Trigger warning: this article discusses borderline personality disorder as a mental disorder, in addition to self-harm. This article is solely for educational purposes. If you or someone you know feel like you are struggling with borderline personality disorder, please seek professional help for an evaluation.
Borderline personality disorder is considered one of the most complex disorders known to psychologists today. From constant misdiagnoses to therapists turning down patients, BPD is highly stigmatized as well as misunderstood in society and the mental health community alike. Misdiagnosis is so common with BPD patients because the symptoms are so complex. Sometimes when conducting an evaluation, the individual may not be able to fully express their feelings, triggers, and interfering behaviors. On the other hand, a lot of therapists tend to stay away from diagnosing their clients with BPD because many therapists share the general stigma that surrounds patients with BPD – that they are very hard to treat.
It is important to understand that to be properly diagnosed with BPD, the individual must qualify for at least five of the nine symptoms that the disorder comes with. Prior to this, the symptoms themselves also must be understood – one of which is self-harm.
Trigger warning: the following paragraph discusses self-harm in detail. Reader discretion is advised. If you or someone you know feel like you are struggling with self-harm, please seek professional help for an evaluation and/or treatment.
What is Self-Harm?
All of the information here is based on the findings of the National Inquiry into Self-Harm among young people. The Inquiry was carried out by two charities – The Mental Health Foundation and The Camelot Foundation. The Inquiry panel heard evidence from hundreds of people, including young people who self-harm or have self-harmed in the past and those who work with or care about them. This booklet is based on what they said. For more information about the National Inquiry and the full list of contributors, see the Truth Hurts report.
Self-harm is very common and affects more people than you might think. 10% of young people self-harm. This means that it is likely that at least two young people in every secondary school classroom have self-harmed at some time. If you are self-harming, you are not alone – lots of information and support is available.
Remember, self-harm is not a suicide attempt or a cry for attention. However, it can be a way for some people to cope with overwhelming and distressing thoughts or feelings. Self-harm should be taken seriously, whatever the reason behind it is.
Self-harm describes any behavior where someone causes harm to themselves, usually as a way to help cope with difficult or distressing thoughts and feelings. It most frequently takes the form of cutting, burning, or non-lethal overdoses. However, it can also be any behavior that causes injury – no matter how minor – or high-risk behaviors.
Why BPD Patients Result to Self-Harm
Individuals struggling with BPD often experience feelings of chronic emptiness and an unclear or shifting self-image, in addition to extreme mood swings and intense emotions. Contrary to popular belief that self-harm is a cry for attention, these traits often burden an individual and tend to result to self-harm as a release.
Additionally, self-harming behaviors may be enacted to regulate emotions and to reduce dissociation. BPD patients often report dissociative episodes, which may be related to an altered body awareness and to an altered awareness of the sense of agency. The sense of agency draws upon perceptions of being in control of our bodies and our physical movements of being able to act upon environments.
Treatment for Self-Harm
Because self-mutilation is often an attempt to manage intense feelings, cognitive-behavioral treatments for self-mutilation focus on helping the person find new, healthier ways of managing emotions and thoughts. For example, one cognitive-behavioral treatment for borderline personality disorder, dialectical behavior therapy, addresses unhealthy attempts at coping by helping the patient learn and practice a new set of coping skills. In some cases, a doctor may prescribe medications to help regulate emotions and feelings and decrease the urge to self-harm.
If you are someone you know is experiencing this symptom of BPD, it is of great importance to seek professional help and/or an evaluation.