What is BPD or Borderline Personality Disorder?
BPD or Borderline Personality Disorder is basically a mental health disorder, which impacts the way you feel and think about yourself and other people that cause problems functioning in daily life. It also includes difficulty managing behavior and emotions, self-image issues, and patterns of unstable relationships.
Due to BPD, you have fear of instability and abandonment and you might have difficulties tolerating being alone. However, frequent mood swings, impulsiveness, and inappropriate anger may push some people away even if you like to have lasting and loving relationships.
Usually, borderline personality disorder starts by early adulthood. This condition may become worse in young adulthood and can get better with age.
If you are suffering from borderline personality disorder, never be discouraged. A lot of people with this disorder often get better overtime with the right treatments and may learn to live a satisfying life.
BPD and Its Symptoms
BPD affects how a person feels about herself or himself, how he/she relates to others, and how he/she behaves. The symptoms and signs may include the following:
- Intense or inappropriate anger such as being sarcastic, losing your temper or having physical fights
- Wide mood swings that last for several hours to weeks, which may include intense happiness, anxiety, shame or irritability
- Suicidal behavior or threats in response to fear of rejection or separation
- Risky and impulsive behavior including spending sprees, unsafe sex, reckless driving, gambling, ending positive relationships, and so much more
- Rapid changes in self-image and self-identity that include shifting values and goals and seeing yourself as if you do not exist or as a bad person
- Pattern of unstable intense relationship like idealizing somebody one moment and believing the person does not care enough or cruel
- Fear of abandonment
BPD and Its Causes
When compared to some mental health disorders, the causes of BPD are not completely understood. Aside from environmental factors like history of neglect or child abuse, BPD can be linked to brain abnormalities and genetics.
BPD and Its Risk Factors
Other factors related to BPD may increase the risk of having borderline personality disorder. Such include the following:
- Stressful Childhood – A lot of people with BPD report being physically or sexually neglected or abused during childhood. Others were separated from their parents or have lost their loved ones at a young age. Some have been also exposed to unstable family relationships and hostile conflicts.
- Hereditary Predisposition – You can be at high risk if your close relative has a similar or the same disorder.
Bipolar Disorder and Borderline Personality Disorder – What’s the Difference?
Both share significant similarities. For instance, bipolar disorder causes extreme shifts in behavior and mood. But, such shifts are between manic and depressive episodes or hypomanic episodes that also involve unusual high activity and energy levels but to lesser extent.
In addition to that, unstable personal relationships and fear of abandonment are usually inherent to BPD are not in the diagnostic criteria when it comes to bipolar disorder.
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