Borderline Personality Disorder
Our treatment for Borderline Personality Disorder helps patients control and manage intense, unstable moods, self-harm and unstable relationships.
About Borderline Personality Disorder
Learn about the signs, symptoms and causes of Borderline Personality Disorder.
What is Borderline Personality Disorder?
Borderline Personality Disorder is a personality disorder characterised by intense feelings of anger, depression or anxiety, followed by severe difficulty regulating those emotions. Your patterns of thinking or actions may seem rigid to the point where interferences cause you severe distress. The intense and unstable nature of the condition can alienate sufferers, causing them to feel isolated – and even increase the risk of self-harm and suicide.
The term “borderline” refers to the additional mental health conditions that sufferers often “border” on being diagnosed with.
While a person with depression or bipolar disorder will experience the same mood state for a prolonged period of time, a person with borderline personality disorder may appear to experience “breaks” between their mood swings.
Causes of Borderline Personality Disorder
As with most conditions, there is no single cause of Borderline Personality Disorder.
Genetic and environmental factors, as well as brain chemistry, do play a role in the onset and progression of the condition, which is predominant throughout adolescence.
Borderline Personality Disorder often improves with age, and impulsive and anti-social behaviours tend to settle by the age of 30 to 40.
Signs and Symptoms
Borderline Personality Disorder is a complex psychiatric condition in which a person has difficulty managing their behavioural, psychological and cognitive impulses. Proper diagnosis is based on a clinical assessment by a mental health professional. Criteria of the disorder may or may not include the following:
Behavioural
- Threats or attempts related to suicide or self-harm
- Substance use or abuse
- Antisocial tendencies
- Risky sexual behaviour (i.e., unprotected sex, multiple partners, infidelity)
- Other risk-taking behaviour (i.e., reckless driving, spending sprees, gambling)
- Self-destruction
- Social isolation
- Excessive neediness or fear of abandonment
- Intense or chaotic relationships
- Avoidance or lack of self-direction
- Difficulty empathising
- Binge eating or other eating disorders
- Extreme reactions to real or perceived threats
Psychological
- Feelings of depression or hopelessness
- Low self-esteem or distorted self-image
- Fluctuating sense of identity
- Narcissism or superiority
- Anxiety or nervousness
- Paranoia or emotional detachment
- Suicidal thoughts
- Erratic moods
- Uncontrollable anger
- Irritability
- Feelings of boredom or emptiness
Cognitive
- Paranoia
- Hallucinations
- Suspiciousness
- Disassociation
- Neurosis
Treatment for Borderline Personality Disorder
Join our programs for the treatment of Borderline Personality Disorder on the Gold Coast.
Inpatient Treatment
Specialist treatment for Borderline Personality Disorder is key, as instability brought about by the disorder may often disrupt your personal wellbeing, work life, long-term planning, and how you find your place in the community.
Our Psychiatrists are well-versed in the assessment and treatment of patients presenting with mental health disorders, as well as exacerbation of pre-existing disorders often associated with Borderline Personality Disorder. Understanding the disorder is critical in the context of treatment, as it can often be misdiagnosed as another mental illness, particularly as a mood disorder.
Our inpatient treatment is complemented by day programs, which provide continued support for people living with Borderline Personality Disorder to better cope with day-to-day life.
Day Programs
Dialectical Behaviour Therapy
This program is for patients diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder and those who have intense, unstable moods, self-harm and unstable relationships. The program is skill-based to help patients tolerate intense feelings and learn to manage self-harming behaviours. Run by a multidisciplinary treatment team, the program and requires a strong commitment to therapy.
We offer this as a day and evening program.
Resources for Borderline Personality Disorder
Useful resources for people struggling with Borderline Personality Disorder.
Beyondblue
An independent, not-for-profit organisation working to increase awareness and understanding of anxiety and depression in Australia and to reduce the associated stigma.
Black Dog Institute
Information on symptoms, treatment and prevention of depression and bipolar disorder.
Headspace
National youth mental health foundation dedicated to improving the wellbeing of young Australians.
Head to Health
Australian Government online mental health resources.
Lifeline
A national charity providing all Australians experiencing a personal crisis with access to 24 hour crisis support and suicide prevention services.
Mensline Australia
A telephone and online support, information and referral service, helping men to deal with relationship problems in a practical and effective way.
Mindspot Clinic
An online and telephone clinic providing free assessment and treatment services for Australian adults with anxiety or depression.
National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (NACCHO)
Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services and Aboriginal Medical Services in each state and territory.
QLife
National counselling and referral service for LGBTI people, providing early intervention, peer support for people of all ages experiencing poor mental health, psychological distress, social isolation, discrimination, experiences of being misgendered.
Relationships Australia
Relationship support services for individuals, families and communities.
SANE Australia
Information about mental illness, treatments, where to go for support and help carers.
Support After Suicide
Information, resources, counselling and group support to those bereaved by suicide.