Understanding Borderline Personality Disorder

Recognizing borderline personality disorder

Do you indentify with the following statements?

• I often feel "empty."
• My emotions shift very quickly, and I often experience extreme sadness, anger, and anxiety.
• I'm constantly afraid that the people I care about will abandon me or leave me.
• I would describe most of my romantic relationships as intense, but unstable.
• The way I feel about the people in my life can dramatically changefrom one moment to the next—and I don't always understand why.
• I often do things I know are dangerous or bad for me, such as driing recklessly, having unsafe sex, binge drinking, doing drugs, or going on spending sprees.
• I've attempted to hurt myself, engaged in self-harm behaviors such as cutting, or threatened suicide.
• When I'm feeling insecure in a relationship, I tend to lash out of make frantic gestures to keep the other person close.

If you identify with several of the statements, you may be suffering from borderline personality disorder. Of course, you need a mental health professional to make an official diagnosis as BPD can be easily confused with other issues. But even without a diagnosis, you may find the self-help tips in this article helpful for calming your inner emotional storm and learning to control self-damaging impulses.