“Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is disorder marred by unstable moods, emotions and relationships”
-Google Search
It is a very common disorder and is most often in adults aged 18-60. The problem that many people face with BPD is that it is a chronic disorder which can only be managed but not cured. You will have to learn to manage and control the symptoms without the help of any medicines. Therapy may help but all in all, it will be a battle of you against your mind. The most well-known attribute with BPD is the co-existence of another mental disorder which mostly is depression, anxiety or manic. It is a comparatively newly termed mental illness. It found its first mention only in 1980 in DSM III. Before this it was known Emotionally Unstable Personality Disorder (EUPD).

BPD & Me.

I haven’t been diagnosed with BPD but I have been told that I have some of its traits. A history of self-harm, suicidal tendencies in the past, a very strict moral standard and tendency to try and see everything in black and white. I have been in control of it very well but there are days at times where I lose control and end up doing something I regret. It happens much less frequently now. I try and be a more cheerful guy. Then again, there are days when the inner personality surfaces and I end up harming either someone else or myself. It is somewhat like longing for a human connection, human touch but then when it does arrive, every single cell in our body is bent on pushing it away. It is hating yourself for what you are and being self destructive at the same time.

Positives of BPD

There are rarely any good sides to having a mental illness. This is not an attempt to glorify it or to romanticize it. This is looking at the positive side of something to feel better. It might make people feel that tinier bit more self-confident. A person with BPD would be very passionate and intense about something that interests them. If we find something we like, we must give it everything we have to know all tiny details about it. We must obsess over them, no matter what the cost. It is a small ray of sunshine in the roller-coaster that BPD is and there are thousands of people globally riding the ride daily.

Public Opinions.

Like most mental illnesses, BPD is often seen as an excuse for being sensitive and aggressive. It is shrugged off as another psychological jargon with little evidence or support. People unfortunately choose to ignore all the overwhelming evidence in support of existence of BPD. It is very common to hear people saying that people are being given a label rather than being helped. I understand that point of view. I personally think that we need to know what we are fighting in order to fight it. If we go into battle against an unknown, immeasurable force; we would find it hard to fight.
If a person is diagnosed with BPD, it is likely that they would try and understand it better online. There they will see a barrage of terms like ‘excuse’, ‘weakness’, ‘attention-seeking’, ‘victimisation’ and so many more.
I understand why people find it tough to understand this illness. We all have mood swings. One moment we are happy and the next we feel sad. BPD is much more than that. It is having the (dis)ability to go from one extreme emotion to the next in a matter of seconds. This may be triggered by a word, action or phrase. It could also be triggered by a thought in our mind or something someone said. People suffering from it need support and belief. It will not be easy to stand by someone with BPD but for the sufferer, it would be the world.
Rajeev visited a psychiatrist for the first time today. He didn’t know what the doctor would do. Never before had he visited someone, he considered the Loony Doctor. Is there some secret chant that all psychiatrists have to cure mental illnesses? Do they have miracle drugs that manufacture happiness? What is so special about a psychiatrist? Find out tomorrow on knightofsteel.com