When you have a borderline personality disorder (BPD), everything about you feels unstable, including your emotions, relationships, goals, and even self-image. It’s like you are on a rollercoaster. It also makes you highly sensitive, with some people even describing it as having an open nerve ending.
When you have BPD, it becomes challenging for you to calm down once you are upset. With this kind of emotional unpredictability and instability, building lasting relationships with other people isn’t easy. It also leads to impulsive and sometimes reckless behavior. Continue reading to learn more about borderline personality disorder.
Causes of Borderline Personality Disorder
For starters, it is essential to mention that BPD is a mental disorder. But as with many other mental conditions, the leading causes of borderline personality disorder are not completely clear. However, certain factors are suspected to contribute significantly to this problem. For instance, it is believed that children with a history of neglect and abuse are likely to develop this disorder.
Some mental health experts also argue that BPD is linked to genetics. They claim that this personality disorder can be inherited or be strongly connected to other mental disorders in the family. Studies have also revealed that BPD can result from changes in certain parts of the brain that regulate emotions, impulsivity, and anger. It can also occur when certain brain chemicals that regulate moods fail to function normally.
Symptoms of Borderline Personality Disorder
- Borderline personality disorder hurts how you feel about yourself, how you interact with other people, and your overall behavior. Here are some common symptoms of BPD:
- Deep fear of abandonment, even taking extreme steps to prevent real or imagined rejection or neglect
- Frequent unstable forceful relationships, like idolizing people one moment and then suddenly feeling like they don’t care enough or are cruel
- Swift changes in self-esteem and self-identity, including changing life goals and values, viewing yourself as worthless or as if you no longer exist
- Constantly being paranoid and losing contact with reality, which can last for a few minutes or hours
- Impulsive and dangerous behavior, such as reckless driving, spending sprees, gambling, binge drinking and eating, drug abuse, and sabotaging success by resigning or walking out of a good relationship
- Suicidal threats and self-harm, especially in response to the fear of rejection
- Continuous feeling of emptiness
- Unnecessary, intense anger, like constantly losing your temper, being bitter, sarcastic, or engaging in physical fights
If you start to notice any of these symptoms in you or your loved one, talk to a mental health professional or medical doctor immediately. However, don’t try to force someone to seek help if they don’t want it.
