Borderline Personality Disorder

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It’s normal for people to experience mood fluctuations, but these should only last a few hours.

For those with bipolar disorder, these intense emotional swings last days to weeks and are accompanied by dangerous behaviour changes and difficulty with daily routines and social interactions.

What is Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD)?

Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is characterized by a pattern of instability throughout life, including in relationships, behaviour, mood and self-image.

It is only diagnosed in people over 18 and has quite diverse presentations, and can look very different in different people.

Someone who suffers from BPD experiences difficulties regulating their emotions and mood. They feel intense emotions that last for extended periods of time. It is much harder for them to return to a stable baseline after an emotionally triggering event.

These symptoms cause challenges in everyday life, specifically in relationships. People with BPD tend to have rocky relationships as they have intense fears of abandonment yet tend to push people away through irrational mood swings and impulsivity.

Although the cause of BPD is not known, some factors seem to increase the risk of developing a personality disorder, such as:

Family history of personality disorders or other mental illness
Abusive, unstable, or chaotic family life during childhood
Being diagnosed with a conduct disorder in childhood
Variations in brain chemistry or structure

Signs + Symptoms

Intense fear of abandonment or instability
Patterns of unstable relationships
Difficulty tolerating being alone
Inappropriate, intense anger
Impulsive and risky behaviour
Suicidal threats or behaviour or self-injury
Frequent mood swings lasting a few hours to a few days
Dissociations

Ongoing feelings of emptiness
Self-Image issues – rapid changes in self-identity and self-image (changing goals, values)
Periods of stress-related paranoia and loss of contact with reality lasting a few minutes to a few hours
Difficulty managing emotions and behaviour
Mood reactivity (intense emotional highs and lows, irritability, anxiety)

Goals of BPD Therapy

Increase interpersonal effectiveness; learning how to find and keep relationships
Increase ability to tolerate distress
Develop a routine with healthy habits to maintain consistency and balance
Learn mindfulness skills to regulate emotions
Controlling self-harming behaviours

Our Approach

We will do an assessment of your specific situation and goals, to come up with a targeted and individualized approach to therapy that draws from a variety of the listed modalities

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)

Change unhelpful and problematic ways of thinking got change unwanted or unhealthy behaviour

Mindfulness-Based Therapy

Utilized techniques like meditation, stretching, and breathing to increase awareness of our thoughts, feelings and actions

Dialectal Behavioural Therapy (DBT)

Develop healthy coping strategies and mindfulness skills like living in the moment to improve relationships and regulate emotions

Person-Centred Therapy

The therapists takes a supporting role to empower and motivate you as you work towards reaching your full potential

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Mind-Body Wellness

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