6 common problems suffered by people with borderline disorder

Borderline disorder is one of the personality disorders that is reflected more in personal relationships. Therefore, it is important that those who are part of these people's environment understand the type of experiences they usually go through.

For this reason, in this article we will review the most common problems that people with borderline disorder usually face, summarized.

• Related article: "5 signs of poor mental health that you should not overlook"

What is borderline personality disorder?

Borderline personality disorder, also known as borderline personality disorder, is a mental health disorder that is part of personality disorders. These are mental disorders that, unlike what happens with other psychopathologies, are strongly rooted in the dimensions of the individual's personality, so that affect all areas of your life through the way you manage social relationships, modulate your emotions, set goals and self-motivate, perceive yourself, etc.

In fact, in personality disorders, dysfunctional behavior patterns

they are so internalized in the person that many times he denies having a problem, despite the fact that his way of behaving is causing him strong discomfort (and many times he also causes it to people in his close circle, such as family and friends). On the other hand, these alterations are persistent, quite rigid, and are present in practically all situations: in the performance at work, in life as a couple, in free time with friends... There is no clear type of experience that "activates" their symptom; somehow, these are always present.

In the case of borderline personality disorder, this psychopathology is characterized by the tendency to establish unstable and emotionally turbulent personal relationships, patterns of dependence on others, and excessively intense emotional reactions to everyday situations. It is present in between 0.2 and 1.7% of the population. Below we will see more details about this alteration.

• You may be interested: "The 10 types of Personality Disorders"

Common problems experienced by people with borderline disorder

These are the most common complications.

1. impulsivity problems

People with borderline disorder often have trouble achieving long-term goals because of the ease with which they give in to more short-term incentives.

• Related article: "How to control impulsiveness? 10 tips that help

2. Doubts about your identity

The way in which people with borderline disorder experience their identity is very diffuse and changing, and they live their way of perceiving themselves in an emotionally turbulent way. This leads to numerous self-esteem crises and erratic behaviors. who break the schemes of the people in their close circle and at the same time do not contribute much to them (they do not give themselves as much with the aim of experimenting, but rather because of the lack of references and the feeling of being lost in the life).

• You may be interested: "Self-concept: what is it and how is it formed?"

3. fear of abandonment

Borderline disorder is also characterized by a predisposition to fear abandonment by friends and partners.. That is why these people can engage in behaviors such as "testing" the love or loyalty of someone special for them, getting very frustrated if they do not do what they are supposed to do to show interest in that relationship. In addition, these tasks or actions that they should perform are usually relatively arbitrary and not very significant to reflect the quality of that affective bond, they only make sense for the person with the disorder borderline.

4. self-destructive tendencies

Unfortunately, self-injurious behaviors, such as cut your arms and legs. It is a dysfunctional strategy to stop thinking about what makes them feel bad.

5. suicidal ideation

Although self-harm is not usually intended to cause death, it is also common for those who have developed BPD to experience suicidal thoughts. These can range from fantasizing about taking one's own life to mental rehearsals about a plan the person hopes to put into action to commit suicide. That is why, among other things, it is important that this population group has easy access to mental health professionals and go to therapy at times when they are having a particularly hard time.

6. trouble concentrating

Another characteristic of BPD is difficulty concentrating (something that also has to do with impulsiveness) and dissociation tendency (directing attention to elements or thoughts that are not part of their environment or the present). Normally, dissociation is a phenomenon linked to psychological trauma.

• Related article: "What is trauma and how does it influence our lives?"

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In Advance Psychologists We have been offering our services in the field of mental health for more than two decades, and we currently serve people of all ages both in person at our center located in Madrid and online through sessions of video call. We intervene in the areas of individualized psychotherapy, family therapy, couples therapy, sexology, psychiatry, neuropsychology and speech therapy.