8 Advantages of Borderline Personality Disorder

People often associate mental health disorders with weaknesses or flaws, not knowing their entirety.

Approximately 1.6% population in the world is diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder, and after studying them for years, experts suggest that there is a set of advantages that borderline people have.

People with BPD possess strong imagination power and a creative mind that gives them a unique perspective of the world. This is a reason why they can be exceptionally good at different art forms.

However, it is essential to acknowledge that there are many difficulties that keep them away from harnessing their true potential. Growing awareness about the condition can certainly help in making things better.

So, keep reading to learn about the advantages of Borderline Personality Disorder and how to utilize them.

Understanding Borderline Personality Disorder

Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is a mental illness characterized by unnatural shifts in mood and a fear of being alone and abandoned. It is often confused with Bipolar Disorder.

BPD affects how you think and feel about yourself and others around you. Due to this disorder, you may have unjustified anger and frequent mood swings, which leads to juggling between being overly empathetic to your close ones and pushing them away in the next instance, followed by a sense of guilt.

Let us help you identify the disorder in detail, so you can take proper measures to strengthen your relations with your valued ones.

General Symptoms

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, some of the common symptoms of BPD include:

• You often feel empty.
• You get angry, sad, or anxious very frequently.
• You dwell in constant insecurity of being abandoned by your loved ones.
• Your relationships are very intense and unstable at the same time.
• You tend to live an unhealthy life with binge eating and drinking, abusing drugs, etc.
• You are self-harming or thinking of harming yourself due to unpleasant experiences.

Common Misconception About Borderline Personality Disorder

There is still a lot of stigma around mental health, which leads to people believing in misconceptions or myths. Let’s take a look at some popular myths about borderline personality disorder.

1. Those With Childhood Trauma are Prone to BPD

Childhood trauma is a significant root cause of borderline personality disorder, it is not the sole reason. According to the NHS, factors causing BPD include:

1. Heredity:

If a person has parents, grandparents, or siblings diagnosed with BPD, there is a chance of them also having it. Genes inherited from parents contribute significantly to how susceptible you are to borderline personality disorder.

According to the NHS, even in the case of identical twins, if one sibling had BPD, there is a 66% chance that the other twin would also have it.

2. Brain Chemistry:

A person with abnormality or irregularity in their brain chemicals are more prone to be affected by borderline personality disorder. Mainly if there is an abnormality with serotonin, the chances increase.

Apart from that, if there is an issue with the functioning of neurotransmitters, it can send wrong signals to the brain, causing altered levels of serotonin. A lack of serotonin makes people depressed, anxious, or even maniacs.

3. Society:

Even though, in most cases, BPD is triggered earlier in life, factors like societal pressure or the loss of loved ones can trigger a late-onset BPD.

4. Improper Brain Development:

Studies show that the undeveloped amygdala, hippocampus, and orbitofrontal cortex can contribute to the symptoms of BPD. These parts of the brain are related to emotion regulation, self-control, and decision-making.

2. BPD Occurs Only in Women

While women do make up the majority of people diagnosed with BPD, it is untrue that only women can have Borderline Personality Disorder.

Women make up 75% of the total BPD population, and men make up the rest 25%. This is a harmful myth since men with Borderline Personality Disorder might be reluctant to seek help in fear or shame.

3. Suicidal Threats by BPD People Aren’t that Serious

People with BPD are often criticized for being attention seekers, which is a primary reason many think that their suicidal threats are nothing but attention-seeking stunts. This is an unfair assumption since people with BPD show a high rate of suicide. In fact, higher than any other psychiatric disorder.

4. Borderline People Can’t Really Love

It is utterly wrong to have such a cynical view of BPD people. Many people with BPD have long-term and committed relationships. They may struggle to control their emotions and behaviors, but with a patient partner, their relationships do work out.

5. BPD Diagnoses are Dangerous to be Around

BPD people are more prone to self-harm rather than to harm people around them.

It is a fact that they can have irritable mood swings and bad tempers, but that does not mean they are a threat to others. The high suicidal rates depict that they would rather self-harm than hurt people around them.

6. A Borderline Personality Disorder is Non-Curable

Borderline personality disorder can be treated. It is a challenging and complex condition, but the right treatments, like DBT and CBT, are proven to be great for treating BPD.

Advantages Of Borderline Personality Disorder That No One Talks About

Despite all the negativities, there are some positive aspects of Borderline Personality Disorder, we will list these advantages here.

1. Creativity To The Core

One of the blessings of Borderline Personality Disorder is creative fluency. Vincent Van Gogh – the famous painter, suffered from BPD and yet managed to gift us an amazing showcase of his genius.

Due to high emotional sensitivity, people with BPD often turn to substance abuse to calm themselves down. At the same time, others channel their emotions into creative expressions like writing, painting, and performance arts for emotional release.

Psychiatrists often suggest taking up a hobby, such as learning to play a musical instrument, sketching or drawing, journaling, etc., to channel their overwhelming waves of emotion.

2. Empathy That Is Difficult To Match

People with BPD have unmatched empathy. They feel very deeply for others, and even when they see their people in distress, they resonate and step up to motivate others with words of encouragement.

As borderliners deal with self-doubt and battle with their low self-worth on a day-to-day basis, they have a deeper understanding of others’ struggles.

BorderlineintheACT.org.au is managed by people BPD arranging events and educating others who lack resources to learn how to manage their emotional distress.

Their Borderline Empathy Paradox makes them more compassionate. This makes them excellent interpersonal communicators who can help others open up about their struggles.

3. Loyalty That Is Rare

A person with Borderline Personality Disorder is very loyal to their relationship. Their fear of abandonment developed through traumatic experiences in childhood, and their empathy adds to them being amazing and loyal partners.

With proper therapy from experts, qualities like loyalty, empathy, and passion toward loved ones become dominant in borderliners’ behavior. The negative side of a BPD person is undoubtedly hard to deal with, but they are very loyal and fun to be around on the positive side.

4. Remarkable Resilience

Since many people live with BPD without the diagnosis and proper care, they struggle and fight the disease all by themselves. Additionally, in most cases, the sufferer resorts to alcohol and substance addictions.

We have to take into consideration that one of the main causes of BPD is unnatural childhood and traumatic experiences. Dealing with all of it on a regular basis and still surviving takes a lot of courage and resilience.

Renowned Borderliner’s who are at the top of the game fighting their illness are nothing less than warriors.

5. Energy Round The Clock

A unique quality among individuals with BPD is they are full of life, all thanks to their hyperactive brains. They are good motivators who uplift their friends when they are low. Their empathetic nature helps them see when their close ones are emotionally distressed. They come forward with support and channel their energy among others.

Another positive nature of borderliner’s is their energy round the clock, added to their resiliency, makes them professionally successful individuals.

6. Strong Intuition

People diagnosed with borderline personality disorder are considered highly intuitive due to their sensitivity to their surroundings. According to famous psychotherapist and author Imi Lo, people diagnosed with BPD are highly intuitive and perceptive.

She claims that people with borderline personality disorder are innately intuitive, which psychologists describe as “personal intelligence.” This natural gift is divided into two parts: interpersonal intelligence, which helps them understand intentions, motivations, and desires.

While the other is intrapersonal intelligence, which is the capacity to understand oneself and appreciate feelings like fear and motivation. However, it is crucial to learn how to control them because these intuitions can be wrong too, and acknowledging it can be overwhelming.

7. Passion

According to expert Christine Hammond, people with BPD often have the ability to feel and express intense passion. They mostly use mediums like art, literature, music, etc. Due to this fact, they can become incredibly successful if they choose a creative career path.

They can be so passionate about what they love doing that they don’t see the “following passion” as a foreign concept. Working towards passion is a natural instinct for borderline individuals.

A few famous artists who are globally renowned and loved for their craft and have borderline personality disorder include football superstar Brandon Marshall, pop princess Britney Spears, the most loved princess of all time- Lady Diana, Hollywood megastar Angelina Jolie, etc.

The list might include many other renowned names, but some openly confirmed and talked about it.

8. Community Building Capabilities

People with borderline personality disorder understand and appreciate the need to have a community or people in their lives. Their fear of abandonment is the reason why they are always eager to engage in communication with people, be they old or new.

Their impulsive behaviors and anger issues might push people away, but in reality, they hate being alone. They can even compete for social acceptance since the fear of losing someone dear makes them feel angry and anxious.

However, it is important to note that they may be passionate about holding people closely, but they are not very good leaders. They rather perform well as the binding agent of family or team.

How To Properly Manage Borderline Personality Disorder?

Having Borderline Personality Disorder can be emotionally overwhelming due to erratic mood swings and intense emotional experiences.  Here are some simple tips that can be useful for reducing emotional dysregulation and other symptoms of BPD.

1. Doing Exercise

Apart from health benefits, studies show that exercise positively impacts mood.  Regular exercise is associated with better emotional well-being. You will not see the results right after a single session, but consistency has a significant impact. 

2. Listening to Music 

BPD people struggle to navigate through their emotions, and listening to music can be a solution to that. Especially if you are not quite sure how to describe your thoughts, songs can help you express them.

3. Doing Activities 

Engaging in activities like taking a walk, dancing, or cleaning the house can help you distract from your current emotions.  But make sure the activity is highly engaging. Reading a book, watching TV, and using social media does not count in them. 

4. Using Grounding Techniques 

When feeling extremely distressed or anxious, you can take the help of different grounding techniques. Some of the most effective ways include holding an ice cube in your hand, snapping a rubber band against your wrist, smelling a flower or food, or taking a warm bath.

Conclusion

With all the emotional turmoil that a borderline person goes through, it becomes crucial to show them the bright side of the story. People with BPD can achieve heights of success if they channel their superpowers in the right way.

Their high levels of empathy and creativity make them a perfect fit for careers in performance art. There are ample examples to take inspiration from. However, it is important to note that one can only leverage these talents only by learning to regulate their emotions rather than letting them take over.

Self-help and coping mechanisms are not always enough. Hence, it is always a good idea to seek professional help.