Borderline Personality Disorder Counseling

Brandon Wells, MS, LPCMilwaukee Counseling Services

What does Borderline Personality Disorder Look Like?

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) can significantly impact your ability to function in daily life. In addition, borderline personality disorder affects relationships in a significant way. BPD is a characterological disorder. How borderline personality disorder develops varies, person to person. It manifests due to past traumas, abuse, or extreme invalidating environments.

How Borderline Personality Disorder Feels

You might ask yourself, how do I know if I have a Borderline Personality? Is there a Borderline Personality test that can give me a quick answer? The short answer is no, an online test is a screening tool and can be helpful, but to get diagnosed, seeking a professional Therapist or Psychologist is imperative. Borderline personality disorder is often a misunderstood diagnosis. People do not fall neatly into the criteria for diagnosis. Typically, there is an intense fear of abandonment. You may have difficulty being alone. You may want a loving relationship to be stable, but your behaviors may push people away. This can be unsettling and frustrating.

The BPD Negative Feedback Loop

This can cause a negative feedback loop. First, you may bring someone toward you. Then when this person lets you down, you experience intense emotions and feelings of abandonment. This intense feeling may lead to damaging behavior, such as yelling, aggressiveness, or attacking. This behavior causes the other person to distance themselves from you. This distance causes pain. This cycle does not have to continue. Treatment for BPD is available and is effective with time, energy, and patience.

What are the symptoms of Borderline Personality Disorder?

Some common symptoms include but are not limited to:

self-harm(cutting, burning),
feeling empty, fears of abandonment,
a rollercoaster of emotions,
impulsive behaviors(drugs, spending sprees, unsafe sex)
constant insecurity in relationships
unstable self-image
dissociation(foggy, spaced out, or as if you are outside of your body)
feeling out of touch with reality

Some people have all these symptoms, while others may have a few. The critical thing to consider is how much dysfunction they can cause. Are these symptoms affecting your life, your relationships, or your work? If the symptoms of BPD are affecting your life, help is available.

A healthy couple in love, a person can have BPD and a healthy relationship

Why Borderline Personality Disorder is Misdiagnosed

Getting the proper diagnosis is essential because it will direct the right treatment for BPD. BPD often is improperly diagnosed in clients. This is because other disorders such as depression and anxiety will show up. They are usually a part of the constellation of conditions. The consensus treatment for BPD is Dialectical Behavioral Treatment or DBT. Dialectical Behavioral Treatment (DBT) is a stricter and more training retraining-focused form of cognitive-behavioral therapy. DBT therapists are trained in a specific way to treat BPD. They use a step-by-step approach to improve and build the client's skills to manage symptoms and causes of BPD.

Is Borderline Personality Disorder treatable?

One of the most common questions we hear is, "Can borderline personality disorder be cured?" Although BPD is not cured, there is treatment to help make symptoms less distressing, and symptoms may lesson so much that it is hardly noticeable. BPD was considered a disorder difficult or impossible to treat in the past. This is no longer true! A therapist that works with borderline personality disorder should have appropriate training, such as DBT training. Due to continued research, the outcomes and prognosis for recovery have improved.

Are Groups Effective in BPD Treatment?

Groups are helpful for many different issues. Groups are instrumental with clients that have borderline personality disorder. This is because of the relationships built within the group. There are local skills training groups at Shoreside Therapies in Whitefish Bay, WI. Unlike other mental health disorders, BPD can't be treated with medication. However, medication management can help the depression and anxiety that come with the diagnosis. Whether individual or in a group, therapy is the most effective treatment for Borderline Personality Disorder. You are not alone, and you deserve healthy, long-lasting, and loving relationships. Therapy can help you maintain and strengthen your relationships if you are interested in DBT group therapy or interested in our DBT therapists. You can reach out by setting up a free consult.