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What is Borderline Personality Disorder Treatment?
Borderline personality disorder treatment is professional therapy to help people reduce symptoms and effects of borderline personality disorder. Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a serious mental health disorder causing sufferers severe difficulties in regulating emotions.
BPD sufferers often experience destructive mood swings and impulsivity which leads to difficulty in everyday life situations and relationships.
In addition to mood swings, BPD patients often wrestle with low self-esteem and self-worth, negatively impacting the way they view themselves and relate to others.
Borderline Personality Disorder Symptoms
The symptoms of BPD can vary from person to person.
Typically, BPD is recognized when someone presents at least 5 of these symptoms over a period of time:
Extreme fear of being abandoned, whether the threat of abandonment is real or imagined
- Unstable relationships with loved ones and friends; patterns of relationships that quickly change from very close to distant, angry and/or hatred
- Unhealthy self-image or sense of self
- Self-destructive behaviors such as substance use or misuse, binging, reckless dating and sexual behavior, aggressive driving, and careless spending
- Suicide attempts, suicidal ideation or other self-harming behaviors
- Emotional instability, volatility, irritability, or anxiety
- Chronic feelings of emptiness
- Inappropriate bursts of anger and/or difficulty controlling anger
- Temporary stress-related, paranoid thoughts and perception difficulties
If you or someone you love is dealing with borderline personality
disorder, don’t be discouraged! At Sanctuary Clinics, we’ve treated
many people with BPD who’ve gone on to live full and satisfying
lives. Don’t give BPD the last word.
If you or someone you love is dealing with borderline personality disorder, don’t be discouraged! At Sanctuary Clinics, we’ve treated many people with BPD who’ve gone on to live full and satisfying lives. Don’t give BPD the last word.
What causes borderline personality disorder?
No specific causes have been identified for border personality disorder;
however a handful of factors have been linked to BPD as potential
contributors to the condition. These factors include
No specific causes have been identified for border personality disorder; however a handful of factors have been linked to BPD as potential contributors to the condition. These factors include
Genetics
Studies suggest that personality disorders may be inherited or associated with mental health disorders in blood relatives.
Brain abnormalities
As research has shed light on the way brain chemistry impacts emotional regulation, abnormalities and chemical imbalances may be related to BPD.
Developmental factors and family environment.
Childhood and upbringing, cultural surroundings and environment play a large role in the formation of our personalities and therefore may contribute to the development of a personality disorder. Studies suggest children who’ve grown up in unstable environments, who’ve experienced neglect or abandonment, and exposure to intense and/or chronic stress and fear are more likely to develop BPD later in life.
Childhood abuse and trauma
Trauma, sexual, emotional, or physical abuse experienced as a child is often associated with BPD.
Risk factors of borderline personality disorder
While no clear cause has been identified for borderline personality disorder, as referenced in the list above, certain factors may contribute to its onset.
Studies suggest certain risk factors which increase the likelihood for someone to develop BPD. Those factors include
Childhood
abuse
Brain
abnormalities
Direct relative with a mental health disorder
Hereditary
predisposition
Borderline personality disorder treatments
Borderline personality disorder is a complicated mental health condition, and no two cases are exactly alike.
Treatment for BPD is built around psychotherapy. Medications may be prescribed to address certain symptoms, especially if they impede or complicate therapy.
Intensive treatment may be necessary.
BPD sufferers frequently present with other co-occurring disorders such as substance use disorder, anxiety, and depression to name just a few.
It is important to get treatment for any other co-occurring conditions at the same time.
The very good news is that treatment works. With proper diagnosis and treatment, many people suffering with BPD go on to live more stable, full, and rewarding lives.
Psychotherapy
Psychotherapy—also called talk therapy—is the primary
treatment with borderline personality disorder.
Psychotherapy can help you:
Psychotherapy—also called talk therapy—is the primary treatment with borderline personality disorder. Psychotherapy can help you:
Focus on your needs
in treatment
Focus on your needs in treatment
Learn to understand and
manage your emotions
Learn to understand and manage your emotions
Reduce your impulsiveness by observing your feelings instead of rashly acting on them
Improve your relationships with others by becoming more aware of others’ feelings
Learn about your
borderline personality
Learn about your borderline personality
Medications
While no drugs have been approved to specifically treat BPD, certain medications (antidepressants, antipsychotics, or mood-stabilizing drugs, for instance) may be prescribed to address symptoms and co-occurring conditions.
If you have borderline personality disorder, take heart!
With treatment, you can live healthier, happier, and
more successful life. We can help you!
If you have borderline personality disorder, take heart! With treatment, you can live healthier, happier, and more successful life. We can help you!
Borderline personality disorder FAQs
What makes Sanctuary Clinic different and more effective than other programs?
1
What is a person with borderline personality disorder like?
People suffering with borderline personality disorder may experience intense mood swings.
Their attitudes towards others can change abruptly, swinging from extreme closeness to extreme dislike.
It’s not uncommon for these mood swings to lead to a pattern of fractured relationships.
2
What are the main early signs of borderline personality disorder?
Mood swings lasting hours to days are an early signal—moods from extreme happiness to irritability or anxiety.
Uncharacteristic inappropriate or intense flares of anger, sarcasm, and bitterness may also be clues.
3
Do people suffer from borderline personality disorder have empathy?
Empathy is a complex topic in and of itself.
There are different forms of empathy—cognitive empathy, emotional empathy, and social empathy, for instance.
Studies have suggested that individuals suffering with BPD struggle to understand others and “put themselves in others’ shoes.”
4
Is borderline personality disorder a serious illness?
Borderline personality disorder is a serious, long-lasting, and complex mental illness.
Without proper treatment, the effects of borderline personality can be devastating not only to the individual with BPD but also their loved ones and friends.
5
At what age does borderline personality disorder develop?
Most personality disorders develop in adolescence when our personalities develop and mature as we grow into adulthood. For this reason, most cases of BPD are diagnosed after the age of 18.
