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Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a mental illness that impacts your perception of yourself and how others see you. It heavily influences your self-image and sense of identity, how well you handle emotions, and your relationships with others. People with BPD also have a higher risk of developing an addiction; although it may impact the very core of how you perceive yourself, BPD does not define who you are or your worth.
Often prone to feeling extremely isolated and unloved, people with BPD can turn to drugs or alcohol to cope. Through dual diagnosis treatment, adolescents and adults with BPD can go on to develop a personal identity they value, build self-esteem, and learn to healthily manage their emotions and relationships.
What is BPD?
Borderline personality disorder affects approximately 1.6 percent of the U.S. population, and nearly 75 percent of those people are female. While most people with BPD are women, men do experience BPD as well and merit just as much acknowledgment and help.
The defining characteristic of BPD is an unstable sense of self. “Borderline personality” perfectly captures the constant feeling of uncertainty that people with this disorder experience in their everyday lives. They are prone to being perceived as overly sensitive, dramatic, needy, and may be called attention-seeking by people who do not understand their disorder.
The emotions and inner turmoil has an impact on their self-image, so people with BPD often self-isolate and resort to unhealthy coping mechanisms including self-harm and substance abuse. The experience of BPD can cause a deep sense of shame, anxiety, and depression.
BPD may also cause:
What Are the Most Common BPD Symptoms?
The most noticeable signs of BPD are heightened emotions, insecurity and an inconsistent view of the self and others. People with BPD often feel extremely vulnerable and unsafe inside; they fear that everyone is going to leave them, believe they are unloveable and are prone to fits of anger or rage that fill them with guilt and shame afterward.
Other BPD symptoms you may notice are:
In addition to impulsive behaviors and a persistent fear of abandonment, people with BPD suffer from an unstable self-image. They are prone to constant feelings of emptiness, mood swings, angry outbursts and self-harm amidst a fluctuating identity. In many cases, people change their appearance, friends, relationships, beliefs, and interests in their continual quest to find out who they are.
How does BPD lead to substance abuse?
Because it causes impulsive behavior, an increased sense of boredom, and a frequent feeling of emptiness, BPD can influence a person’s decision to experiment with drugs and alcohol. Some people may abuse substances in order to fit in with a desired crowd or adopt a particular image; others may turn to substances as a way of coping with their anger, guilt, shame, and other uncomfortable emotions.
How do drugs and alcohol make BPD worse?
The connection between BPD and addiction can be difficult to identify at first; most people are diagnosed with one condition before the other is revealed. Substance use disorders are common among people with many mental illnesses. When a person has an addiction and a psychological disorder like BPD, it is called a co-occurring disorder or dual diagnosis.
As substance abuse impacts a person’s mood, thoughts, and ability to function normally, mental illnesses often worsen. When someone with BPD uses drugs or alcohol to numb themselves to painful feelings, those emotions return with greater intensity after the high wears off.
Abusing drugs and alcohol can also lead to greater impulsivity, which not only endangers your life but also negatively impacts your relationships. The fear of being abandoned and unwanted is only reinforced as substance abuse causes you to isolate or other people distance themselves from you.
Treatment for BPD and Addiction
A personalized, dual diagnosis treatment plan is the best way to help someone fully overcome BPD and addiction. Mental health treatment includes cognitive behavior therapy, which helps you recognize unhealthy thoughts and change the way you respond to them. The effects of BPD impact everyone differently, and the severity of your disorder can range from mild to severe. The type of treatment you receive will vary depending on your unique experience and greatest needs.
Substance use disorder and its role in BPD will also be addressed in treatment; by understanding the way drugs and/or alcohol have affected your disorder, you will begin to find healthier ways of managing your emotions and relationships.
One of the most important aspects of BPD treatment is establishing security within the self. By developing boundaries and values, you learn to create a sense of safety in your relationships and cultivate meaning in your life. In addition, you learn how to untangle substance abuse from your identity and replace your worst habits with healthy alternatives; rather than emphasizing all the elements about you that need to change, Mission Harbor will help you recognize your strengths and learn how to build on them throughout recovery.
The facilities at Mission Harbor are staffed with trained experts to best assist patients with their mental health issues. We are capable of dealing with any and all cases with a licensed staff, equipment, and approved techniques. Our mission is to help those who want to help themselves, and we support your decision in seeking help.
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