BPD-Can it be Cured?

This Support Group is a new addition to MDJunction.com which is a free center
for online support groups. They have many groups who serve thousands of
people everyday.

We hope that the group will serve as a meeting place, a home for people who
want to share their feelings, info, ask questions and just be around people who
are dealing with the same challenges as they are. Those people understand you
best.

Please visit at: MDJunction-BPD on-line Support Group

What is Borderline Personality Disorder-BPD in a nut shell?

Actually the term refers to sufferers who exist on the borderline between psychosis and neurosis. It is the BPD's tendency to exhibit both neurosis and psychosis which is the chief diagnostic paradigm.

Psychosis: a generic psychiatric term for a mental state often described as involving a loss of contact with reality; the fever of mental illness-a serious but nonspecific indicator. Super-sensitivity
Neurosis: a term that refers to any mental imbalance that causes distress, but does not prevent or affect rational thought.

Within this paradigm a number of clear diagnostic features are evident. The American diagnostic manual, DSM-IV, lists nine discrete features and requires five of these to be present over time before a diagnosis of BPD can be made. The nine features (reproduced in brief) are as follows:

1- frantic efforts to avoid real or imagined abandonment.
2- A pattern of unstable and intense personal relationships.
3 -Identity disturbance
4- Impulsivity in at least two areas that are potentially self damaging
5 -Recurrent suicidal behavior, gestures, threats or self-mutilating behavior.
6- Affective instability due to a marked reactivity of mood.
7- Chronic feelings of emptiness.
8- Inappropriate, intense anger.
9- Transient, stress related paranoid ideation or severe dissociative symptoms.

Believe:

I have read this more than one time on web pages while doing my research: When people with BPD were asked if they believed they could be cured, the answer was: "It is not a matter of being cured or not, it is a matter of feeling better and getting better. The objective is being able to heal the inner child, and to let go of the childhood memories that entraps many of us with the patterned behavior of BPD.

When someone is first diagnosed with borderline personality disorder, time is needed to adjust to the news. In the past two decades a number of new treatments have been developed. DBT-Dialectical Behavior Therapy has shown to be the most effective in reducing the symptoms of BPD. Does this mean that DBT is an instant cure? No it does not. What it has proven is by attending DBT classes on a regular schedule, by the end of treatment some could be considered "recovered" or "cured". For those who do not fully recover from BPD, treatment has still proved to be extremely helpful!

So what is Dialectical Behavior Therapy? It was developed by: Marsha Linehan, PhD, at the University of Washington. It is a type of psychotherapy; sometimes referred to "Talk Therapy". DBT is a cognitive behavioral therapy, meaning it is a therapy that focuses on the role of cognition (e.g. thoughts and beliefs) and behaviors (e.g. actions) in the development and the treatment of BPD.

Dr. Linehan's theory is: the core problem in BPD is Emotional dysregulation, resulting from mixing biology (e.g., genetic and other biological risk factors) and an emotionally unstable childhood environment (e.g., where caregivers punish, trivialize or respond erratically to the child's expression of emotion) together. . The focus of DBT is on helping the client learn and apply skills that will decrease emotion dysregulation and unhealthful attempts to cope with strong emotions.

I found this list on Lifestyle and Home Remedies page. Remember, there's no One right path to recovery from BPD.

-Sticking to your treatment plan
-Attending all therapy sessions
-Practicing healthy ways to ease painful emotions, rather than inflicting self-injury
-Not blaming yourself for having the disorder but recognizing your responsibility to get it treated
-Learning what things may trigger angry outbursts or impulsive behavior
-Not being embarrassed by the condition
-Getting treatment for related problems, such as substance abuse
-Educating yourself about the disorder so that you understand its causes and treatments
-Reaching out to others with the disorder to share insights and experiences

These may appear to be "Simple" things to do, but TRUST in the fact that everything helps, and empower yourself to look even further for additional cures to help aide you on your path of recovery!