How Do I Know If I Have Borderline Personality Disorder?

All of us are characterised by our own unique way of thinking, feeling and acting. All these thoughts, feelings and actions constitute our personality. They influence the way we perceive the world around us and how we form relationships with others.

What Is A Personality Disorder?

When your personality traits begin to cause problems in your everyday life, you may be diagnosed as having a personality disorder.

A personality disorder can have an impact on how you react to different life circumstances, how you deal with emotions and how you behave in relation to others.

You may feel that your behaviours and thoughts are different to others, and you might be experiencing difficulties changing them. You may feel out of control, confused and uncertain, all feelings that can leave you and others in distress.

What Are The Causes Of Personality Disorders?

Personality disorders vary between individuals and there’s not a single cause that may lead to their development. A personality disorder may be the result of a complex interaction between our environment, our early childhood and adolescent experiences, and our genetic makeup.

• Chaotic family environment, such as living with a parent who abuses alcohol or suffers from a mental health condition.
• Having experienced a traumatic event as a child, such as sudden bereavement or sexual / physical abuse.
• Childhood neglect and lack of support from your caregiver.

Common Signs Of A Borderline Personality Disorder

Here are some signs and traits of personality that can help you understand whether you have a borderline personality disorder:

• I think in black and white / all or nothing.
• I often have mood swings. I can go to two extremes in different ways: Love someone and then hate them, be calm and then get angry and upset, be completely depressed and then overly excited about something new, overworking and then crashing.
• I am afraid that people I care about are going to leave me.
• My relationships are intense but unstable.
• I feel lonely and empty most of the time even if I am in a relationship.
• Sometimes I cannot control my feelings. For example, I can have outbursts of anger.
• I can act impulsively without thinking of the consequences, like binge eating or drinking, taking drugs, going on spending sprees, driving recklessly, or sleeping with strangers.

You may have already been given a diagnosis of a borderline personality disorder, and are struggling with relationships in your life.

Or you may be looking to make sense of repeated relationship breakdowns, and see some of your traits in the descriptions above.

Either way, our team are trained in working with personality disorders, and can help you build resources to manage relationships better.