Living With BPD: Borderline Personality Disorder

Living with BPD is a journey filled with many ups & downs. We welcome back guest blogger Debbi Corso to share insights she has gained along her journey.

I’ve had a lot to say about Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) over the years, and there’s no sign of there being a shortage of things for me to say about it in the future.  I suffered with the condition for many years before being properly diagnosed and then receiving the treatment (Dialectical Behavior Therapy) that would help me to discover who I was (resolving identity issues), how to manage my emotions (they controlled my life), and how to be more mindful and present in the moment. Learning to be in the moment helped me to learn how to tolerate distress and watch it pass like the transient state that it is, time and time again.  I grew confident in my ability to handle and manage my intense emotions.

Additionally, I learned (and continue to learn) how to see the “shades of grey” in life.  With BPD, we often suffer from all-or-nothing thinking: yes/no, black/white, bad/good.  It’s a shortcut way that has helped us survive but eventually tends to no longer serve us, because the world just doesn’t work that way.  DBT has worked for me: learning it. applying it, and referring to it often, even to this day.  Additionally, making healthy, Wise Mind choices about what to do (my actions/behaviors) when emotions inevitably show up in an intense manner. I am and will always be an emotionally sensitive person.  I’m okay with that. It’s a part of me that I accept and embrace.  It allows me to be creative, thoughtful, and above all, compassionate at a level that not everyone will reach.  The latter has its advantages and disadvantages, of course, but overall, I wouldn’t trade this part of me in for the world.

While reflecting upon what has worked for me, I reached out to the Healing From BPD community and asked, “What works for YOU when it comes to Living With BPD?”  I was so inspired by the answers. Here are some of the many amazing responses that came in:

 

By sitting with emotions and letting them pass:

By letting go of the past:

 

By coping effectively with rejection:

By using resources to support skillful behaviors (a DBT service dog!):

 

By focusing your mind on tasks and other things in order to tolerate the distress and distract to not make matters worse:

Though self-care and self-soothing:

 

There are so many more responses that came in. You can click HERE to read them all.

So, what works for YOU as you work to build and live a life worth living while managing BPD symptoms or while in recovery?

Thank you for reading and sharing, and I look forward to connecting with you again here at OPI Intensive blog!

In kindness,

Debbie

 

For more information on our residential OPI Intensive program for young men and women with Borderline Personality Disorder or BPD traits, call us at 866-661-3982 or click HERE to submit an online form. We’ll be in touch promptly.