If you have been diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), or a close friend or family member has, you probably have a lot of questions about what it means and how you fix it. First of all, lets talk about what it is.
BPD is a mental illness that affects the way sufferers experience emotions, moods, think and relate to other people. It can often be characterised by mood swings, uncontrollable anger, self-harming or suicidal behaviour. Unlike other mental illnesses, there is no medication to specifically help BPD sufferers. If the BPD sufferer is experiencing depression or other illnesses, then they may receive medication to treat these symptoms, but in effect this medication is only helping the depression, it is not helping the symptoms and underlying causes of BPD.
This information in itself brings about a few problems. First, a lot of people think that because there is no medication for it, and because it is an emotional disorder, it is not a real mental illness. If you have ever experienced BPD, there is no way you would ever agree with this way of thinking. The BPD sufferer is so crippled because of their inability to process and regulate emotions that they can barely hold down a job in some instances, or a relationship, family and friends. It affects their interaction with the world in every way, and there is no medication to stop it. This can make it feel like a losing battle for the sufferer. At least with other mental illnesses, medication helps to make it better, and possible to live a relatively normal life. BPD sufferers do not have this luxury.
Another problem is that there is a lot of stigma in the mental health community that goes with the diagnosis of BPD. Many psychiatrists who make the diagnosis in a hospital environment will rush the patient out of the door, saying that there is nothing hospital can do to help them, even though they are at a point where suicide or self-harm is a real possibility. Many therapists see BPD sufferers as difficult patients as they are combative, aggressive, and don’t always turn up to appointments. To some it seems like they almost don’t want to get better. Yes, this description can be true for a lot of BPD sufferers, but there are ways of getting around it.
The content that follows is aimed at those people who suffer BPD, so that they can understand why they are feeling the way they do and how they can change it. I am not a psychologist or any other kind of medical doctor, and I can not guarantee that what is written on the following pages will work for everyone. Maybe they are the insane ramblings of the mentally ill. But what I do know is that I was completely crippled by this illness for over 10 years, but now I feel like I am no longer ruled by it, and that I am gaining control of my life again. I realize how difficult it is to get treatment in this country, and I want that to change. Maybe this is my way of helping.
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