BPD. Have you heard of that acronym before? If you haven’t your about to find out all about it by the time you finish reading this post. If you are a person who doesn’t think mental health is important, this isn’t the blog for you. Kindly exit stage left. 👈🏽✌🏽
If you are seeing this, I assume you agree with me and feel mental health is very important. Good for you, you decent human bean! 👏🏽 If you have heard of BPD, that’ll make this probably relatable to you in one way or another. If you haven’t, you’ll take something away from this. Now, buckle up and let’s jump on this BPD ride. Warning, it’s gonna get bumpy so hold on to your seat!🪑
BPD stands for Borderline Personality Disorder. Mayo Clinic says it’s “a mental disorder characterized by unstable moods, behavior, and relationships. The cause of borderline personality disorder isn’t well understood. Diagnosis is made based on symptoms. Symptoms include emotional instability, feelings of worthlessness, insecurity, impulsivity, and impaired social relationships. Treatments include talk therapy or, in some cases, medications. Hospitalization helps if symptoms are severe”.
Sound familiar? Do you or someone you know have BPD? Or maybe have some of these symptoms but don’t have an official diagnosis? There are more than three million cases per year. That is a high number and I feel like more people need to be aware of BPD and how it effects those who have it. 🗣️📢
According to Mayo Clinic, a person who has BPD may have these symptoms:
- An intense fear of abandonment, even going to extreme measures to avoid real or imagined separation or rejection
- A pattern of unstable intense relationships, such as idealizing someone one moment and then suddenly believing the person doesn’t care enough or is cruel
- Rapid changes in self-identity and self-image that include shifting goals and values, and seeing yourself as bad or as if you don’t exist at all
- Periods of stress-related paranoia and loss of contact with reality, lasting from a few minutes to a few hours
- Impulsive and risky behavior, such as gambling, reckless driving, unsafe sex, spending sprees, binge eating or drug abuse, or sabotaging success by suddenly quitting a good job or ending a positive relationship
- Suicidal threats or behavior or self-injury, often in response to fear of separation or rejection
- Wide mood swings lasting from a few hours to a few days, which can include intense happiness, irritability, shame or anxiety
- Ongoing feelings of emptiness
- Inappropriate, intense anger, such as frequently losing your temper, being sarcastic or bitter, or having physical fights
Like my PCOS, the cause of BPD isn’t fully understood. Health professionals feel BPD could be genetic. Or the person has a bran normality in which certain areas of the brain or some of the brain chemicals show changes and may not function properly.
I’ve spent hours over the weekend looking at different websites and learning about BPD specifically for this post. I feel like I still don’t know enough and will continue educating myself on it….Why would I do that? You might be asking yourself. That is a great question and I have a great answer:
I, myself, do not have BPD. However, my best friend does. In order to keep her as my best friend, I will do whatever it takes to make her life easier and to understand what shes going through. I will help in any way I can!👭
My best friend and I have been friends since kindergarten. That’s a really long time. We are practically sisters now. We have been through a ton together and it hasn’t always been sunshine and butterflies. That’s totally okay because it’s been over twenty years and we are still best friends. We always work through our shit. 😍👌🏽
One of the reasons we’ve been able to work through everything is because of her willingness to share her diagnosis with me; and my ability to try and understand it the best I can. It hasn’t been easy, but it’s worth it. Over and over, it’ll be worth it. Sometimes, I try to help and no matter what, I can’t find the right words to say. For me being a writer, that is hard. I question myself like “creator of words into books, how can you not find the right words to use to make her feel better?”🥴😂 It’s tough because I don’t think or feel how she does. It’s also tough because when she’s hurting, I’m hurting too. I don’t like seeing my sister hurt or not being able to take away the pain.🥺
I am obviously not a doctor or therapist, but there are many ways I can help her. I can always listen to her, reassure her, support her, encourage her, accept her, educate myself on BPD and most importantly LOVE HER. With BPD, feeling wanted or loved is always in question. Even though she knows I love her, I have no problem reassuring her as many times as she needs. No matter how challenging our relationship gets, I’ll never stop trying to help her because she won’t ever stop trying to be better for herself. She loves strong and loves hard and supports me in my PCOS journey. It’s only right, that I do the same.
This post wasn’t just to educate all of those who don’t know about BPD (although it’s a big factor in my reasoning) , it’s also to show her I see her and I’m right there with her.❤️
To my best friend, my sister: You are not alone. Even when things feel bad, dark, and scary let me be your light. I will always be there for you no matter what. You are doing great taking control and not letting BPD define who you are. I am so proud of you for all that you’ve done and are still doing right now. I am so excited to see your future because it’s oh so bright! I love you more than words can say. (see, there I go again, not being able to find the words to use LOL😂😂🥴)
If you or someone you know has BPD or any mental illness, seeking help is NOT a sign of weakness, but your strength to take control of your life. If you ever need someone to talk to, feel free to reach out. Although I’m no medical professional, I am a damn good listener.
That’s all for this Mental Health Monday. Be easy, stay blessed, and WASH YO HANDS!!🗣️📢👌🏽✌🏽
❤️Jessica.
For the purpose of this post I used information from this website. The definitions and facts related directly to BPD are from Mayo Clinic and not myself. htps://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/borderline-personality-disorder/symptoms-causes/syc-20370237
Avoiding the Backspace 