Personality refers to the differences in characteristic patterns of thinking, feeling, and behaving that make us unique individuals. Characteristics of personality tend to remain consistent over time. A personality disorder is a way of thinking, feeling, and behaving that deviates from cultural norms, impairs healthy functioning, and remains constant over time. Individuals with personality disorders typically experience severe dysfunction in all areas of life, particularly in interpersonal relationships. Coping with borderline personality disorder can be difficult without the proper treatment. Harmony Hills is a mental health treatment provider offering various services, including borderline personality disorder treatment.
Borderline personality disorder, or BPD, is a severe mental health disorder that causes extreme difficulty regulating emotions, moods, and behaviors, leading to challenges in most areas of life. If you or your loved one suffers from BPD, it often feels like life is out of control. Luckily, BPD is treatable and usually gets better with age. Reach out to the team at Harmony Hills to learn about treatment options for BPD. Call 855.494.0357.
3 Tips for Coping with Borderline Personality Disorder
BPD can be difficult to manage without the proper care or coping techniques for borderline personality disorder. Some great tips for coping with BPD come from dialectical behavior therapy, developed by Marsha Linehan, who herself had BPD.
These three tips are borrowed from dialectical behavior therapy and can help in managing and coping with BPD:
- Mindfulness — Being aware of the present moment without judgment. This can help manage symptoms of BPD, such as intense negative thoughts and emotions.
- Distress tolerance — Managing a crisis (real or imagined) without worsening the situation and while accepting reality as it is. The ability to accept distress without trying to make it go away or blaming yourself for having it. This helps prevent impulsive behaviors, such as self-harm.
- Emotional regulation — Understanding and reducing vulnerability to emotions and changing emotions healthily. This helps improve self-esteem and manage outbursts of anger or sadness.
These tips are just a few of the many coping techniques for borderline personality disorder available to those struggling with this. If you or someone close to you needs help managing BPD, reach out to Harmony Hills’ mental health experts for a comprehensive treatment plan today.
Do You Need BPD Inpatient Treatment?
Many people who live with BPD describe it as an emotional rollercoaster. Individuals with BPD tend to be overly sensitive. Minor incidents can cause explosive reactions. Once triggered, it takes a long time to calm down. They say intentionally hurtful things and engage in risky or inappropriate behaviors. Once calm, they feel guilty or ashamed and are overly apologetic, but these feelings do not prevent future episodes. BPD creates a painful and confusing cycle for everyone, including friends and family. However, the good news is that with proper treatment, most people achieve complete remission.
Like many other mental health disorders, correctly diagnosing BPD can be complicated, especially with a dual diagnosis. Substance use disorders are common in individuals with BPD; many symptoms can overlap. The main distinguishing features of BPD are a fragile sense of self and irrational fear of abandonment. Other symptoms of BPD include:
- Impulsive, risk-taking, and self-sabotaging behaviors
- Self-harm or recurring threats of suicide
- Unstable and intense relationships often fraught with conflict
- Inappropriate, intense anger and inability to control anger
- Rapidly changing self-image and self-identity
- Paranoia or being out-of-touch with reality
Untreated BPD makes living a healthy and productive life very challenging. Individuals with BPD have problems at work, school, home, and virtually all their relationships. Their impulsive behavior can lead to injury and legal issues. If you suspect that you or a loved one suffers from BPD, do not wait to seek help from a BPD treatment center.
What Can a BPD Treatment Center Offer Me?
While untreated BPD can wreak havoc in the lives of everyone it touches, it is very responsive to treatment. However, effective treatment takes time, commitment, and patience. When indicated, borderline personality disorder treatment involves psychotherapy, behavior therapy, and medications.
Most people with BPD struggle to manage daily life routines, responsibilities, and stressors. Further, they may not have stable housing or finances. With BPD inpatient treatment, individuals have a safe and sound therapeutic living environment to focus on their treatment and recovery without the distractions of daily stressors. Three techniques offered in BPD inpatient treatment include:
- Interpersonal therapy—Structured, short-term treatment focused on interpersonal relationships and communication in the present. It aims to improve interpersonal functioning and social support.
- Family-focused therapy—Early sessions focus on education about the particular disorder and its impact on functioning. Later sessions focus on healing family conflict, improving communication, and developing problem-solving skills.
- Cognitive-behavioral therapy—CBT focuses on the relationship between thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. Teaches clients to identify negative thinking and challenges them to find healthier ways of thinking. It is in individual and group settings.
In inpatient treatment, individuals with BPD can practice newly learned skills in a supportive environment to receive instant feedback and redirection. Further, group therapy sessions and being part of a larger community will teach them to be accountable for their choices and behaviors.
Contact Harmony Hills for BPD Inpatient Treatment
At Harmony Hills, we understand that borderline personality disorder can feel like a scary diagnosis. Education about BPD is a critical treatment component and helps alleviate your fears. Through BPD inpatient treatment, you will learn the skills and tools to manage your BPD symptoms and regain control of your life. To learn more about how we can help, contact Harmony Hills at 855.494.0357.
