Caution! Trigger Warning! Alarming Traits That You Should Take Seriously!
Borderline personality disorder is a mental illness that negatively affects thought patterns and emotional regulation. At first glance, those affected appear exuberant and charismatic. In reality, however, they are struggling with a serious mental disorder. They perceive their environment and themselves completely differently, as if they were looking through a distorted mirror. Nothing is ever easy for those affected, and certainly not for those around them. In this article, we'll show you how you can recognize borderline personality disorder in everyday life.
1. Delusions
The psychological component of borderline disorder causes those affected to frequently suffer from delusions and even hallucinations. In this state, they see things that are not there, hear voices and lose touch with reality. Following such episodes, many sufferers have no memory of them.
2. Rage
Emotional regulation is a foreign concept for people suffering from borderline personality disorder. They are more or less helplessly at the mercy of their feelings, which is also keenly felt by those around them. There are often only a few minutes between sky-high joy and profound anger. The feeling that keeps them in the strongest chokehold is unbridled rage. This rage can gain the upper hand for seemingly no reason and reveal their true colors in fearsome outbursts of anger. These excessive choleric outbursts usually disappear as quickly as they came.
3. Chronic inner void
If it weren't for the outbursts of anger and impulsive behavior, borderline personality disorder could easily be mistaken for depression. This mental illness also gives way to one condition in particular: absolute inner emptiness. Those affected see no meaning in their lives, can no longer enjoy anything and feel pessimistic about the future. They find it difficult to motivate themselves to do anything, and the dead silence inside them usually wins this battle. Outwardly, sufferers appear listless and without drive. If it weren't for the emotional lapses, an untrained person would probably immediately think of a typical depressive episode.
4. Self-harm
Those who cannot feel anything sometimes feel that they have to force themselves with all available means to feel again. Often the only lasting catalyst is pain. Many mental illnesses compel those affected to hurt themselves. Too many feelings, or too little, often leads to the need for compensatory action, which is inevitably accompanied by at least one emotion, pain. The degree of this self-harm can range from classic scratching to much more serious mutilations. When these kinds of self-destructive behaviors manifest themselves in the affected person, it is important to seek professional help right away.
5. Impulsive behavior and short attention span
If you want to show or introduce something to a person with Borderline Personality Disorder, you need a lot of patience and will definitely need more than one try. It is difficult to get them excited about anything, and their attention is often lost after a few minutes. Despite this, their erratic mind is quick to come up with new ideas from one second to the next, though these ideas are often discarded after only a short time. The world on the border between psychosis and neurosis is a fast-moving one. Lightning fast, to be precise, and it is just as difficult for relatives and partners to keep up with these irrational jumps from one thought to the next.
6. Extreme mood swings
One never knows beforehand exactly what mood a borderline person will be in when living with them. One of the downsides of this disorder is certainly the lack of impulse control, which is additionally fueled by feelings that are completely out of control. A person with this condition does not perceive feelings as being real or genuine. Likewise, they cannot control their emotions or at least channel them to a socially acceptable level. Emotions rule here, and they do so every second, always alternating. Such an intense roller coaster ride cannot be explained by simple moodiness.
7. Self-sabotage
Those whose mental condition is affected by an interaction of psychosis and neurosis will logically always find it difficult to lead a normal and self-determined life. The issue of self-determination has a significant pitfall. In the world of borderliners, things should not and must not go well. Their inner conflict demands that they single-handedly destroy everything good and beautiful and leave it to decay. Self-sabotage is one of their favorite pastimes, even if they don't do it voluntarily.
8. Tendency towards unstable relationships
This characteristic is not surprising in view of the described symptoms. Those who fight with themselves more than they want to live cannot cope with others either. Surprisingly, however, borderline personalities are magically attractive to potential partners, because at first glance they confuse impulsivity with passion and emotional dysfunction with eccentricity and charisma. Short affairs and non-committal flirtations are the best relationships that those affected with this mental disorder can maintain. Anything beyond that in time and intensity becomes difficult and sooner or later falls victim to their unrelenting disorder.
9. Distorted self-image
In fact, most people suffer from this, even those who are healthy. Hardly anyone sees themselves as they really are. In the case of borderline personality disorder, however, this symptom also has an intensified effect and interferes with all areas of life. Patients fluctuate between exuberant overconfidence and boundless feelings of inferiority. Even their own body may be perceived as alien or deficient.
10. Fear of being abandoned
This characteristic is an unfortunate combination with the involuntary tendency towards unstable relationships mentioned earlier. Borderline personalities cannot maintain a relationship for long, and yet suffer from an excessive fear of being abandoned. This causes them to practically cling to their partners even to the point of making dangerous threats.
Today's conclusion: Caught between 2 worlds
Borderline personality disorder is considered by researchers to lie on the border between psychosis and neurosis. Those affected can be very attractive to the people around them, as there is never a dull moment at their side. However, when it comes to living with them, they are often unpredictable, suffer from a constant fear of losing their partners, and never feel truly secure in relationships. Other clear signs of a borderline personality are impulsive, unpredictable behavior and emotional lapses. These people tend to behave recklessly and frequently engage in self-harm. They are constantly filled with a feeling of inner emptiness and can never devote their attention to a single thing for long.