If you have ever known someone with BPD (Borderline Personality Disorder) chances are you are fully aware of how dysfunctional the disorder makes them. While you may love them you also know how unpredictable and dangerous a person with BPD can be. Someone I have known and loved since childhood suffers from BPD, she is also severe drug addict. By severe I mean a hardcore polysubstance abuser. Polysubstance abuse is abuse of three or more substances over a period of 12 months. Her drug of choice is crack cocaine, but she has abused any drug that she could get high from: alcohol, LSD, Ecstasy, prescription drugs, lighter butane, computer dust cleaner, cough syrup, Coricidin, and the latest was Bath Salts. My friend has broken into my house, taken me for a ride in her car where we end up in the middle of a crack run, has belittled me in public, among many other things. She has been stabbed, incarcerated, a prostitute, homeless, and institutionalized. For my own protection and sanity, I have spent periods of time not speaking to my friend. At those times, things usually got so out of hand with her behavior that I had no other choice. Something always draws me back to her though. I truly love her as a sister and I know she has had a horrible life filled with sexual, physical, and emotional abuse from everyone close to her. It is hard not to care for her because she has been the victim of other people's madness all her life and I want her to know she has at least one person that she is able to trust. Last year I became a state certified addiction counselor, she asked me to please help others understand the disorder better so that others suffering from BPD may find the help they so desperately need.
The symptoms of borderline personality disorder are:
-A pattern of unstable and intense interpersonal -Relationships characterized by alternating between -extremes of idealization and devaluation
-Identity disturbance, such as a significant and -persistent unstable self-image or sense of self
-Impulsivity in at least two areas that are potentially -self-damaging (e.g., spending, sex, substance abuse, reckless driving, binge eating)
-Recurrent suicidal behavior, gestures, or threats, or self-mutilating behavior
-Emotional instability due to significant reactivity of mood (e.g., intense episodic dysphoria, irritability, or anxiety usually lasting a few hours and only rarely more than a few days)
-Chronic feelings of emptiness
-Inappropriate, intense anger or difficulty controlling anger (e.g., frequent displays of temper, constant anger, recurrent physical fights)
-Transient, stress-related paranoid thoughts or severe dissociative symptoms
-Frantic efforts to avoid real or imagined abandonment
It is very important to try and have the person with BPD see a mental health professional that has worked with others affected by the disorder. Primary care doctors are not qualified to diagnose or treat someone with BPD. Many times this disorder has been mistaken for a number of other mental health disorders, mainly bipolar disorder. Research has also shown that many people with BPD have been victims of physical, sexual, and/or mental abuse. A multi-faceted treatment team to treat each area specifically has been known to be highly effective for people with BPD. Just know that dealing with this disorder may be difficult, but BPD is treatable, so if you suspect it may be prevalent in your life, do not give up hope. I wish all of you reading this the very best!
Helpful Links:
http://www.tara4bpd.org/dyn/index.php
Treatment and Research Advancements National Association for Personality Disorder. The first non-profit organization devoted to advocacy, research and education for those affected by Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD).
http://psychcentral.com/lib/2007/symptoms-of-borderline-personality-diso...
Psychcentral is a great mental health website, lots of addiction info., online tests to help you figure out if you may be suffering from various disorders, and forums too.
