Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a complex and deeply distressing mental health condition that can cause intense emotional and physical pain. Understanding the root causes of BPD pain is crucial for effective treatment, helping individuals regain stability, improve relationships, and enhance their overall quality of life.
Struggling with borderline personality disorder pain? Our team is available now to answer your questions, discuss treatment options, and verify your insurance. Take the first step toward healingโcall us today to get started.
What Is Borderline Personality Disorder?
Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a complex mental health condition that causes pervasive instability in relationships, self-image, and emotional expression.
In the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), BPD is categorized as a cluster B personality disorder, along with antisocial, histrionic, and narcissistic personality disorders. Cluster B disorders, as defined by the DSM-5, are associated with โdramatic, emotional, or erraticโ behaviors.
Symptoms of BPD
A person must exhibit at least five of the following nine criteria to receive a borderline personality disorder diagnosis.
- Frantic efforts to avoid being abandoned, even when there is no credible reason to believe that this is about to occur
- A pattern of intense but unstable relationships, during which the individual alternates between idealizing and devaluing the other person
- Persistent instability in the individualโs self-image or sense of who they are
- Impulsivity in at least two areas that have the potential to cause substantial harm, such as unsafe sex, reckless driving, substance abuse, binge eating, and spending sprees
- Recurrent gestures or behaviors related to self-harm and/or suicide
- Brief but intense periods of anxiety, irritability, dysphoria (profound psychological distress or unease)
- Chronic sense of emotional emptiness
- Inappropriate, uncontrolled anger, which may manifest as verbal outbursts and/or physical aggressiveness
- Episodes of paranoia or dissociation (the sense that the individual has become detached from their body, mind, and/or surroundings)
BPD Risk Factors
A personโs risk of developing borderline personality disorder can be influenced by both genetic factors and life experiences, such as:
- Having a first-degree relative (parent or sibling) who has BPD
- Growing up in an impoverished family
- Experiencing harsh discipline and other maladaptive parenting methods
- Having a poor relationship with their parents
- Enduring abuse, neglect, or other adverse childhood experiences (ACES)
Adverse childhood experiences and other forms of trauma appear to play a particularly significant role in the development of BPD, with studies suggesting that as many as 80% of people with BPD have histories of trauma.ย
The connection between past trauma and the pain of borderline personality disorder is so strong that many clinicians have argued that this disorder should be reclassified from a personality disorder to a form of complex posttraumatic stress disorder (C-PTSD).
Effects of Untreated BPD
Borderline personality disorder is not a common condition, but it can be a source of immense distress among those who develop it. For example:
- Experts estimate that the lifetime rate of borderline personality disorder among the general public ranges from 0.7%-2.7%.ย
- Among people who receive outpatient mental health services, the prevalence of BPD rises to about 12%.
- About 20% of people in inpatient psychiatric facilities have borderline personality disorder.
Untreated borderline personality disorder pain can manifest in many ways, including:
- Inability to form and maintain healthy relationships
- Conflicts with family members, peers, and colleagues
- Difficulty finding and keeping a job
- Substance abuse and addiction
- Anxiety, depression, and other co-occurring mental health disorders
- Physical, psychological, or social harm due to impulsive behaviors
- Elevated risk of self-harm and suicide
It is difficult to overstate the risk of suicide among people who have BPD.ย
Studies suggest that 40%-85% of people with borderline personality disorder will attempt to end their own lives. To put this statistic into context, among all adults in the U.S., about 5% had thoughts of suicide and about 0.6% attempted suicide in the past year
Why Does Borderline Personality Disorder Hurt So Much?
Why is there such a strong connection between borderline personality disorder and pain? There is no simple, clear-cut answer to this question, but several aspects of this disorder may expose people to considerable emotional anguish.
Trauma
As noted earlier in this post, many people with borderline personality disorder have histories of childhood trauma.ย
One small study that was published in 2016 found that 44% of BPD patients had been sexually abused during childhood, with the majority of cases involving perpetrators who were family members or close acquaintances.ย
As the authors of this study noted, the effects of enduring this type of abuse at such a young age can include altered neural networks, abnormal attachment patterns, and increased vulnerability for mental health concerns later in life.
Emotional Extremes
To diagnose BPD, clinicians look for a pattern of unstable relationships that suddenly and unpredictably shift between idealization and devaluation.
In other words, people with borderline personality disorder are unlikely to experience gradual shifts in mood or mindset. Instead, they typically swing from one extreme (this relationship is absolutely perfect) to another (I hate everything about my partner and myself) with little warning.
Living life at the extreme ends of the emotional spectrum can be exhausting, overwhelming, and quite painful.
Intense Fear
Many people with BPD live with the fear that they are about to be abandoned by people who they care about and/or depend on. This intense, virtually omnipresent worry can cause them to engage in a range of maladaptive behaviors, including self-harm and suicide.
To other people, the concerning behavioral aspects of borderline personality disorder are the conditionโs most obvious effects. But it is important to remember that these actions are typically fueled by fear and other painful emotions.
When combined with an unstable sense of self, difficulty controlling anger and other impulses, and periods of paranoia and dissociation, this fear of abandonment can become overwhelming.
Find Treatment for Borderline Personality Disorder in Georgia
Serenity Grove provides a full range of personalized services for adults struggling with borderline personality disorder. Our comprehensive care also supports those facing other complex mental health challenges.
Treatment options at our center in Athens, GA, include residential care, a partial hospitalization program (PHP), an intensive outpatient program (IOP), and an outpatient program (OP).
Our team of compassionate experts will work closely with you to identify the full scope of your needs, then select the programs and services that can help you live a more hopeful and satisfying life.
To learn more or to schedule a free assessment, please visit our Admissions page or call us today.
