Treatment of borderline personality disorder and how to live with it

Medical articles

Treatment of borderline personality disorder and how to live with it

Medical articles

Reviewed by: Dr. Ahmed Al-Muzaffar, psychiatry consultant

Borderline personality disorder affects a person's life and his social and personal relationships due to difficulty controlling emotions and emotions. The patient is characterized by instability in relationships as well as severe and rapid mood swings. In this article, we will provide information on how to treat personality disorder at Al Mousa Specialist Hospital and tips for living with it.

What is borderline personality disorder

It is one of the complex mental disorders that affects the way the patient thinks and feels about himself and others, leading to the emergence of a group of symptoms that affect the patient’s daily life and his relationships with others.

Borderline personality types

Borderline personality disorder has been classified into 4 subtypes, each with distinct characteristics, as follows:

The frustrated or quiet borderline personality. This personality is characterized by dependence and extreme clinging to others, and at the same time avoids them, as they fear loneliness and abandonment. They also tend to suppress feelings of anger and blame themselves, and they feel lonely and empty most of the time.
The borderline-impulsive personality is a personality full of activity but characterized by reckless behavior, making decisions without thinking, difficulty in self-control, and aggressive behaviors, such as hitting, smashing, and screaming, as well as chaos.
The aggressive borderline personality is characterized by extreme emotionality, rebelliousness, negativity, stubbornness, and pessimism. They always feel angry and worthless, and may harm themselves to attract attention.
The self-destructive borderline personality is a self-loathing personality whose behaviors tend toward self-harm, such as drug abuse, reckless driving, self-burning, or hitting and scratching.

Causes of borderline personality disorder

Until now, the exact cause of borderline personality disorder is not known, but it is due to a combination of genetic, environmental and psychological factors, including:

Genetic factors and family history.
Environmental factors include exposure to psychological trauma in childhood, such as physical or sexual abuse or neglect, as well as exposure to an unstable environment that leads to difficulty regulating emotions and developing healthy relationships.
Psychological factors, such as difficulty regulating emotions and controlling impulses, or the person has an unstable self-image and difficulty maintaining healthy relationships.
Changes in the brain, differences in the structure of the brain in certain areas that affect the ability to control emotions, impulsivity, and aggression.

Symptoms of borderline personality disorder

Borderline personality disorder is characterized by a wide range of symptoms affecting feelings, behavior, and relationships, which are as follows:

Instability in relationships, and extreme fluctuations from strongly liking others to hating them.
Extreme fear of abandonment, and taking desperate measures to avoid abandonment, such as clinging to others or staying away from them.
The extreme view of others as either being absolutely perfect or completely bad, and not seeing the gray areas.
Feeling disconnected from reality, as if they are watching their lives from the outside.
Unstable self-image, feeling unsure about their identity, values and goals.
A tendency to self-harm, such as cutting or burning themselves, or threatening suicide and attempting suicide.
Frequent changes in goals and values, and difficulty maintaining a consistent path in life.
Chronically feeling a deep inner emptiness, and resorting to reckless behaviors to fill this emptiness.
Engaging in reckless behaviors, such as reckless driving, excessive spending, drug use, or unprotected sex.
Rapid and severe mood swings, shifting from happiness to sadness or anger within minutes or hours.
Intense and inappropriate anger, and difficulty controlling anger.
Chronic feeling of depression.
Experiencing temporary psychotic symptoms, such as hallucinations or delusions, especially during times of extreme stress.

Your guide to understanding Personality disorders And its symptoms

How is borderline personality disorder diagnosed?

Borderline personality disorder must be diagnosed by a qualified mental health doctor, and the Rafah Mental Health Center is one of the most important leading centers for psychological care in the region, and includes a group of the best doctors to diagnose mental illnesses and develop an appropriate treatment plan for each individual case.

The diagnosis of borderline personality disorder at Rafa Mental Health Center is based on a comprehensive assessment of the symptoms and the person’s medical and psychological history. The main steps in the diagnosis process include the following:

Clinical interview between a psychiatrist and a patient to collect information about symptoms, medical and psychological history, and interpersonal relationships. The doctor asks questions about feelings, behaviors, and interpersonal relationships.
A doctor's use of specific diagnostic criteria from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders to determine if a person meets the criteria for borderline personality disorder, which requires the person to meet five or more of these criteria.
Psychological evaluation, through psychological tests to evaluate symptoms and personal characteristics to determine the severity of symptoms and their impact on the person’s life.
Differential diagnosis, to rule out other psychiatric disorders that may share symptoms with borderline personality disorder, such as bipolar disorder or post-traumatic stress disorder.

Treatment of borderline personality disorder

Psychological care services at the Rafa Center of Al Mousa Specialist Hospital are among the best methods used to enhance mental health among patients. Treating borderline personality disorder at the center requires a comprehensive approach that combines psychotherapy, medications, and, in some cases, hospitalization. The treatment plan includes the following:

Psychological treatment for borderline personality disorder

Behavioral therapy Dialectical Disorder (DBT) is the most effective treatment for borderline personality disorder, as it focuses on teaching the patient coping skills to deal with difficult emotions, control feelings of distress and discomfort, improve relationships, and reduce impulsive behaviors, so it contributes to reducing self-harm and reducing the need for hospitalization.
Schema therapy helps identify and change negative thoughts and behaviors that arose in childhood, which contributed to changing a person’s view of himself and the world. The doctor helps the patient realize these thoughts and how they affect behavior, and try to replace them with healthy ones.
Psychodynamic psychotherapy: This therapy helps explore past experiences and relationships that contributed to the development of borderline personality disorder.
Mindfulness-based therapy: This therapy helps the borderline personality disorder patient realize his feelings and learn how to understand and interpret the feelings of others.
Conversion-focused psychotherapy: This treatment is based on the bond that arises between the patient and the therapist. The therapist can see how the patient behaves with others, and works to change unhealthy thinking patterns and develop positive behaviors.
Regulatory Training for Anticipating Emotions and Problem Solving is an educational group program that helps enhance communication skills and form healthy relationships. It can also include family members and friends to help understand BPD and support the patient.

Pharmacological treatment of borderline personality disorder

Until now, there is no specific medication to treat borderline personality disorder, but treatment at Al Mousa Specialist Hospital depends on treating the accompanying symptoms, such as:

Antidepressants and anti-anxiety agents.
Mood stabilizers, to treat mood swings, reduce impulsive behavior, and emotional fluctuations.
Antipsychotics, to treat temporary psychotic symptoms and help overcome angry and violent behaviors.

Hospital treatment

Hospital treatment is necessary in severe cases of the disease, such as the risk of suicide or self-harm, and the inability to deal with the symptoms, so hospitalization must be done to preserve the patient’s life and receive appropriate treatment. Book your appointment now at Rafah Center for Mental Health At Al Mousa Specialist Hospital.

Tips for living with borderline personality disorder

Living with borderline personality disorder is a great challenge, and requires the patient to adhere to some guidelines and apply some strategies and advice, which are as follows:

Commitment to treatment, whether psychotherapy, commitment to dialectical behavioral therapy sessions and other treatments, learning and applying the coping skills trained in treatment, and taking prescribed medications regularly as directed by the doctor.
Develop coping skills.
Regulating emotions and learning how to recognize intense emotions and manage them in healthy ways
Use relaxation techniques, such as deep breathing and meditation.
Improve relationships and learn effective communication and conflict resolution skills.
Set healthy boundaries in relationships.
Impulse control, learning to recognize triggers that lead to impulsive behaviors.
Use delay response techniques and make informed decisions.
Get enough sleep and maintain a regular sleep schedule.
Eat a balanced, nutrient-rich diet, avoiding processed foods, sugar and caffeine.
Exercise regularly, such as walking or yoga, to improve mood and reduce stress.
Spend time doing activities he enjoys, such as reading, drawing, or listening to music.
Connect with supportive people.
Education about the disorder and different treatment methods.
Expressing feelings in writing to get rid of negative feelings.

ما هي Symptoms of schizophrenia؟ وهل هذا الاضطراب خطير؟

Complications of borderline personality disorder

Neglecting treatment of borderline personality disorder leads to the deterioration of the disease and the emergence of a group of complications affecting various aspects of the patient’s life. Some of the main complications include the following:

Suffering from other psychological disorders, such as depression, anxiety disorders or panic disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, eating disorders, bipolar disorder, and drug abuse.
Relationship problems, such as difficulty maintaining stable relationships, frequent conflicts with others, and social isolation.
Problems at work and study, such as difficulty maintaining a job, difficulty concentrating, and difficulty managing time.
Exposure to legal or financial problems as a result of reckless behavior such as reckless driving or excessive spending, and difficulty managing money.
Self-harm and suicide attempts.

How does a person with borderline personality disorder behave?

The behavior of a patient with borderline personality disorder is characterized by instability and extreme fluctuations in several aspects of his life. The most common behaviors include the following:

In relationships, intense fear of abandonment, they may cling excessively to others to avoid abandonment or may end relationships suddenly for fear of being abandoned.
Sharp fluctuations in feelings towards others, quickly shifting from intense admiration to intense hatred.
Difficulty maintaining stable relationships.
Rapid and severe mood swings, where they go from happy to sad or angry within minutes.
They feel chronic inner emptiness.
They get angry easily and disproportionately to the situation, and have difficulty controlling their anger.
Persistently reckless behaviors, such as reckless driving, drug use, excessive spending, or unprotected sex.
They may harm themselves, such as cutting themselves or attempting suicide.
They have an unstable self-image and are unsure about their identity, values, and goals.
They change their goals and values frequently.
They see things in an extreme or unrealistic way, and may tend to exaggerate the negatives and minimize the positives.
Some patients experience temporary psychotic symptoms, such as hallucinations or delusions, especially during times of extreme stress.

Frequently asked questions

How does a patient with borderline personality disorder think?

The thinking of a borderline personality patient is characterized by several basic characteristics that affect his view of the world and his interaction with it, including the following:

Extreme thinking: where things and people are seen in either white or black, without gray areas, and tends to magnify the negatives and minimize the positives.
He interprets small signs as evidence of abandonment because of his fear of abandonment.
Unstable self-image and negative thinking about oneself.
Severe mood swings.
Difficulty controlling anger and acting recklessly without thinking about the consequences.

Can a borderline personality patient get married?

Yes, a borderline personality patient can get married, but the decision to marry him is a real challenge for the life partner and the patient.

Is borderline personality a mental illness?

Yes, borderline personality disorder is a mental disorder. It is classified as a personality disorder in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), a guide used by mental health professionals to diagnose psychological disorders.

The reasons for classifying borderline personality disorder as a mental illness are because of its effect on brain functions due to differences in the structure of the brain, especially in the areas responsible for regulating emotions and impulsivity.

In conclusion, most symptoms of borderline personality disorder improve over time, and early and accurate diagnosis of the condition helps increase the chance of successful treatment.

The Rafah Center for Mental Health is one of the most important leading centers for psychological care in the region. The center has designed a set of therapeutic programs for each patient individually. The programs include behavioral therapy, recreational therapy, art therapy, and detoxification, all of which work to meet all patients’ needs under the care of medical supervision with a group of the best doctors to achieve psychological balance in patients and achieve full recovery.

For more information about the available treatments, you can book a consultation immediately at Al Mousa Specialist Hospital on our numbers listed on the website.

Medical references

Borderline personality disorder – mayoclinic

Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) – clevelandclinic