• Emotional Wellness

    A Brief History of Borderline Personality Disorder’s Name

    Written By Monique Moate

    This article was originally published on Psychreg.

    The term “borderline personality disorder” (BPD) is interesting in psych nomenclature. Usually, psychosocial illnesses are named after their most prominent symptoms. For example, bipolar disorder (formerly, manic depression) refers to the “two poles” of mania and depression.

    Many medical conditions have carried different labels throughout history; even now, official diagnoses change every so often. But sometimes these designations have incorrectly described illnesses and contributed to misinformation. This is unfortunately still the case with schizophrenia (with “schizo” meaning “split” and “phrenia” referring to “mind”). And just as there have been efforts to change the name of schizophrenia, the same is true of BPD.

    But why exactly was it called borderline personality disorder in the first place? In this article, I’ll briefly cover the conceptual history of BPD, including its name and classification. I’ll also touch on why many people would prefer to call the BPD construct by a different name – or to reclassify it altogether.

    Originally, I was only going to discuss the “borderline” aspect, however, there’s also the quite popular view that BPD should not be deemed a “personality disorder” at all. So, I’ll explore both parts of the diagnosis.

    At the end of the day, it’s essential for us to remember the power held by words. We should be mindful that words can be used to discriminate and disempower, especially if we are writers and editors.

  • Top Picks

    75 Ideas for a DIY Depression Care Package

    Build a Care Package for Someone with Depression

    I’m Audrey Harper — the woman behind BPD Beautiful, a BPD recovery blog that aims to spread BPD awareness and assist others in understanding those living with BPD. This post features product ideas for a DIY depression care package for either your loved one with depression, a charity serving a depressed community or even for yourself.

    Since BPD Beautiful is a BPD recovery blog, of course I have to mention the correlation between depression and borderline personality disorder at least once in this post. Here are some statistics originally found on verywellmind

    BPD and depression commonly occur together. One study found that about 96% of patients with BPD met criteria for a mood disorder. In this study, about 83% of patients with BPD also met criteria for major depressive disorder, and about 39% of patients with BPD also met criteria for dysthymic disorder.  

  • Living With BPD

    I Think I Have BPD, Now What?

    “Do I Have Borderline Personality Disorder?”

    You’ve stumbled upon a post about borderline personality disorder, or you heard about BPD in a movie. Maybe someone you know has it, someone very similar to you. Whatever the case may be, you’ve searched ‘do I have BPD?’ or ‘I think I have borderline personality disorder’ and now you’re reading this post to find out what to do.

    First things first, don’t panic. BPD isn’t a death sentence. If you do have borderline personality disorder, you are not hopeless. In fact, you’re now one step closer to feeling better. 

    Read that again. One more time, so it sinks in. 

    I was in your place once: frantically searching up BPD blog posts, reading everything online about borderline personality disorder and reading others’ stories with BPD and comparing them to myself. It’s scary to think you might have a personality disorder. 

    The term seems foreign in your brain, much less like something you can say out loud. You may wonder if there’s something wrong with you. Or you may question yourself. Maybe you’re just overreacting. You don’t actually have BPD. There’s no way!

    In this post, we’re going to go over every step you should take if “Do I have borderline personality disorder?” or “I think I have BPD” is going through your head.

  • Emotional Wellness

    4 Healthy Steps to Handle Grief

    This article was written by Camille J.

    If you haven’t already had to handle grief, you’ll deal with it at some point. A study from 2019 found 57% of Americans had grieved in the previous three years. The grieving process can last for days, weeks, months, or years; it’s different for everyone. However, you can help your grieving process with these healthy habits.