, and sometimes with your family. Family members may benefit from having talk therapy sessions on their own as well. One type of talk therapy is cognitive behavioral therapy. This focuses on you learning how to change your thoughts and actions. Dialectical behavioral therapy allows you to become aware of the current moment you are living in. It can help you reduce extreme emotions and actions. Another type of talk therapy is schema-focused therapy. This type helps you change how you see yourself and turn negative views into positive ones.

Therapy is not the only way of treatment. Medications can be used and some patients respond really well to medications. Neuroleptic and atypical antipsychotic medicines can be used to treat borderline personality disorder. Other medications are antidepressants or antianxiety medications. If your symptoms are too severe you may need to be hospitalized. This can help make sure you don’t do any self harm while you learn to manage your symptoms.