If any of this sounds familiar to you and is more than just a passing feeling, you may be struggling with borderline personality disorder (BPD). BPD is a complex mental health condition characterized by difficulties with emotion and self-image, unstable personal relationships, and impulsive behaviors.
What Does BPD Look Like?
- Difficulty regulating emotions
- Extreme anger, anxiety, and depression
- Engaging in compulsive, and often dangerous, behaviors, including substance abuse, binge eating, and self-harmful behaviors
- Paranoia or dissociation
- Tumultuous relationships
- Frantic attempts to avoid abandonment, both real and imagined
Best Therapy for BPD
Living with untreated BPD may result in serious adverse consequences. Individuals with BPD are at an increased risk for self-mutilation, suicide, and violent behavior. If left untreated, the symptoms may even worsen the presence of other mental or physical health problems. There has been considerable progress in the last decade both in understanding and treating BPD, and at our BPD residential treatment centers, we use the most successful and proven borderline personality disorder treatment methods.
It’s widely known that the best therapy for BPD is dialectical behavior therapy (DBT). Other types of therapies that we utilize at our borderline personality treatment center include acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), and mindfulness.
Treatment Options
Research shows that residential borderline personality disorder treatment can help individuals with BPD experience a dramatic decrease in the severity of their anxiety, depression, and suicide attempts. Borderline personality treatment can also help clients improve their interpersonal relationships and have a better handle on their emotions.
Clearview offers multiple borderline personality disorder treatment programs, including our Women’s Mental Health program and multiple outpatient treatment programs, to give each client the best chance for a successful recovery. Utilizing world-renowned treatment methods, our compassionate staff helps our clients build the skills necessary to sustain their long-term health and thrive.
Borderline Personality Disorder FAQs
The most important thing to remember if you’re suffering from borderline personality disorder is that it’s not your fault. Research from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) suggests the exact causes of BPD remain unknown, though both environmental and biological factors are thought to play a role. No specific gene has been shown to directly cause BPD, but various genes have been identified as playing a role in its development. The brain’s functioning, seen in MRI testing, is often different in people with BPD, suggesting a neurological basis for the disorder.
Self-injurious behavior on its own doesn’t lead to suicide. However, people diagnosed with borderline personality disorder may engage in a variety of life-threatening behaviors. These include burning and cutting to help express or regulate emotions, or as a form of self-punishment. If you or someone you know is causing self-inflicted harm, it’s vital to seek borderline personality disorder treatment immediately.
The American Journal of Psychiatry reports that while borderline personality disorder is a serious mental illness, it’s by no means a life sentence. Research has shown that the prognosis for BPD has improved over the past decade. With proper BPD treatment, almost half of those diagnosed with BPD will not meet the criteria for diagnosis just two years later. Ten years later, 88% of people who were once diagnosed with BPD no longer meet criteria for a diagnosis. With the right kind of treatment at BPD residential treatment centers, including the best therapy for BPD, your symptoms can improve, too.
Common symptoms of BPD include intense fear of abandonment, unstable relationships, impulsive behaviors, self-harm or suicidal behaviors, mood swings, chronic feelings of emptiness, difficulty controlling anger, and severe dissociation or paranoia in response to stress.
BPD can make daily life challenging due to emotional instability and intense mood swings. Relationships may become volatile, and individuals might struggle with maintaining employment or responsibilities. Difficulty regulating emotions can lead to impulsive behaviors, self-harm, and frequent crises that impact personal and professional life.
Untreated BPD can lead to ongoing emotional turmoil, worsening symptoms, and an increased risk of self-harm or suicide. Relationships may continue to be strained, and substance abuse or other harmful behaviors could develop. Early intervention with treatment can greatly improve long-term outcomes.