Personality Disorders

Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) overview

While the pressure of everyday life can sometimes bring about stormy relationships, misshapen self-image, and mood fluctuations – borderline personality disorder (BPD) is marked by an intense pattern of those unstable thoughts, moods, and feelings. It is a mental illness that not only causes problems for the person affected, but for their family, friends and partners too.

The ongoing challenges for a sufferer of borderline personality disorder can make it difficult to feel comfortable in one's own skin and think rationally in times of stress, resulting in impulsive actions and problems with their interpersonal relationships. This instability can also disrupt work life, long-term planning, and how an individual self-identifies and finds their place in their community.

What is Borderline Personality Disorder?

Borderline Personality Disorder is a personality disorder characterised by intense feelings of anger, depression or anxiety, followed by severe difficulty regulating those emotions. Your patterns of thinking or actions may seem rigid to the point where interferences cause you severe distress. The intense and unstable nature of the condition can alienate sufferers, causing them to feel isolated – and even increase the risk of self-harm and suicide.

The term “borderline” refers to the additional mental health conditions that sufferers often “border” on being diagnosed with.

While a person with depression or bipolar disorder will experience the same mood state for a prolonged period of time, a person with borderline personality disorder may appear to experience “breaks” between their mood swings.

What causes Borderline Personality Disorder?

As with most conditions, most experts agree there is no single cause of borderline personality disorder – albeit genetic and environmental factors, as well as brain chemistry, do play a role in the onset and progression of the condition, which is predominant throughout adolescence.

Borderline Personality Disorder often improves with age, and impulsive and anti-social behaviours tend to settle and reduce by the age of 30 to 40.

Signs and Symptoms

Borderline Personality Disorder is a complex psychiatric condition in which a person has difficulty managing their behavioural, psychological and cognitive impulses. Proper diagnosis is based on a clinical assessment by a mental health professional. Criteria of the disorder may or may not include the following:

Behavioural

• Threats or attempts related to suicide or self-harm
• Substance use or abuse
• Antisocial tendencies
• Risky sexual behaviour (i.e. unprotected sex, multiple partners, infidelity)
• Other risk-taking behaviour (i.e. reckless driving, spending sprees, gambling)
• Self-destruction
• Social isolation
• Excessive neediness or fear of abandonment
• Intense or chaotic relationships
• Avoidance or lack of self-direction
• Difficulty empathising
• Binge eating or other eating disorders
• Extreme reactions to real or perceived threats

Psychological

• Feelings of depression or hopelessness
• Low self-esteem or distorted self-image
• Fluctuating sense of identity
• Narcissism or superiority
• Anxiety or nervousness
• Paranoia or emotional detachment
• Suicidal thoughts
• Erratic moods
• Uncontrollable anger
• Irritability
• Feelings of boredom or emptiness

Cognitive

• Paranoia
• Hallucinations
• Suspiciousness
• Disassociation
• Neurosis

Helping friends / family suffering from BPD

Sufferers of borderline personality disorder are impaired by their inability to cope with stress in relationships (i.e. rejection, criticism, disagreements) – which is why a cool, calm home environment can help to manage their condition. Listening is the best way to help an emotional or irrational person regain self-control, and it’s important to acknowledge your loved one’s feelings.

Borderline Personality Disorder can not only be tough to recognise, but managing its symptoms and coping with day-to-day life can also be difficult. The stigma attached to the condition is unfair, and strong emotions and impulses exhibited by sufferers can make it difficult for friends and extended family members to be supportive or understand. If your child, friend, or partner has been diagnosed with borderline personality disorder, it’s important to build up a solid support base for your own wellbeing too.

Treatment Programs

The Central Coast Clinic provides specialised treatment for Borderline Personality Disorder, both in hospital and day programs with the skills to assist recovery.

External Resources

Beyond Blue

An independent, not-for-profit organisation working to increase awareness and understanding of anxiety and depression in Australia and to reduce the associated stigma. Access website

Black Dog Institute

Information on symptoms, treatment and prevention of depression and bipolar disorder. Access website

Headspace

National youth mental health foundation dedicated to improving the wellbeing of young Australians. Access website

Head to Health

Australian Government online mental health resources. Access website

Lifeline

A national charity providing all Australians experiencing a personal crisis with access to 24 hour crisis support and suicide prevention services. Access website

Mensline Australia

A telephone and online support, information and referral service, helping men to deal with relationship problems in a practical and effective way. Access website

Mindspot Clinic

An online and telephone clinic providing free assessment and treatment services for Australian adults with anxiety or depression. Access website

National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (NACCHO)

Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services and Aboriginal Medical Services in each state and territory. Access website

QLife

National counselling and referral service for LGBTI people, providing early intervention, peer support for people of all ages experiencing poor mental health, psychological distress, social isolation, discrimination, experiences of being misgendered. Access website

Relationships Australia

Relationship support services for individuals, families and communities. Access website

SANE Australia

Information about mental illness, treatments, where to go for support and help carers. Access website

Support After Suicide

Information, resources, counselling and group support to those bereaved by suicide. Access website