Borderline personality disorder is a mental health disorder characterized by explosive emotions and/or patterns of unstable relationships. 

Less commonly discussed is the core of BPD. What if I told you that deep within the center of BPD is childhood trauma that cultivated a disorganized attachment strategy in how a person relates to the world around them? What if BPD is the survival skills learned to survive a history of abandonment, emotional cutoff, abuse, and disrupted family life? What if those stigmatized behaviors labeled as attention-seeking were actually connection-seeking? 

Those diagnosed with BPD and loved ones may have a difficult time navigating the ebbs and flows of those learned survival skills. In these circumstances, the support, guidance, and assistance of a therapist are fundamental to healing from trauma. 

Borderline Personality Disorder Symptoms and Signs:

Persons with BPD are often uncertain about their identity. As a result, their interests and values can change rapidly. They tend to view things in terms of extremes, such as either all good or all bad. Their views of other people can change quickly, for example a person who is looked up to one day may be looked down on the next day. These suddenly shifting feelings often lead to intense and unstable relationships.

Other Borderline Personality Disorder symptoms include:

• Intense fear of being abandoned
• Cannot tolerate being alone
• Frequent feelings of emptiness
• Frequent displays of inappropriate anger
• Impulsive and risky behavior, such as with substance misuse, gambling, binge eating, or sexual relationships
• Repeated crises and acts of self-harm
• Distorted sense of self

BPD has been known to lead to:

• Depression
• Substance use
• Problems with work, family, and social relationships
• Suicide attempts, self-harm, and death by suicide

If you or someone you know matches the trauma symptoms listed above, I am confident that I can help and invite you to contact me today for a free consultation.