Do you often have unstable and yet intense personal relationships? Do you chronically feel empty? Or, do you fear abandonment? You might be experiencing Borderline Personality Disorder.
Borderline Personality Disorder is a treatable personality disorder that affects more females(about 75%). People with BPD, often view their relationships, moods, thinking, behaviors and even identity as unstable. People with BPD might often experience co-occurring disorders such as depression, substance abuse, eating disorders and anxiety disorders.
According to the DSM-5, following signs and symptoms might characterize BPD:
Frantic efforts to avoid real or imagined abandonment.
A pattern of unstable and intense interpersonal relationships alternating between extremes of idealization and devaluation
Identity disturbance: markedly and persistently 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
Affective instability due to a marked 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
Transient, stress-related paranoid ideation or severe dissociative symptoms
The median population prevalence of borderline personality disorder is estimated to be 1.6% but may be as high as 5.9%. The prevalence of borderline personality disorder is about 6% in primary care settings, about 10% among individuals seen in outpatient mental health clinics, and about 20% among psychiatric inpatients.
Source: Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition: DSM-5
Support groups are safe spaces structured to allow participants to share personal experiences, feelings, coping strategies and information about symptoms and treatments. The discussions often are facilitated by an experienced leader or a medical professional.
Support groups can allow us to make connections and find support knowing that no one is alone.
In addition, other benefits of participating in support groups include:
Reducing feelings of loneliness, isolation and stigma
Getting practical advice or information about how to reduce stress
Reducing distress, depression, anxiety or fatigue
Talking openly and honestly about your feelings
Gaining a sense of empowerment, control or hope
Learning about health, economic or social resources
Benefits of online support groups can include:
Faster time to get help, skipping appointment wait time
More frequent or flexible participation
A cost-effective way to see a licensed mental health professional
A degree of privacy or anonymity comparing to local community support groups
Opportunities for people in areas with no face-to-face support groups