Learning About Borderline Personality Disorder

A visitor to our office today led me to write this post. The visitor was a woman who recently was diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), a serious mental illness that affects the person's mood, relationships and self-image. She had stopped by to see if we had any books or videos so could learn more about this condition and how to recover from it.

First, let me say what a great approach that is--good for her! If you have diabetes, for example, you are more likely to be healthy if you learn all you can about managing diabetes. Same goes for mental illnesses. Second, it turns out that May is "Borderline Personality Disorder Awareness Month," so I decided the timing was good to share some of the info I found.

A significant part of what we do at MHA is to connect people with resources for education and support. It is for this reason that we maintain a free lending library of books and videos on a variety of mental health and mental illness topics. Ordinarily, I would have referred my visitor to that resource to answer her question. Regrettably, we do not have any current materials on BPD and this has been an area where there has been a lot of research conducted in recent years. So I spent a few minutes pulling up resources that might help in her quest to educate herself about BPD:

1. Books About Borderline Personality: I was surprised just how many books have been written in the last few years. Since I haven't read them myself, I am not making any recommendations, but I thought the list might be a useful starting point for someone, like our visitor, who is eager to learn more about BPD. Our visitor plans to take the list to the library to see what they have, or to ask for inter-library loan.
This link will take you to our Amazon.Com online store which pays us a small commission if you make a purchase. Any comments and reviews are welcome. We would love to have reader feedback on which books are helpful so we can pass those recommendations along to others.
2. Causes of BPD Studies using brain scans show that people with BPD have an impairment of the limbic system, which helps us regulate our emotions. Understanding how the brain functions in people with BPD can lead to better therapy and treatment.
3. Therapy for BPD: Therapies like DBT (dilectical behavioral therapy), which Moundbuilders Guidance Center offers, are effective for many people affected by Borderline. DBT trains people to identify and regulate their reactions. Actually, DBT strategies are great for you, me and anyone. But the fact that DBT is effective for people with BPD was considered a breakthrough in the therapeutic world.
4. Participating in BPD Research: If you are a family member of someone who experiences BPD and would like to participate in research by viewing videos on-line and filling out questionnaires, click here.
5. Myths About Borderline Personality Disorder: Erin Johnston, LCSW, a former BPD guide at About.Com, compiled a list of myths about BPD that are worth a look. Johnston writes about several misconceptions, including that BPD is difficult or impossible to treat. Not true. A 2003 study showed that 6 years following the study (typically involving people who had multiple and continuing treatments), almost 70% of the people in the study met the criteria for remission from BPD.

Speaking of myths, here's a quotation from an article (originally from NPR's website) written by Kathleen Masterson:

Up until now, cutting has been categorized as a symptom of borderline personality disorder — an illness marked by unstable moods, impulsive actions and chaotic relationships. The problem is, the majority of those who cut don't have borderline personality disorder. And under the current diagnostic guidelines, sometimes a doctor who first sees the patient, say in the ER, might confuse cutting with a suicide attempt.

The act of cutting, burning and other forms of self-injury is difficult to comprehend for people who haven't experienced it. While a serious symptom, it's highly treatable. As with symptoms of most illnesses (whether arthritis or BPD) the earlier the treatment, the better.

--Judith Allee

Parent Support Coordinator