Borderline Personality Disorder For Dummies - Cheat Sheet
From Borderline Personality Disorder For Dummies by Charles H. Elliott, PhD, Laura L. Smith, PhD
To be formally diagnosed with borderline personality disorder (BPD), a person must show frequent signs of at least five out of nine symptoms of BDP. Manage your BDP by understanding various treatment options, and if you know someone with borderline personality disorder, consider ways you can help him or her cope.
The Symptoms of Borderline Personality Disorder
Diagnosing borderline personality disorder (BDP) is complex, even trained mental health professionals may have difficulty with the diagnosis because the symptoms of BDP can vary dramatically between people. A range of BDP symptoms exist and are grouped into nine categories. To be diagnosed with BDP you must exhibit frequently at least five of these nine symptoms:
Don’t despair if you’re diagnosed with borderline personality disorder (BDP). Seeking help and finding the right treatment can be effective. Keep these things in mind about BDP:
It can be difficult to deal with a friend or loved one who has borderline personality disorder (BDP). Use these tips to handle tough times and help maintain a safe environment:
People with borderline personality disorder (BPD) usually exhibit behaviors, feelings and thoughts in drastic forms. Try these things to help you manage impulsive behavior and extreme thinking when dealing with BDP:
Slowing down impulsiveness:
---------- Post added at 12:42 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:07 AM ----------
From the first chapter
of Borderline Personality Disorder For Dummies:
If you have BPD, you don’t want to seek just any psychotherapy because many approaches to psychotherapy haven’t proved effective for this particular diagnosis. Instead, you want to obtain therapy based on strategies that have generated at least some empirical support for their efficacy in treating BPD.
As of this writing, the psychotherapies with at least preliminary support for their effectiveness in treating BPD include the following (see Chapter 11 for more information about each of these therapies):
✓ Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT)
✓ Mentalization-based therapy (MBT)
✓ Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)
✓ Transference-focused psychotherapy (TFP)
✓ Schema therapy (ST)
Researchers have developed some of these therapies, such as DBT, specifically with BPD in mind. They’ve also modified some other traditional therapeutic approaches, such as CBT, to enhance their applications to BPD. After reviewing these approaches, we didn’t find anything inherently incompatible among them. In fact, we’ve been struck by how they overlap more than by how they diverge.
From Borderline Personality Disorder For Dummies by Charles H. Elliott, PhD, Laura L. Smith, PhD
To be formally diagnosed with borderline personality disorder (BPD), a person must show frequent signs of at least five out of nine symptoms of BDP. Manage your BDP by understanding various treatment options, and if you know someone with borderline personality disorder, consider ways you can help him or her cope.
The Symptoms of Borderline Personality Disorder
Diagnosing borderline personality disorder (BDP) is complex, even trained mental health professionals may have difficulty with the diagnosis because the symptoms of BDP can vary dramatically between people. A range of BDP symptoms exist and are grouped into nine categories. To be diagnosed with BDP you must exhibit frequently at least five of these nine symptoms:
- [*=1]Intense worries about abandonment and strong efforts to avoid it[*=1]Unpredictable, rocky relationships[*=1]Uncertainty about self-identity[*=1]Reckless, risky behaviors[*=1]Self-harming behaviors[*=1]Highly volatile emotions[*=1]Profound feelings of hollowness or emptiness[*=1]Easily provoked rage[*=1]Short-term flights from reality
Don’t despair if you’re diagnosed with borderline personality disorder (BDP). Seeking help and finding the right treatment can be effective. Keep these things in mind about BDP:
- [*=1]Remember that BPD doesn’t define who you are. Try to view your symptoms as your BPD at work — not you.[*=1]If you have BPD, realize that you have lots of company. Many millions of people have the same problem.[*=1]Understand that treatment for BPD works, but it does take time and effort.[*=1]Don’t rely on medications alone for help with your BPD problems — they won’t suffice.[*=1]Know that other problems, such as anxiety, depression, and substance abuse, often accompany BPD. These problems may require specific treatment in addition to the treatment you receive for BPD.[*=1]Try to realize that your therapist is on your side. Your fears of abandonment may cause you to push your therapist away — try to resist.
It can be difficult to deal with a friend or loved one who has borderline personality disorder (BDP). Use these tips to handle tough times and help maintain a safe environment:
- [*=1]Read as much as you can about BPD — knowing about the disorder helps you deal with it.[*=1]If you live with someone who has BPD, join a support group or consider therapy for yourself to help you deal with the issues you face.[*=1]Understand that BPD behaviors aren’t about you. Try to depersonalize what’s happening.[*=1]Even if you understand BPD behaviors, you need to know your own limits and stick by them — don’t ever allow yourself to be abused.[*=1]Understand your loved one’s hot buttons and try not to push them — yet know that you won’t always succeed.[*=1]Realize that sometimes the only thing you can do is leave the relationship when your loved one repeatedly runs over your limits or when your loved one refuses treatment.
People with borderline personality disorder (BPD) usually exhibit behaviors, feelings and thoughts in drastic forms. Try these things to help you manage impulsive behavior and extreme thinking when dealing with BDP:
Slowing down impulsiveness:
- [*=1]When a question or comment upsets you, wait at least five seconds before responding and repeat “calm down” in your mind several times first.[*=1]When you feel a strong impulse, remind yourself that taking action at those times usually results in bad outcomes.[*=1]Discuss with your therapist any new, big plans you might have for your life before taking action.[*=1]Practice breathing exercises often.
- [*=1]When you have a hot thought, ask yourself how a friend may look at the same issue differently.[*=1]When your thoughts are strong and extreme, ask yourself how you may view the triggering event six months down the road and notice the difference.[*=1]Remember that extreme words and phrases such as always, never, can’t stand it, awful, and horrible are almost always inaccurate. Try to find the shades of gray.
---------- Post added at 12:42 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:07 AM ----------
From the first chapter
of Borderline Personality Disorder For Dummies:If you have BPD, you don’t want to seek just any psychotherapy because many approaches to psychotherapy haven’t proved effective for this particular diagnosis. Instead, you want to obtain therapy based on strategies that have generated at least some empirical support for their efficacy in treating BPD.
As of this writing, the psychotherapies with at least preliminary support for their effectiveness in treating BPD include the following (see Chapter 11 for more information about each of these therapies):
✓ Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT)
✓ Mentalization-based therapy (MBT)
✓ Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)
✓ Transference-focused psychotherapy (TFP)
✓ Schema therapy (ST)
Researchers have developed some of these therapies, such as DBT, specifically with BPD in mind. They’ve also modified some other traditional therapeutic approaches, such as CBT, to enhance their applications to BPD. After reviewing these approaches, we didn’t find anything inherently incompatible among them. In fact, we’ve been struck by how they overlap more than by how they diverge.
