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Borderline Personality Disorder and Addiction Facts

What if you experienced your worst fear nearly every day of your life – the fear that others will abandon you completely? This fear is so large and intense that it takes over your relationships, your personal goals, your everyday behaviors, your life. This is the reality of borderline personality disorder.

What Are The Symptoms Of Borderline Personality Disorder?

A personality disorder is diagnosed n a person has rigid inflexible patterns of thoughts and behaviors that cause continuous problems in the their life. These patterns are long lasting and difficult to change. in particular, someone with borderline personality disorder has an enormous fear of abandonment. They swing between intense feelings of anger and rage to desperation and anxiety. They also have a tendency toward impulsive aggression, self-injury, and suicide attempts. Anyone in a relationship with such a person will tell you it’s like riding an exhausting emotional roller coaster all the time. Borderline personality disorder is three times more common in women in men.

How Would a Borderline Personality Disorder Addict Look to Family and Friends?

Family and friends would already know their loved on has lots of trouble with unstable relationships. Everything becomes about drama and unpredictability. They would also notice that the symptoms would become worse with alcohol and drug use.

How is Borderline Personality Disorder Treated?

Borderline personality disorder is frequently treated with a combination of antidepressants and regular mental health counseling. The specific style of counseling that is most helpful is called Dialectical Behavioral Therapy. This approach helps persona with borderline personality disorder build emotional and social skills. The emphasis is on accepting and adapting to change, accepting things as they are right now.

How Does Borderline Personality disorder Interact With Drugs and Alcohol?

Most people with borderline personality disorder use drugs and alcohol to escape the strong emotional pain they feel every day. In their world, there is a constant threat of abandonment and no one can be really trusted. Persons with this disorder often use drugs and alcohol in erratic unpredictable ways. They often abuse strong medication prescribed for their persistent anxiety. Their overuse of medication then becomes its own problem.

What Kind of Drug Treatment is Available for Borderline Personality Disorder?

Treatment for borderline personality disorder and addictions must be sensitive to close ties between borderline symptoms and addictive behavior. Intense anxiety leads to drug and alcohol use, symptoms become worse (especially impulsivity), confrontation about substance abuse leads to panic, which often leads to drug-seeking behavior. There must be strong healthy drug-substitutes put into place, knowing that the borderline symptoms are persistent and predictable.

By Wendy Lee Nentwig