What is it like to have borderline personality disorder?

Borderline personality disorder is a psychological condition in which a person has difficulty controlling their emotions. This condition, also known as borderline personality disorder, is generally characterized by changes mood sudden, insecure, and difficult social relationships.

However, what does this condition actually look like and what does it feel like to be someone with a borderline personality disorder? Find the answer below.

What is borderline personality disorder?

Based on National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence in 2009, a person could be said to have borderline personality disorder if they exhibited five or more of the following symptoms. These symptoms include:

Having unstable emotions, such as feeling very confident one day, but feeling very hopeless the next. Change mood the unstable is also accompanied by a feeling of emptiness and with anger.
Often times find it difficult to establish and maintain a relationship.
Often take action without thinking about the risk of the action.
Have a sense of dependence on other people.
Doing actions that may harm yourself, or thinking and planning actions that are harmful to yourself.
Have a fear of rejection or anxieties about loneliness
Often believe things that aren't real or see or hear things that aren't real

A person who has a borderline personality often experiences other personality disorders such as anxiety, eating disorders (such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia) or dependence on alcohol and drugs.

What is it like to have borderline personality disorder?

Borderline personality disorder is a disorder that can make sufferers almost always feel worried, inferior (inferior), and fearful.

It is natural for you to feel anxious when you are about to make important decisions, for example. However, if you feel this way constantly even when there are no obvious triggers, you may have a borderline personality.

Well, imagine a time when you were together with your family. Your family is having a fun chat, laughing out loud. Suddenly you just feel sad and confused, why can't you just enjoy the atmosphere like everyone else? Eventually, you blame and hate yourself.

Or you and a friend have made an appointment to watch a movie together at the cinema. Unfortunately, your friend canceled the promise. Even if your friend canceled because she had something important to do, you can't control the negative thought that she's actually canceling because she doesn't want to go out with you.

Such thoughts are what end up making you feel so empty and hopeless. It's as if you are alone in this world and no one understands how you feel. However, on the other hand you also feel flooded by various kinds of mixed negative emotions. When these feelings arise, you can explode out of control.

How can you feel better?

There are a few tips for people with borderline personality disorder to feel better and in control. Check out the following tips when the symptoms of this disorder are recurring.

Physical activity such as dancing, walking, exercising, cleaning the house, or other activities to distract from the current emotions.
Playing music can help improve mood. Play some fun music when you're sad, or play some soothing music when you're feeling anxious.
Talk and tell stories with someone you trust.
Do meditation.
Do breathing exercises to be more relaxed. Sit or lie down in a quiet place, then breathe in calmly, slowly, and deeply.
Get enough sleep and rest.
Read an interesting book.
Recognize and manage every emotion that arises, for example by keeping a diary.
Take a warm shower, especially before bed if you also have insomnia.

How do you deal with borderline personalities?

Psychotherapy counseling with a psychologist or therapist can help those with borderline personalities. Psychotherapy can be done twice a week. The goal of psychotherapy is to reduce life-threatening actions, help regulate emotions, provide motivation and help improve quality of life. Psychotherapy can be done both individually and in groups.

Based on research conducted in journals Primary Psychiatry, those who underwent psychotherapy had a good progress rate in establishing social relationships, refrained from impulsivity and danger, and controlled their emotions after six months.