Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) and Addiction

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a difficult disorder to handle on your own. Many people who struggle with BPD may find themselves turning to substances to cope with the struggles of their mental health. While substances may help to numb thoughts at first, over time they grow into addiction. Addiction can make the symptoms of BPD worse and exacerbate isolation and struggles. Getting treatment for both your BPD and your addiction is integral in getting to a healthy state of mind and body. This treatment will help you to find healthy ways to cope with your mental health and stay off of substances. West Coast Recovery Centers offers treatment that works for both BPD and addiction, giving you control back in your life. 

People who struggle with BPD and co-occurring addiction will need to reach out for help. These disorders can affect each other and make each other worse, which makes it important to get ahead and find treatment. Treatment for BPD and co-occurring addiction may include medication management, as well as various therapeutic interventions. This treatment will give you the skills that you need to stay sober and stay on top of your health. 

What Is Borderline Personality Disorder

The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) defines BPD as “a mental illness that severely impacts a person’s ability to regulate their emotions.” This inability to regulate emotional states often leads to impulsive behavior and a negative influence on relationships. It can also make it difficult to regulate emotional states and maintain a sense of identity. People who struggle with BPD may experience intense mood changes, which can change how they feel about themselves.

This may also change how they perceive people around them, causing their relationships to swing between intense closeness to dislike. It is also common to experience things in extremes and fluctuate quickly between moods and interests. This may cause both impulsive behavior and isolation. Someone who has BPD may find themselves struggling with self-harming behavior as well. 

While these struggles are difficult, people with BPD can work with therapists and get on medication. BPD may cause someone to act in a way that they normally wouldn't due to their emotional state. Impulsive behavior and intense emotions may cause someone to turn to substances to handle their illness. This impulsive or reckless behavior may make someone with BPD more prone to substance abuse and eventually addiction. 

The Connection Between Addiction and BPD

There is a large connection between those who struggle with BPD and turn to addiction to handle their mental health. BPD lowers someone's impulse control and may make them engage in behavior that they wouldn't in different circumstances. This lack of impulse control means that many people with BPD find themselves in unsafe situations, and use substances to numb the feelings they struggle with. 

While not every person who struggles with BPD will turn to substance abuse, it is important to know that they are at a higher risk of developing addiction. Addiction and substance use disorder (SUD) form when someone is unable to control their use of a substance. Often addiction may spiral out of control, especially when the person is struggling with a disorder like BPD. 

Mental health disorders often co-occur with SUD due to the overlap in symptoms. SUD and BPD both come from underlying traumas and feelings that need to be worked through. Many people who struggle with their mental health may want to find an escape. When someone turns to substances for an unhealthy coping mechanism, they must find a way to find adequate treatment to help them stop using. Substances may numb the feelings momentarily, but treatment will teach you ways to manage the big feelings of BPD consistently on your own. 

Treatment for BPB and Addiction

Moreover, treatment for co-occurring addiction and borderline personality disorder will often start with getting into short-term treatment for addiction. There are a few different avenues that treatment can take, but usually, it starts with detoxing from substances. This detox will work to make sure that you can safely come off substances and work through withdrawal. Some people may be prescribed medication for this to help them work through it. This also allows a provider to find medication to help with the symptoms of BPD. After this, therapy is recommended. 

West Coast Recovery Centers offers treatment that works to alleviate underlying mental health concerns. Working with a therapist allows you to make changes that will help you stay sober. Therapy allows you to work in a safe place to get to the bottom of your symptoms and concerns. At times it can be difficult to handle the symptoms associated with BPD. Therapy will not cure it, but instead, it will work to give you healthy ways to manage these symptoms. This will allow you to turn to healthy outlets and techniques to work through difficult emotions instead of feeling compelled to turn to alcohol, drugs, and other self-destructive behaviors in an attempt to cope.

Someone who struggles with BPD may find themselves more at risk of developing addiction. The intensity of BPD and its fluctuations in mood and impulsiveness may cause someone to engage in things they wouldn't normally do. People who struggle with their mental health may turn to substances to handle the symptoms, but in the long run, this will exacerbate their symptoms. While you can't get rid of BPD, you can manage its symptoms with treatment. It is important to get treatment for addiction and co-occurring BPD to live a healthier life. If you are interested in learning about treatment for BPD and addiction, we can help. Call West Coast Recovery Centers today at (760) 492-6509 for more information.