Borderline Personality Disorder

Before you start reading this article to make yourself aware about what Borderline Personality Disorder is, I would request you to take out 2 minutes to go through the complete article first with an open mind and not with a mindset of self-diagnosis. 

One of the most frequently misdiagnosed mental health conditions is borderline personality disorder, which is why the above request was made to you. According to National Institute ofMental Health (NIMH) statistics, 1.6% of the adult population has a BPD diagnosis. This may sound less, but it’s actually a lot. According to the NEABPD, more than half of adults experience self-harm triggers during their lifetime. As we noted earlier, BPD is frequently misdiagnosed because it is either mistaken for other, more common mental health conditions like depression, anxiety, or bipolar disorder, or it is present together with other comorbid conditions, which lowers its statistical prevalence. According to statistics, BPD is fairly prevalent at various intensities. It is also evident that the ratio of women to men is 3:1. The ratio indicated in the research is, however, cast in doubt because males seek support less frequently than women do in the world in which we live.

To reiterate, we are attempting to highlight that mental health disorders are very common and that it is normal to feel overwhelmed, afraid, and lonely all at once by presenting information and data here along with prevalence figures. In reality, there are many people going through it; they may just be misinformed or not aware of it. Finding the correct assistance and knowledge speeds up the healing process. What then is BPD?

It cannot be seen, but it can be felt by an individual, just like all mental health challenges. Let’s first understand a core feature of BPD called emotional dysregulation? What happens when an air conditioner’s internal mechanism is hampered. It cannot keep a balance and causes rapid cooling or strong heating. An individual with a diagnosis of BPD has a similar situation on the emotional front. You may experience great emotions in a moment, sometimes for the other person and sometimes for yourself, which could cause erratic conduct. However, it is noteworthy that the diagnosis of BPD is not made based on solely experiencing or not experiencing this single symptom. There is a cluster of symptoms that clinicians typically examine you for.

Signs and Symptoms 

To move ahead let’s see some of the most prevalent signs and symptoms. 

· Identity crisis or persistently unstable sense of self or self image.

· Overwhelming feelings of emptiness or void or loneliness

· Fear of abandonment and makes frantic efforts to avoid real or imagined situations

· Pathological personality traits like intense mood swings, short-lived bouts of anxiety, reckless and impulsive behaviors.

· Impairment in maintaining relationships and managing impulses showing reactions like temper issues (yelling, screaming, physical fights etc).

· Recurrent self-harming episodes 

· Impulsivity manifested in more self-damaging behaviors like reckless driving, substance abuse, risky sexual activities, outbursts of violence etc.

· Emotional Instability triggered internally or by external factors.

· Hypersensitivity, overwhelm, intense emotions of guilt, inadequacy etc.

Please note, these are felt by all humans irrespective of the state. BPD is a mental health condition whereby an individual has a long-term pattern of erratic, turbulent and unstable emotions leading to impulsive behaviors and chaotic relationships with self (intrapersonal) and others (interpersonal). 

Causes 

· Childhood Traumatic Experiences – History of physical, emotional or sexual abuse; trauma or being a part of dysfunctional family units, disrupted family life.

· Communication Issues – In the family, caregiver, social circle

· Biological – History of either or both parents or family members showing symptoms of disorder.

· Comorbidity – Prevalence of mental health disorders like eating, mood, substance, anxiety, personality (to name a few) leading to its trigger.

In conclusion, borderline personality disorder is not that uncommon, can be misdiagnosed, and occasionally takes a lot of time to be diagnosed only when an individual starts experiencing stark symptoms that are affecting their daily functioning in various spheres of life and causing distress to people around them regardless of the context of the individual is in. Though it is serious to an extent, it does not carry a life sentence. Similar to an air conditioner, it needs to be oiled and fixed using a therapeutic approach in order to resume regular operation. With regular therapeutic intervention, around half of those who seek the appropriate professional assistance and work on themselves exhibited only very slight indications of the criteria for psychopathology.