5 Symptoms of Borderline Personality

Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is a mental illness in which a person cannot manage and control emotions, which results in unstable moods and unstable relationships. Like all personality disorders, in BPD also the feelings and behaviour of a person don’t seem inappropriate to the person experiencing it, but that behaviour creates a lot of problem for the person in his own life and for the ones who are related to him. This condition can hamper the relationship of the person with all the people or sometimes only with a single person.

BPD is called borderline because it is considered as a borderline between neurosis (which a mild mental illness in which patient doesn’t loses the contact with reality) and psychosis (which a severe mental illness in which patient doesn’t loses the contact with reality).

A person suffering from BPD displays impulsive and reckless behaviour. During the course of this disorder, he might develop several other disorders like depression, anxiety, substance addiction, etc.

5 Symptoms of Borderline Personality

Signs That Indicate BPD

The symptoms of BPD resemble many other mental disorders. They are often mistaken as depression and treated as depression. Here are the five signs that one needs to look out for… 

1. Unstable relationship

BPD is marked by unstable relationships with friends and family. It becomes transient and intense. The relationship might suffer extreme transformation from extreme love and idealisation to intense hatred and devaluation.

2. Perceived abandonment

People suffering from BPD are always shrouded with fear that people might leave them. To save themselves false fear, they start behaving distraughtly and go to desperate lengths to avoid it. They beg and fight with their loved ones out of perceived abandonment. Ironically, this behaviour pushes their loved ones away from them.

3. Distorted self-image

BPD leads to low self-esteem. People would start feeling lowly of themselves. Their sense of self becomes unstable. It seemed to them that they don’t have any purpose in life, and they start hating themselves. They may frequently change jobs, friends, or in extreme cases, change their sex.

4. Impulsive behaviour

People with BPD start doing things in extreme. When they are upset, they would start spending money recklessly, drive recklessly, involve in unsafe sex, and start abusing alcohol and substances. These impulsive behavioursactually make them feel better.

5. Suicidal tendencies

Suicidal tendencies are also observed in people suffering from BPD. They would deliberately harm themselves. They think about self-harm like cutting or burning themselves. Sometimes they make threats of harming themselves, and sometimes they actually commit suicide.

BPD is a serious condition, but it has a cure as well. It needs serious therapy. Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) are designedto deal with BPD. The therapies involve both one-to-one session and group therapies. The therapies are designed as per the age group and should be taken accordingly.

Medication can provide temporary relief, but cannot cure BPD. Once patients follow therapies consistently, the recover from BPD in a matter of few years. After recovery, the chances are less likely that their symptoms would reoccur.