#bpd info

[borderline-culture-is]

Not a "culture-is" but I feel like it's important. As someone with Quiet BPD an who grew up in an abusive environment, I wish I knew what Emotional Self Harm is and how to recover from it sooner. I still struggle with it today because I'd never heard about it until now.

This is sort of an informational ask, trying to reach the people who might be doing this. Emotional SH is real, it is real Self Harm. You are valid, just because people can't physically see your pain doesn't make it real. You're not harming yourself less than people who cut themselves, you deserve resources to heal too.

Emotional Self Harm looks like:

Punishing yourself by

Not eating food because you made a mistake/did something wrong

Not allowing yourself self care until a specific condition is met (ex. "I can't eat food until I brush my teeth first." when you don't have the energy to brush your teeth in the first place, so you never eat)

Calling yourself names like "selfish", "brat", "stupid" repeatedly after a mistake

Making yourself spiral into emotional distress after a mistake

And much more.

Here's a healthline article I found, sorry I can't imbed it on anon

https://www.healthline.com/health/emotional-self-harm#causes-and-risk-factors

No one talks about this. No one takes it seriously. It's genuine self harm. One of the (many) diagnostic criterias for BPD is the tendencies (not required, but common) is self harm. I never counted this for myself because I've never cut myself or burnt myself, but I've basically become my abuser.

It's hard to break free from self harm, but it is possible. The link provides ways you can reprogram the way you think about yourself.

From the article itself:

"Causing yourself intentional emotional distress is emotional self-harm. It can come in the form of harmful behaviors, self-criticism, and skewed self-perception.

However, you can change emotional self-harm behaviors. Psychotherapy can help identify underlying causes. It can teach you to recognize unhelpful thought patterns and how to shift them to beneficial ones."

I'm sending this with the hopes that someone will read this and realize they've been hurting themselves. If that's you, the reader right now, you're not alone and you're not 'unfixable'. There are ways to help, and if you have a good support system, tell them how they can help encourage you.

If you (mod) post this, thank you. If you don't, I understand, it's not really related to BPD at all. Thank you for taking the time to consider either way

- 🌌🐇

.

[v0idhound]

So one part of having BPD that i feel like most people neglect to talk about is how distorted our thinking is, and how it is often negative or just not based in reality

in psychology this is known as 'cognitive distortions' and while it isnt like, something ONLY people with BPD experience, its a big part of it.

A big one is black and white thinking. Seeing things as all bad or all good about yourself or others (even Things) For example - "If I am not brilliant, then I must be stupid"

Jumping to conclusions: Coming up with conclusions without any evidence. i.e thinking your loved ones hate you, when there is no evidence or people acting completely opposite to it. Assuming someone is mad if they aren't responding, etc

Overgeneralization is also something that i find myself guilty of doing. Often making broad generalizations based on limited evidence, examples: "This person couldn't hang out today. They never wanted to hang out with me" "I was awkward during that conversation. I'm always so awkward." etc etc

You can read more about it here:

Cognitive Distortions: Unhelpful Thinking Habits

We discuss common cognitive distortions, why we think in unhelpful ways, and the treatment of unhelpful thinking styles with CBT.

[psychresources]

Lay summary of academic literature (BPD)

What Works in the Treatment of Borderline Personality Disorder

(PDF)

SUMMARY: BPD used to be considered untreatable. However, new(ish) research has revealed that this is far from true. This paper reviews the major evidence-based treatments used for BPD.

NOTES:

(INTRODUCTION)

The five major treatments of BPD are dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), mentalization-based treatment (MBT), schema-focused therapy (SFT), transference-focused psychotherapy (TFP), and systems training for emotional predictability and problem solving (STEPPS). These have all been established as evidence based treatments for BPD.

Currently, no known psychopharmacologic (drug) treatment is used for BPD.

In many studies, these treatments have been compared to "treatment as usual" from expert clinicians who specialize in (or have general interest in) patients with BPD.

(SPECIALIZED EVIDENCE-BASED TREATMENTS FOR BPD)

DBT is the most well-known, well-researched, and widely available.

DBT functions by teaching the patient how to manage their symptoms by developing skills enhancing mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotional regulation, and relationship management.

DBT is very intense and time-intensive. This is one reason why doctors may use "DBT-informed" treatment instead of DBT itself.

Mentalization-based treatment (MBT) is based on increasing mentalization, which is the ability to recognize the relationship between internal thoughts/feelings and actions. MBT operates from the belief that poor mentalizing skills are what cause people with BPD to feel certain about others' motives and feel a need for proof of feelings through action.

MBT stabilizes these problems by teaching the patient how to mentalize under stress.

MBT supports patients through thinking through things themselves, instead of providing their own "prepackaged or intellectualized explanations".

Transference-focused psychotherapy (TFP) is a psychoanalytically-oriented therapy focuses on examining the patient's interpersonal dynamic and working towards a healthier relational mindset.

Schema-focused therapy (SFT) is a cognitive therapy that uses a combination of behavioral, cognitive, and experiential techniques to change the patient's personality.

SFT encourages an attachment between therapist and client.

SFT focuses on four "schema modes" of BPD: detached protector, punitive parent, abandoned/abused child, and angry/impulsive child.

[jealously-jonah]

Not my original post, but:

[hauntedselves]

Splitting in Personality Disorders

Splitting is often talked about in Borderline Personality Disorder, but it’s also a feature of other PDs as well.

Splitting refers to when something triggers a switch in a person with a PD’s view of something or someone. This thing or person can be anything or anyone, from loved ones to concepts to items to themselves.

Splitting is a psychological defense against contradiction: if someone is good they can’t be bad, and vice versa. For example, because of childhood abuse, a person sees their mother (their abuser) as entirely bad and their father as entirely good. This keeps them from having to realise that their father may have been complicit in their abuse as well, and that their mother had other factors in her life (usually having been abused as well) that influenced her decision to abuse.

BPD:

In BPD, splitting is between seeing someone or thing as either all-good or all-bad. The classic example is splitting on a loved one, so that at one moment the borderline will see them as perfect, and after the split they see them as a waste of time.

Examples of splitting in BPD:

I love you / I hate you

I’m loved / I’m hated

My relationships are safe and secure / You’re going to abandon me

I want to be part of you / I can’t stand to be close to you

You are perfect / You are worthless

I’m a good, passive person / I’m bad and too angry

NPD:

In NPD, splitting happens on themselves and their self-image. They see themselves as perfect to cover up the feeling of being imperfect. When they face shame, which they are very sensitive to, they split on themselves and go into a shame/depression spiral. Or they may split on an idealised person and devalue them.

Examples of splitting in NPD:

I’m perfect / I’m worthless

You’re superior to me / I’m superior to you

I deserve everything / I deserve nothing

You admire me / You look down on me

SZPD:

In SZPD, schizoids split on their relationships between themselves and others. They fear becoming too close to people, so they withdraw and isolate themselves. They fear that, in becoming close, they’ll lose their autonomy and independence. But they also want close relationships, because it helps them feel more connected.

Examples of splitting in SZPD:

I have no human needs / I want to be human

I don’t need relationships / I want to feel close to someone

I am a slave to others / I am of no use to anyone

I’m isolated but in control / Others are in control of me

If I let myself be close to people I’ll lose myself / If I isolate I’ll lose the ability to connect

I haven’t been able to find anything on splitting in the other PDs, but I think it’d be very interesting to see if other PDs experience similar things too!

Sources:

Borderline, Narcissistic, and Schizoid Adaptions: The Pursuit of Love, Admiration, and Safety by Elinor Greenberg (2016)

@.schizotaxic’s The Superiority Complex Defence Mechanism post

[bpd-posi]

[honey-mess]

[source] [source]

I just wanted to share some information that I discovered through some MedCircle videos, presented by clinical psychologist and professor, Dr. Ramani Durvasula, who sources Theodore Millon, leading researcher and theorist on personality disorders.

[bibbywolf]

BPD (Borderline Personality Disorder)

I’ve been going through a very severe bpd episode and thought I’d make a post with a lot of information about BPD

Information and Symptoms of BPD:

in-depth post about the symptoms

perceiving others emotions

Splitting

different kinds of splitting

FP info (Favorite Person):

What is an FP?

Info if you know someone with BPD:

info if you’re someones FP

Being a good FP

Helping your BPD pals