9 Signs That It's Borderline Personality Disorder
9 Signs That It's Borderline Personality Disorder
Borderline personality disorder (BPD), also known as an emotionally unstable personality disorder, is one of the most difficult mental health conditions to identify, and even highly trained professionals sometimes misdiagnose it. According to the DSM-5, the publication that specifies diagnostic criteria for mental disorders, there are nine things to look out for. If you or someone you know exhibits five or more of the signs listed below, you may want to consult a mental health professional.
1) Excessive fear of abandonment
People with BPD are hypersensitive to signs of possible rejection or abandonment. They overreact, and often inappropriately, to even the slightest indication of trouble. Their fear is so great that they will resort to any means necessary to avoid losing somebody important to them. People with BPD often use lying, attention-seeking, and manipulative behaviors. Sadly, these practices often end up driving away the person that they were afraid of losing.
2) A pattern of relationship difficulties
All-or-nothing thinking patterns cause people with BPD to label others as either wholly good or utterly evil. Even a simple disagreement can cause someone with BPD to "split," or suddenly decide that a previously adored friend is now a mortal enemy. For people with BPD, relationships are often intense, unstable, and short-lived. They also tend to get excessively attached. When this happens, it is sometimes called "imprinting" on a "favorite person (FP)."
3) Limited sense of identity
BPD causes an unstable sense of self. To compensate, people with BPD may act like social chameleons and take on the personalities and interests of others. They may also have frequent and dramatic changes in career, personality, etc. In short, people with BPD lack a consistent definition of who they are.
4) Impulsivity in two or more areas of life
Impulsive or addictive behaviors are common in people with BPD. These may include binge eating, reckless sex, irresponsible spending, substance abuse, gambling, and more. Such behaviors are done impulsively and excessively, without consideration of the long-term consequences. Social, financial, or legal problems can result.
5) Persistent suicidal ideation or self-harm
One of the most difficult BPD symptoms to deal with is the compulsion to act self-destructively. The majority of people with BPD engage in self-harming behaviors. Separate but related, suicidal ideation is also extremely common. More than half of people with BPD attempt to die by suicide at least once and about 10% eventually succeed, making BPD one of the most lethal mental disorders. Although constant suicidal threats and behaviors can appear to others as annoying, manipulative or attention-seeking, it is always important to validate a BPD sufferer's emotions and ensure her or his safety.
6) Intense mood swings
Individuals with BPD feel emotions far more strongly than the average person, which causes extreme ups and downs that make life seem unmanageable. Also, those with BPD tend to experience negative emotions, such as anxiety, despair, and guilt, at an unusually high frequency. They lack the skills to manage such intense and unpleasant emotions and act out inappropriately as a result.
7) Frequent feelings of emptiness and boredom
It is common for BPD sufferers to feel chronically empty or bored. They may report feeling unfulfilled as if something is missing from their life. Existential crises, identity crises, and relationship troubles contribute to these feelings of emptiness. Some people with BPD try to fill the empty "hole" (with food, drugs, alcohol, etc.), and others look for distractions in risk-taking behaviors.
8) Anger issues
People with BPD are highly reactive and defensive. They are quick to anger over even the silliest things, which of course, contributes to relationship problems. It can even escalate to violence, physical fights, or dramatic outbursts. To say that people with BPD have a short fuse is an understatement.
9) Paranoia or dissociation
Although usually not continuously present, it is common for people with BPD to experience symptoms of paranoia, dissociation, and even hallucinations. These symptoms are usually stress-related and temporary, but they can be very upsetting. Paranoia involves obsessive worry and fear. Hallucinations can be auditory or visual. Dissociation is harder to describe, but it usually manifests as a sense of unreality or disconnection from the present circumstances.
As shown in the list above, people who suffer from borderline personality disorder have a wide variety of symptoms that can be difficult to identify. If you or someone you know seems particularly emotionally unstable or emotionally sensitive, reference this list to determine if BPD might be at the root of the problem. Although BPD is difficult to manage, there are treatments available that can help make life more bearable.
Jocelyn Aleiadih, LCSW
www.yourlifepathcenter.com