BPD is not necessarily a lifelong disorder. Many patients retain residual symptoms later in life.
Recovery in borderline personality disorder (BPD) has predominantly been viewed in the context of symptom improvement and no longer meeting diagnostic criteria. Longitudinal studies have demonstrated that symptom remission is a common occurrence, with remission rates ranging between 33 and 99% [1].
BPD in adulthood
Studies found that most patients with BPD improve with time. After 2 years, 1/4 of patients experience a remission (less than 2 symptoms for a period of 2 months or longer) of BPD diagnosis. After 10 years, 91% achieved remission of at least 2 months and 85% achieving remission for 12 months or longer.
The condition seems to be worse in young adulthood and may gradually get better with age. If you have borderline personality disorder, don't get discouraged. Many people with this disorder get better over time with treatment and can learn to live satisfying lives.
Most people improve considerably, but you may always struggle with some symptoms of borderline personality disorder. You may experience times when your symptoms are better or worse. But treatment can improve your ability to function and help you feel better about yourself.
Environmental factors
being a victim of emotional, physical or sexual abuse. being exposed to long-term fear or distress as a child. being neglected by 1 or both parents. growing up with another family member who had a serious mental health condition, such as bipolar disorder or a drink or drug misuse problem.
The symptoms of borderline personality disorder usually first occur in the teenage years and early twenties. However, onset may occur in some adults after the age of thirty, and behavioral precursors are evident in some children.
It is certainly possible to have BPD and success in education and employment. In fact, many maintain strong careers when able to control BPD symptoms. On the other hand, some people with BPD have trouble with their career in which some are unemployed, underemployed or unhappy in their jobs.
Many people with BPD feel emotions deeply and find working in a caring role fulfilling. If you are an empathetic person, consider jobs such as teaching, childcare, nursing and animal care.
Learn About Borderline Personality Disorder
Many individuals with BPD are highly intelligent and are aware that their reactions may seem strong. These individuals often report feeling that emotions control their lives or even that they feel things more intensely than other people.
Maladaptive parenting including childhood maltreatment, abuse and neglect, exposure to domestic violence and parental conflict are found to be prevalent psychosocial risk factors for development of BPD in children and adolescents [10, 11].
But borderline personality disorder does not develop as a result of those traumas. Instead, it is a combination of genetic factors and childhood experiences (early environmental influences) that cause a person to develop borderline personality disorder.
It is commonly believed that symptoms of Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) lessen with age. For example, the DSM-IV states: “The impairment from the disorder and the risk of suicide are greatest in the young-adult years and gradually wane with advancing age” (1).
While 2014 research indicates that people with borderline personality disorder often experience co-occurring psychiatric conditions, the exact rate of schizophrenia and BPD comorbidity specifically isn't clear just yet. A 2010 study found that 17.6% of people diagnosed with schizophrenia also met the criteria for BPD.
BPD has been linked to the amygdala and limbic systems of the brain, the centres that control emotion and, particularly, rage, fear and impulsive automatic reactions.
Risk factors for BPD include: Abandonment in childhood or adolescence. Disrupted family life. Poor communication in the family.
That's not true! Although it is not caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain, such as what happens during a depressive episode, BPD does have biological foundations. BPD develops partly from having a highly sensitive nervous system.
The Social Security Administration placed borderline personality disorder as one of the mental health disorders on its disabilities list. However, you'll have to meet specific criteria for an official disability finding. For example, you must prove that you have the symptoms of the condition.
Borderline personality disorder (BPD) cannot be cured, and anyone who enters treatment looking for a quick and easy fix is bound to be disappointed. However, with treatment the symptoms of BPD can be effectively managed, monitored, and ultimately reduced in intensity, or entirely eliminated.
Follow up studies of people with BPD receiving treatment found a borderline personality disorder treatment success rate of about 50% over a 10-year period. BPD takes time to improve, but treatment does work.
“We found a strong link between childhood trauma and BPD, which is particularly large when emotional abuse and neglect was involved.” He added: “Borderline is a slightly misleading term – as it implies that this condition only has a mild impact. Far from that, BPD can be very distressing and difficult to treat.
In our previous investigation aimed to identify which factors are independently associated to early onset of BPD, we found that earlier onset of BPD is associated to traumatic experiences, including abuse, neglect, and dysfunction in household environment.
Borderline personality disorder causes significant impairment and distress and is associated with multiple medical and psychiatric co-morbidities. Surveys have estimated the prevalence of borderline personality disorder to be 1.6% in the general population and 20% in the inpatient psychiatric population.
Key points. People with borderline personality disorder (BPD) may engage in divisive behaviors toward family members, which affects patterns of relating. Patterns that cause conflict among families with BPD include competition and triangulation, in which a third person is brought into an argument.
Key points. Many people with borderline personality disorder are highly functional parents. Some people raised by parents with BPD compensate by becoming exceptionally compassionate, mature, and competent. It is never too late to set boundaries with a parent, even if this was impossible in childhood.