People with borderline personality disorder (BPD) experience intense emotions that they struggle to control, affecting how they think, feel, and act. The team of highly skilled mental health clinicians at Spectrum Behavioral Health LLC in Green Bay, Wisconsin, provides compassionate and effective treatment for people with BPD. The outpatient mental health clinic collaborates with you, creating a therapeutic plan that helps you heal and grow. Call or schedule an appointment online to learn more about treatment for borderline personality disorder. They offer in-person, telephone, and video appointments.

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What is borderline personality disorder?

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a mental illness that affects a person’s ability to regulate their emotions. They have extreme shifts in mood that affect how they feel about themselves and behave around others.

People with BPD feel emotions very intensely and maintain their extreme feelings for a long period of time. When their emotions are triggered, they have a hard time recovering from their heightened emotional state.

The extreme mood shifts affect behaviors and relationships. BPD affects about 1% of people in the United States. Though it seems more common in women, researchers think men with BPD are often misdiagnosed with depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

I struggle with relationships. Is it borderline personality disorder?

Many people with BPD have a hard time maintaining relationships. They alternate between idealizing a person to devaluing them, making it hard to keep friends and partners. This is called splitting.

Only a trained clinician can determine if you have BPD. Other common signs and symptoms of BPD include:

  • Extreme efforts to avoid abandonment (being left by someone)
  • Distorted self-image
  • Impulsive behaviors
  • Self-harm
  • Always feeling bored
  • Uncontrollable anger

People with BPD may also disassociate, where they disconnect from their thoughts and feelings, having what you may call an “out-of-body” experience.

What causes borderline personality disorder?

Researchers are still investigating what causes BPD, but they theorize it occurs from a combination of factors. These factors include:

Genetics

Researchers haven’t found a BPD gene, but the mental illness runs in families, suggesting a genetic component.

Environment

Risk of developing BPD is higher in people who experience childhood trauma, neglect, or separation from their parents.

Brain function

People with BPD may have a different emotional regulation system in their brain, which may explain the emotional extremes.

What treatments can help manage borderline personality disorder?

The team at Spectrum Behavioral Health LLC takes an eclectic, integrative, and holistic approach to mental health. They collaborate with you when creating a plan to help you manage your BPD, providing therapies that help you understand your emotions and regain control.

They use evidence-based therapies such as dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). DBT is one of the primary therapies for BPD, teaching you how to accept your emotions and behaviors and developing strategies to better manage them.

For expert therapy for borderline personality disorder, call Spectrum Behavioral Health LLC or use the online booking tool to schedule an appointment today.