What is Borderline Personality Disorder?
Also known as BPD, Borderline Personality Disorder is a mental disorder categorized by the inability of the patient to manage his emotions. This mental health condition entails complex emotions, impulsive behavior, and intense mood swings. As a result, the individual cannot maintain stable relations, severely impacting his personal life.
This disease affects the person’s ability to regulate emotions and think positively about themselves. In severe cases, individuals with this condition may engage in self-harm. Borderline personality disorder always comes connected with other mental health issues like depression, anxiety, and bipolar disorder.
The constant worry about losing loved ones and the inability to regulate anger and other extreme emotions affect the overall well-being of an individual. If not treated correctly and on time, this condition may grow extensively, causing a complete social withdrawal of the individual.
Borderline Personality Disorder Meaning in Urdu?
بارڈر لائن پرسنلٹی ڈس آرڈر (BPD)، جسے جذباتی طور پر غیر مستحکم شخصیت کی خرابی کے نام سے بھی جانا جاتا ہے، ایک ذہنی بیماری ہے جو جذبات کو منظم کرنے میں دشواری کی خصوصیت رکھتی ہے۔ اس بیماری کے شکار افراد شدید موڈ میں تبدیلی، غیر متوقع رویے، اور خود اعتمادی میں کمی کا سامنا کرتے ہیں۔ ان کا رویہ اکثر غیر متوازن ہوتا ہے، جس کی وجہ سے ان کے تعلقات، روزمرہ زندگی، اور ذہنی سکون پر گہرا اثر پڑتا ہے۔
What are the Signs and symptoms of Borderline Personality Disorder?
Some major signs and symptoms associated with Borderline Personality Disorder include:
Emotional Turmoil
BPD causes emotional turmoil in individuals. They experience intense mood shifts that are quite rapid. A lot of times, they are triggered by minor events that lead to massive consequences.
Fear of Abandonment
The fear of abandonment is a feature of borderline personality disorder. Small and simple gestures by loved ones can make them feel abandoned. A minor act by the significant other makes the BPD sufferers feel left out, leading them to cry and beg for their attention. With time, this behavior starts bringing a negative aspect to the relationship, making it fragile and toxic.
Instability in Relationships
Individuals with BPD are primarily involved in short-term relationships that are intense at one point but can easily break at any point! One primary reason behind this pattern is that the individual looks for a perfect relationship with no flaws. This leads to rapid mood swings and unrealistic expectations. Resultantly, love turns into disappointment, leading to the end of the relationship.
Unclear Self Image
Having a stable and realistic self of sense is not possible for the BPD sufferers. They have an ambiguous self-image that keeps shifting with time. The profession, relationships, friendships, goals, and objectives keep changing for the individual, which also brings massive shifts in the lifestyle. Impulsive spending and regretting such actions later on is also a part of it. The unthoughtful decisions and their impact affect the person’s self-image, and he starts thinking of himself as a loser.
Self Harm
As mentioned earlier, BPD sufferers, in extreme conditions, can even go for self-harming practices as well. Their shifting self-image can lead to a sense of self-pity, making them want to end their lives. Extreme self-harm can escalate into suicidal thoughts.
Suicidal thoughts mainly emerge from the never-ending fear of abandonment. The individuals feel hollow, and a sense of emptiness is constant. They are uncomfortable in social gatherings because they feel like no one is heartfelt. This leads to anger and frustration as nothing gives them pleasure or happiness anymore!
Anger Issues
Anger issues are common in PD sufferers. Their short temper and sudden outbursts of anger come from their perpetual feeling of being ignored or left out. They cannot control their emotions, leading to rage and anger. Such individuals are also always suspicious of others’ behaviors and intentions. They perceive that everyone is against them, making them feel lonely and perpetually angry.
What are the Causes of Borderline Personality Disorder?
“While there is no single cause for BPD, research suggests it results from a combination of genetic, environmental, and neurological factors. There is no single cause of the Borderline Personality Disorder. Instead, it is a culmination of various factors. Studies reveal that women are more prone to getting affected by this disorder when compared to men. While this disorder affects more women than men, it is not gender-specific and can impact anyone.
Individuals who experience trauma or unstable environments during childhood are more prone to this disorder. Unsupported parents or situations where they felt unvalidated, unstable family lives, and physical or emotional abuse can lead to the development of this mental illness. Loss of a parent early in life and lack of emotional support can also be considered to be its cause.
This mental disorder also has some genetic elements to it. There is an excellent probability that a parent with BPD will have an offspring that will suffer from the same disorder. This could also be due to the distressing environment or an unhealthy family life in which the offspring grows up. A stressful environment and traumatic events can indeed cause a lot of emotional damage to an individual and lead to this problem.
Alongside these causes, scientists also suggest that some specific brain chemicals can also be considered to be a cause of BPD. Chemicals that regulate the mood, at times, cannot function correctly. This leads to sudden changes in the working of the brain, leading to aggression, depression, extreme reactions and anger.
Can people with BPD lead fulfilling lives?
Definitely! People suffering from BPD can surely lead fulfilling lives. However, a proactive rather than a reactive approach is required for that. Though such individuals tend to have extreme issues in their relationships, can have intense mood swings and have perceptions of abandonment, they still are highly functioning individuals. With some therapy and mood stabilisers, they can indeed turn into normal individuals.
Therapies are highly effective for the sufferers of Borderline Personality Disorder. A combination of transference-focused psychotherapy, dialectical behavior therapy and general psychiatric management can help individuals get back on track by regulating their emotions in a better manner.
What is the prevalence of BPD in Pakistan?
Borderline Personality Disorder is quite prevalent in Pakistan. According to some surveys, as many as 18% of the population has some traits associated with BPD. However, the real problem is related to the stigma connected with mental disorders in Pakistan that don’t let the patients move towards proper treatment. If treated well, these patients can indeed turn into normal individuals, reducing the prevalence rate of BPD in Pakistan.
Is Borderline Personality Disorder Treatable in Pakistan?
Yes, BPD is treatable in Pakistan. There are experienced psychologists and psychiatrists working in Pakistan who help individuals with Borderline Personality Disorder and provide them with a path to recovery. The problem here could be access to these professionals. As discussed earlier, mental health problems are mostly considered a stigma in Pakistani society. This leads to significant challenges in seeking treatment.
In Pakistan, mental health professionals use a combination of various treatment elements to help BPD sufferers. These include psychotherapy, cognitive behavioural therapy and medication. With proper treatment and consistent sessions with professionals, they can surely improve their quality of life and have a stable lifestyle.
What are the consequences of untreated BPD?
Untreated BPD can lead to lots of complicated issues that may affect not only the sufferer of BPD but also the people connected to him. When untreated, this mental disorder can intensify and lead to depression and anxiety disorders, dysregulated eating and weight gain, chaotic personal relationships, estrangement from family members and even the loss of a job. This mental health disorder can eventually destroy the sufferer physically, emotionally and socially. Hence, it is necessary to rush to a psychologist as soon as the first signs of BPD are visible.
What is life like for someone with BPD?
A person with BPD is perpetually confused not only about himself but also about the people connected to him. He has a self-pitying behavior arising from persistent anxiety about being left behind. This leads to rocky relationships and inconsistent performance at the workplace. Impulsive behavior makes it difficult for the people associated with the sufferer to continue their relationships. Mood swings and immense negative emotions culminate into an unstable life overall.
What are the behaviors of Borderline Personality Disorder?
The behaviors associated with the Borderline Personality Disorder include:
- Impulsive reactions or decisions
- Depressive thoughts and anxiety
- Bipolar disorder and intense mood swings
- Self-harming
- Instability in relationships
- A perpetual feeling of abandonment
- Disconnection from others
- Paranoia
Difference Between Borderline Personality Disorder vs Bipolar
Though Borderline personality disorder (BPD) and bipolar disorder are both considered to be extreme mental health problems, some elements differ for both; for instance, in BPD, the mood swings are more sudden but short-lived when compared to those in Bipolar Disorder. Similarly, people with BPD tend to focus more on self-image issues compared to those with bipolar disorder. However, both these disorders affect the relationship of the sufferers with their loved ones negatively.
How does SehatYab provide you with a helping hand?
Sehatyab is an online platform that brings together the best psychologists and psychiatrists from all over Pakistan in one place. It provides an opportunity for the sufferers of mental health issues like Borderline Personality Disorder to connect with these mental health specialists and get themselves treated. What sets this platform apart from the regular opportunities for treatment is that it is a virtual system where the confidentiality of the patient is maintained.
Hence, patients concerned about the stigma of mental health disorders can take advantage of this platform with complete privacy.