When Saturday Night Live’s writer and cast member, Pete Davidson, was diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), he used the opportunity to raise awareness. On the show’s segment, Weekend Update, Pete was interviewed about the challenges that BPD has introduced into his life and about how much therapy has helped him. He was honest and vulnerable and (of course!) funny. Pete encouraged the audience, “first of all, if you think you’re depressed, see a doctor and talk to them about medication, and also be healthy. Eating right and exercise can make a huge difference. And finally, if you are in the cast of a late-night comedy show, it might help, if they, ya know, do more of your sketches.” Having sketches performed on SNL is advice that probably will not help most people, but seeking help likely encouraged many people. Between 1 and 2 percent of adults in the United States have been diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder, and they understand the instability that BPD can cause. Balance, however, may be restored through therapy. Many people who seek help for BPD have found the support they needed to regain equilibrium in their lives.
The therapists at Thriveworks Counseling in Wilmington, NC are taking clients for Borderline Personality Disorder. If you are looking for a Borderline Personality Disorder Therapist, you’ve come. to the right place. Our mental health professionals have helped many people manage their symptoms and receive the support they needed to establish stability in their lives.
Borderline Personality Disorder: Symptoms
“This heart of mine has just two setting: nothing at all or too much.
There is no in between.”
—Beau Taplin
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) classifies mental illnesses into groups, and BPD belongs to the category of personality disorder. There are ten different personality disorders, all of which are distinguished by a particular maladaptive behavior pattern. Borderline Personality Disorder’s behavior partner is instability. BPD can cause people to have a volatile feelings, identity, and relationships. That instability can show up through signs and symptoms such as…
- Experiencing a deep-seated and ever-present fear of abandonment.
- Belligerence: angry explosions, bitterness, sarcasm, easily losing one’s temper, being quarrelsome, and more.
- A history of fractured relationships. Often, people with BPD greatly admire people they first enter into a relationship with, and then, when expectations are not met, they can turn on others easily.
- Fluctuating between identities: changing goals, perceptions, values, and more.
- Hopping between different emotions quickly: euphoria to irritability to joy to anxiety to anger and so forth.
- Living with times of paranoia—the inability to distinguish what is real for minutes to hours at a time.
- Having difficulty accepting any kind of criticism or negative feedback, even that which is given appropriately and constructively.
- Attempting suicide, self-harm, suicide ideation, threatening harm to oneself (particularly when faced with rejection or criticism).
- Feeling as if one is hollow and empty.
- Taking unnecessary and poorly calculated risks that can injure oneself or others: engaging in unsafe sex, drug abuse, gambling without restraint, reckless driving, and more.
A quick look at these signs and symptoms shows the harm that BPD can cause to an individual’s life. Unfortunately, Borderline Personality Disorder can also increase an individual’s risk for other challenges, such as eating disorders, depression, addiction, self-harm, and substance abuse.
The Development of BPD
Mental health professionals are not entirely sure why some people develop Borderline Personality Disorder, but others do not. Almost 2 percent of people in the United States are suffering from BPD, and certain circumstances may raise people’s risk for developing it, risk factors like…
- A genetic history of mental health challenges, especially BPD.
- Living through neglect or abuse (physical, emotional, and/or sexual) as a child, particularly if it was perpetrated by a parent or caregiver.
- A smaller than average hippocampus (area of the brain responsible for stress response and emotional regulation).
- As a child, experiencing the death of a caregiver or parent.
Intervention for BPD
The instability that BPD can bring into an individual’s life can be destructive, but it can also be mitigated. Many people with BPD have greatly benefitted from the structure and support treatment brought into their lives. In particular, Dialectical Behavior Therapy was developed specifically for BPD. It teaches people important skills like…
- Mindfulness is the practice of paying attention. People sense and feel and think constantly, but they are not always aware of this. Mindfulness teaches people to notice what is happening to them and within them.
- Emotional regulation takes what one observes through mindfulness and responds to it in a healthy. That way, people remain in control of themselves even when their thoughts, feelings, and sensations feel out of control.
- Distress tolerance gives people the skills to handle the more difficult aspects of life. Everyone experiences setbacks, struggles, challenges, and obstacles, and distress tolerance helps people build their resiliency for these situations.
- Interpersonal effectiveness focuses upon helping people build effective relationships in a variety of capacities—at the office, in the community, at home, as a parent, as a romantic partner, as a son or daughter, and so forth.
Setting Up Appointments for Borderline Personality Disorder at Thriveworks in Wilmington, NC
Thriveworks Counseling in Wilmington, NC has appointments for BPD available. If you are looking for a therapist or psychologist in Wilmington, NC, give us a call. When you call our office, our scheduling specialists will answer (not a voicemail), and help you make an appointment. We offer evening and weekend sessions. New clients often meet with their therapist within 24 hours. We also accept many different insurance plans. Let’s get started. Call our office today.
