Borderline personality disorder

It's estimated that at least one in a hundred people have borderline personality disorder or BPD

Here are some of the issues people with BPD face

Significant difficulty controlling and regulating emotions, otherwise known as emotional lability

Uncertainty of self what psychiatrists call an unstable self-image

having intense and unstable relationships repeatedly, which can involve

Idealizing people then intensely disliking or devaluing them in relatively short intervals

Feeling an urgent need to avoid being abandoned by other people, even if the abandonment is only imagined

A chronic feeling of emptiness

Repeatedly acting in impulsive and risky ways.

As you can see it's a picture of instability

To add to these challenges

BPD is currently under recognized. So the availability of specific services is limited

the reason may include the

Ongoing social stigma of mental health conditions

Or the challenges that health professionals face in treating BPD

It is quite possible to treat it but more on that later

Imagine a good friend of yours has BPD you tell them something about your new partner and they react ferociously

If you've been hurt by them in one of their more severe episodes of instability you might struggle to feel empathy towards them

But it's important not to blame the person in such situations. It's not their fault after all

So what is the cause of BPD?

Well, it isn't fully understood.

Currently a combination of biological factors and early life experiences such as trauma

Is thought to contribute to the development of BPD

In diagnosis, psychiatrists attempt to observe a pattern of these features mentioned before

These must be considered inflexible

Pervasive

Long-standing

And must lead to clinically significant distress or impairment

In terms of recovery

The best treatment results have been shown with a branch of psychological counseling

Known as dialectical behavioral therapy

Dialectical means concerned with opposing forces which here

acceptance and change

Think of some of the challenges mentioned earlier then consider how that might affect a

relationship between a health professional and a person with BPD

It's important to engage clinicians who have thorough experience and understanding of this condition

Given that the maintenance of a strong therapeutic relationship is integral to positive outcomes

It may take several goes

But strong improvements are possible

In this video I've tried to show the challenge and complexity of living with, as well as treating BPD

A recent Australian Senate committee stated that an into marginalization of this disorder within the community and the mental health sector is

urgently needed.

Personality disorders come in many different forms

and affect people differently.

Borderline personality disorder

is a specific condition

that primarily affects self-perception and relationships.

People with the condition typically experience

intense emotional instability

that deeply impacts everyday life.

Please be advised that this is strictly

for informative purposes.

Do not self-diagnose and do not use this

to diagnose or stigmatize others.

Please speak with a healthcare provider

or a mental health professional

for medical or mental health advice

in case you relate to any of the points mentioned.

To better understand this condition,

we'll be discussing nine things

about BPD that you need to know.

Number one, fear of abandonment.

People with BPD often experience

an intense sensitivity to abandonment.

They may feel that the people around them

are growing distant, regardless of the truth.

They view small changes in behavior

as a sign that their partner or friend

is growing distant.

They resort to clinging behavior

in an effort to keep the person from leaving.

Two, persistent and wide mood swings.

BPD is exhausting.