Symptoms of Borderline Personality Disorder

Individuals with BPD commonly experience fear of abandonment. People with this condition often feel empty inside, and they may feel lost if they do not have someone to care for them. They may get angry and fearful if they feel they are about to be abandoned, reacting strongly and disproportionately if someone shows up to meet them a few minutes late or cancels plans.

BPD can make people take these things personally. For example, if someone cancels plans, they may believe that the other person is rejecting them personally. While they can genuinely care for another person, they have high expectations of how others should behave, and their feelings toward their relationships may fluctuate intensely.

BPD can cause people to have a black-and-white view of their relationships, believing that each one is either wonderful or doomed. Combined with a fear of abandonment, this view can lead to a variety of erratic behaviors that can affect their relationships, like texting constantly, calling in the middle of the night, and threatening self-harm or suicide if the relationship ends.

Some people with BPD may alternate between begging their partner not to leave and pushing them away, depending on how they perceive the relationship at the moment. This type of behavior can be difficult for others to cope with, which can make it challenging for someone with BPD to maintain a long-term relationship.

A distorted self-image or sense of self can be common with BDS, which can make it difficult to find a sense of direction. They may feel good about themselves at times and hate themselves at others. Because they do not have a clear idea of who they are, people with BPD may change friends, lovers, and even their sexual identity frequently. They may change jobs, religions, and goals quickly as they do not have a strong sense of who they are.

Research has found that there is a strong association between BPD and impulsivity.

People with this personality disorder may engage in dangerous, impulsive behaviors, like having unsafe sex, spending large amounts of money, and driving recklessly. They are also at risk for substance abuse, binge eating, self-mutilation, and self-injury.

Self-harm is one example of impulsive behaviors that people with BPD may experience. People may engage in self-harm for various reasons. They may be trying to make themselves feel something, release strong feelings, or gain a sense of control.  These behaviors can pose serious health risks, including infections and permanent scarring.

People with BPD are prone to mood swings of emotional instability. They may feel various intense negative emotions, like shame, rage, panic, or sorry, and commonly feel full of despair and then positive a few hours later. These mood swings can be triggered by various things, like stress or negative memories, and they can be challenging to manage.

In BPD, chronic feelings of emptiness have been linked to impulsivity and self-harm. People with this mental health condition report feeling numb, like sitting in a dark room; others have described this emptiness as not feeling like a person or feeling like an observer in their life instead of a participant. They may feel unfulfilled or purposeless, and these feelings can last a long time and be difficult to alleviate. These feelings can lead to restlessness and impact motivation, which can significantly affect overall well-being.

People with BPD can have a difficult time controlling their anger and can suddenly become intensely and inappropriately angry. They may direct their anger at their partners, family members, or close friends, engaging in angry rants, excessive sarcasm, and extreme bitterness. After their outbursts, they may feel guilty or ashamed, but these anger episodes can severely affect their relationships.

Paranoid thoughts and dissociative symptoms can also occur in BPD, generally during periods of intense stress. These symptoms are described as transient and stress-related in the DSM-5. Paranoid thoughts in BPD are considered non-delusional. They generally involve distrusting others and believing that others intend to cause harm, but they do not have a distorted view of reality, which distinguishes this type of paranoia from the type that people with schizophrenia may experience. For example, someone with BPD may see two people whispering across the room and believe that they are talking about them.

Dissociative symptoms can also occur in people with BPD and can include hallucinations and amnesia. They may also experience depersonalization, where they feel disconnected from themselves, or derealization, where they feel disconnected from the external world.

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, people with BPD who don't receive adequate treatment are at an increased risk of developing other chronic physical or mental illnesses. If you feel that you may be experiencing symptoms of BPD or if you have friends and family members who are asking you to get help, talk to your doctor or reach out to a mental health professional for support.

If you are thinking about harming yourself, seek emergency help.

Treatment for BPD generally consists of talk therapy and, in some cases, medication. If you are experiencing symptoms of BPD or supporting a loved one with BPD, seeking help as soon as possible can lead to symptom improvement and more stable relationships. Treatment can help people with BPD learn to manage their condition and have a stable, more fulfilling life.