People can change their emotions, values, personalities, and other parts of themselves. But sometimes, these changes aren’t due to learning new things or other external stimuli. Sometimes, it’s a disorder that changes a person, often without any reason.
Borderline Personality Disorder is prevalent in the United States. It’s estimated that around 1.4 percent of the population suffers from the disorder.
The condition is treatable, and Luxe Recovery is a world-class recovery center in Los Angeles that can offer the kind of world-class treatment that can help people recover from substance use, process addictions, and co-occurring mental health disorders.
What is Borderline Personality Disorder?
Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is a mood disorder wherein a person has unstable moods, behavior, functioning, and self-image. This instability can affect a person’s work, self-image, and long-term planning.
What to Expect from Borderline Personality Disorder Treatment
BPD is a mental health condition that can be treated. BPD treatment often needs to be comprehensive to give those affected by the condition a chance to get their symptoms under control. Treatment options to help manage BPD symptoms often include:
Assessment
The first phase of treating a mental health disorder is an assessment. During this phase, the care team works closely with the patient to understand their history, nuances, and needs.
This will allow the care team to craft a personalized treatment plan to ensure that the patient gets the help they need in the way they’ll best respond. A tailored approach is often crucial to treating people who struggle with BPD.
Medication
There are currently no medications specifically for BPD. However, some medications can be used to address specific symptoms. Anxiolytics such as benzodiazepines are normally used for anxiety disorders and can be used to help treat a person’s BPD. Mood stabilizers such as lamotrigine can also be prescribed.
Individual Therapy
Individual therapy can help treat personality disorders by giving patients a safe space to talk about their issues. The therapist can also help patients develop healthy mechanisms for their symptoms.
Group Therapy
Group therapy can be an invaluable part of a person’s treatment program. It can provide a supportive environment where people who struggle with the same condition can learn from each other. Group therapy can also offer an opportunity to practice the skills they developed in individual therapy.
Support Network
An essential part of treating any disorder is building a support network. Going to group therapy can be a great place to fund a support network, but family and friends can also help support a person in managing their disorder. Many treatment facilities offer family programs to educate loved ones about the nature of a patient’s disorder and how they can best help in recovery.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
CBT is a type of therapy that is used to help people identify and address negative thought patterns (cognitive distortions). It can help change the cognitive distortions associated with the disorder, which can help patients manage their symptoms.
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
DBT is a kind of cognitive therapy that was specifically developed to help people struggling with borderline personality disorder. The treatment is focused on helping people manage their emotions, tolerate distress, navigate interpersonal relationships, and reduce self-destructive behaviors.
This treatment can help people with BPD manage their symptoms and improve their overall quality of life. DBT can be administered in both individual and group settings.
Signs and Symptoms of Borderline Personality Disorder
BPD is a condition that can come with several symptoms. Some of how BPD can manifest include:
Emotional Instability
People who have BPD may struggle with chronic feelings of emptiness. They can also have mood swings, which means that they can often go from one emotional extreme to another.
Relationship Issues
Many people who have BPD can also have relationship issues, like going from idealizing people to devaluing them rather quickly. Some people who struggle with BPD may also have a fear of abandonment and will go to extreme lengths to keep the people in their lives, and their actions may sometimes violate the other person’s boundaries.
Distorted Self-Image
BPD can sometimes cause those afflicted to struggle with their self-image and sense of self. Because of this, they can change their values, opinions, and life plans seemingly out of nowhere.
Impulsivity
BPD may sometimes cause people to struggle with impulse control. This can cause them to engage in potentially harmful behaviors such as reckless spending, unprotected sex, and substance use.
Anger
Anger is a major symptom of BPD, and this anger can often be intense, irrational, and uncontrollable. This can cause a person to lose their temper and potentially get into physical altercations with other people.
Other Mental Health Troubles
BPD can also cause people to become anxious or paranoid when stressed. People with BPD may also struggle with suicidal ideation. They may also not take rejection well and see things in black-and-white terms with no nuances.
Benefits of Residential Treatment
There are a number of benefits to checking into a treatment center to address BPD. Some of these benefits include:
Intensive Treatment
While in the care of a residential treatment center, patients will receive intensive mental health treatment to help them manage their conditions. This treatment will be personalized to patients’ needs and usually entails modalities such as DBT.
Treatment facilities may also offer treatment for co-occurring disorders, such as substance use disorder.
Constant Support
A major benefit of an inpatient facility is that the treatment team monitors and supports patients at all hours of the day. Patients are also in a safe, controlled environment, which minimizes the risk of individuals with BPD or others.
Holistic Care
Many residential treatment programs include holistic treatment options such as yoga and massage therapy. This can be beneficial for people with BPD as it can give them a way to distract themselves as well as complement other treatments.
Preparation
Towards the end of a person’s treatment, the staff will prepare them for life after inpatient care. This will include connecting them with resources and crafting comprehensive aftercare plans.
Causes of Borderline Personality Disorder?
There is no singular cause of BPD. Genetics can play a role as a person who has a family history of personality disorders is more likely to develop BPD or another disorder. Childhood trauma and growing up in unstable environments are also strongly linked to BPD.
Discover Luxe Recovery’s Residential Treatment for BPD
Some people are born with certain conditions that can make it hard to live in a world that wasn’t made for them. They didn’t ask to be that way, but that was how they were made. So they struggle. They chafe against the world and face hardships they didn’t ask for.
People who have BPD, especially those who have untreated borderline personality disorder, often struggle in life because of their condition. However, it is possible to treat borderline personality disorder.
Given the right care and support, a person who has been diagnosed with borderline personality disorder can manage their symptoms and live their lives on their own terms.
At Luxe Recovery, we make it our mission to give our patients the individualized treatment they need to overcome the treatment process and emerge as healthier people.
