259 SelfWork: Understanding Borderline Personality Disorder

In today’s episode, sponsored by Athletic Greens, I want to talk about borderline personality disorder, but in a different way than I have before on SelfWork.  I’ve mostly written about what it’s like to try to love someone with a serious personality disorder, like narcissism or borderline personality disorders. But today, I want to talk about what it’s like to have borderline traits – and the fears and struggles that come with it. I"ll use two women's stories from my own practice and the work of Rosie Cappuccino, author of Talking About BPD. We'll touch on the differences between borderline and bipolar disorders, and also discuss how the diagnosis of borderline can bring with it judgment from not only the general public, but from the mental health profession.

The listener voicemail for today comes from a woman who describes that she has a wonderful life – and that she’s troubled or haunted or saddened or feels guilty (that’s a little unclear) for not loving her mother. And frankly, not even liking her. We’ll talk about her question – and I’ll try to answer as best I can.

Important Links:

Rosie Cappucino's  book on having borderline issues.

Rosie Cappucino's blog excerpt/ Talking About BPD

List of BPD traits  from the Mayo Clinic

Episode 086 of SelfWork on loving someone with BPD

SelfWork Episode on nine ways to effectively communicate with someone with BPD

Difference between bipolar disorder and borderline personality disorder

HuffPost article by Dr. Jay Watts