[question] so.. what is it?
What is BPD? I've been finding that i've been wanting to educate myself more on this topic. What is it? What are the symptoms? How could i help someone who has been diagnosed?
I do not wish to come off as offensive by asking— i merely am just curious, that's all.
@alexelle The official criteria are here, in the right-hand column: DSM-IV and DSM-5 Criteria for the Personality Disorders
Note that the left-hand column has been out of date for many years. It is only included for historical comparisons. Some websites have not been updated, and they continue to provide out of date information from the old DSM-IV.
To understand BPD you need the DSM-5 General Criteria for a Personality Disorder on page 1, and also the Borderline Personality Disorder criteria on pages 6, 7 and 8 (with just word at the top of page 9).
You'll notice that the criteria are complicated. This is why many people think BPD should only be diagnosed by an expert psychiatrist or psychiatric team, after a lengthy evaluation.
There's no simple treatment, and no simple way to help someone who has been diagnosed. A treatment called DBT is often said to be pretty good, but exactly what DBT means can vary from place to place.
You can easily find more information by searching the Internet, including information for people who are in relationships with BPD sufferers. But beware of out of date information from the old DSM-IV.
If you'd ever like to chat to me about these things, just click on my profile and message me. I am not an expert, however, I'm just a listener who Googles stuff.
Charlie
@alexelle
Hey there Alex 😃
Here's a website that can give you a simple idea of what BPD is: https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/borderline-personality-disorder/index.shtml
Here's a website that gives some idea about how you can support someone with BPD, of course, there are many other ways as well: https://ca.ctrinstitute.com/blog/9-strategies-supporting-someone-borderline-personality-disorder/
I hope that helps ✨
