Hi everyone I hope you’re doing good!
Today I’m going to clarify what borderline personality disorder is ( based on what I know + a little bit of research) because it seems it’s not well known at all. Warning it might be a bit harsh sorryyyy
I’m going to try and make a series of “clarifying mental illnesses” if I have the courage to do so :,)
So … let’s begin !
Basically what’s BPD ?
Bpd, nicknamed “never ending teenage crisis” is, as it’s name tells, a personality disorder, which means it usually appears around end of teenage and is part of your personality
It is characterised by feeling extreme emotions all the time. People with bpd are not happy they’re euphoric, they’re not sad they’re suicidal…Imagine multiplying any emotion you feel by … let’s say 10. That’s what a person with bpd feels. Now, imagine an extreme emotion for you, again multiply it by 10 and you get what someone with bpd calls an extreme emotion. Sounds tough doesn’t it ?
Symptoms and diagnosis
There are 9 bpd symptoms written in the DSM-5 and you need to have at least 5 of them to be diagnosed with it :
- Extreme mood swings
- Fear of abandonment
- Intense feelings
- Relational instability
- Splitting (black and white thinking)
- Self destructive behaviours such as self harm, substance abuse, suicidal thoughts/attempts
- Impulsivity
- Unclear self image/identity
- Dissociation
Because it’s a personality disorder it can only be diagnosed at majority which is when our personality is fully formed, but it is true that in some people it is so obvious that it gets diagnosed earlier
Cause
At the moment bpd is known to be caused by a combination of biological (you have 5 times more chances to have bpd if someone in your family had it) and psychological (childhood trauma,abuse, being emotionally neglected as a child…)
Percentage
About 6% of the world population , 10% of the psychiatric services patients and 20% of the people hospitalised in psychiatry have bpd and it’s often misdiagnosed for bipolar II so there are possibly more
Treatment
So … unlike bipolar disorder there is no specific treatment for bpd. Each patient has its treatment that works rather okay for him.her.them and usually not for very long so it has to be reviewed an certain amount of times… great
It is said you can be cured from bpd but most of the time, the person just leads to live with it and it gets easier with years and they can live a happy normal life :)
Well that’s it for today I hope you learned 2 or 3 things and if you have any questions I’d be glad to answer them (if I remember to check the blog whoops)
Have a nice day !
Anouk
Hi Anouk ! What a great article ! I know some people in my family that tend to have extreme emotions and feelings, and I didn't know what it meant. Now it's much clearer for me thanks to your article.I can understand and imagine how difficult it is to live with BPD.
ReplyDeleteI never heard of this disorder before but it was really interesting to find out about it as i want to be a doctor in future and i was really surprised by the fact that 20 percent of people hospitalised in psychiatry have this disorder.
ReplyDeleteI loved your article, first of all because I learned new things, it was so well detailed and clear but also now I know how to understand someone that is diagnosed of BPD. It's always a good thing to be aware of certain illness so thank you :) If you look at the comments I have a question but you're not obliged to respond to it but do you know someone who is diagnosed of BPD?
ReplyDeleteLoved the article as it was very informative plus I am really interested in all things biological as I want to be a doctor in the future but I was really baffled that 1/5 of all people hospitalized in psychiatry have BPD
ReplyDeleteWow I really loved this article ! I've actually never heard about this before but you explained it very well ! I hope you will have the courage to continue writing about mental illnesses, especially if all your articles are as good as this one :)
ReplyDeleteI love this idea you had to make a series about this topic because it isn't usually very known and people aren't aware of it so it might help a lot ! This article is very practical thank you !
ReplyDeleteVery interesting ,I think we should normalize people with BPD they shouldn't feel rejected because of that or forgottend by society .
ReplyDeleteThanks for making this change!
Thanks Anouk! We often mistake bpd with bipolar disorder or hypersensitivity so it's great to clarify that. Plus, your article is so understandable, it helps a lot!
ReplyDelete