Types Of Bpd~

[Theresasjourney]

Types of BPD
High Functioning, Low Functioning​

People with BPD vary a great deal in their functionality: that is, in their ability to live a normal lifestyle, work inside or outside the home, cope with everyday problems, interact with others, and so on.

Some people with BPD are so incapacitated by their illness that they are unable to work. They may spend a great deal of time in the hospital because of self-mutilation, severe eating disorders, substance abuse, or suicide attempts. BPD makes it very hard for them to form relationships, so they may have a weak support system. They may be so incapable of dealing with money that they have no cash for food or a place to live.

People who are close to low-functioning borderlines often find themselves living from crisis to crisis. They often feel manipulated by self-mutilation and suicide attempts. However, because the borderline is obviously ill, non-BPs usually receive understanding and support from family and friends.

High-functioning borderlines act perfectly normal most of the time. Successful, outgoing, and well-liked, they may show their other side only to people they know very well. Although these borderlines may feel the same way inside as their less-functional counterparts, they have covered it up very well-so well, in fact, that they may be strangers unto themselves.

Non-borderlines involved with this type of BP need to have their perceptions and feelings confirmed. Friends and family members who don't know the borderline as well may not believe stories of rage and verbal abuse. Many non-BPs told us that even their therapists refused to believe them when they described the BP's out-of-control behavior.

Of course, there's a lot of room in between high-functioning (sometimes referred to as the "borderline" borderline) and low- functioning BPs. Stressful life events are most likely to trigger dysfunctional coping mechanisms.

[FONT=Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Acting In, Acting Out​

Most borderline behavior is about one thing: trying to cope with internal anguish. However, people with BPD may do this in different ways. In our experience, the behavior of people with BPD tends to fall into two general categories: "acting out" and "acting in." These are not official, empirically researched categories. Rather, they are a convenient, real-world way of looking at differences.

Acting-out behaviors are attempts to alleviate pain by dumping it onto someone else-for example, by raging, blaming, criticizing, making accusations, becoming physically violent, and engaging in verbal abuse. Acting-out behaviors cause direct anguish for friends, family members, and partners. For example, one borderline woman, Kiesha, became very angry when she felt that her husband was ignoring her at an office Christmas party. So she went up to him, threw her drink in his face, and stalked out.

Acting-in behaviors mostly hurt the person with BPD, although non-BPs are also affected. Someone with BPD who mostly acts in may feel extremely guilty over imagined transgressions. They may mutilate themselves, try to hold in their anger, and blame themselves for problems that are not their fault. Suicide is also a possibility.

Some BPs seem to mainly act in. Some mainly act out. And some both act in and act out. Take Kiesha, for example; after she embarrassed her husband at the Christmas party, she felt very guilty. She walked home from the party, a distance of several miles. When she arrived home, she grabbed several ornaments from the tree and crushed them with her hands, causing a great deal of bleeding.
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[invisiblebabe]

I would theorize that acting-in is highly correlated with introverts who have BPD, and acting-out is more correlated with extroverts.

I also wonder how many people with BPD either grew up 1) emotionally or physically abused by family or peers, or 2) without any community support and/or with a lot of rejection.

I have several borderline traits but do not qualify for a diagnosis of BPD.

Blessings
kayli

 

[rogsr]

I would definately agree with your terms of discernment. After realizing I was a BP I began analyzing my actions and thoughts, especially after losing control. I found, at least from my own expierience, that it all seems to begin with a strictly internal sense of shame which makes me angry and eventually violent in some way. So, first I act-in which leads to acting out.

For the most part I've been working on a 'self-help' style of treatment. The biggest and most important step for me has been admitting to myself that I was a BP. This has greatly helped alleviate many feelings of false shame and guilt. Then I worked on forgiving the people in my life that abused or abandoned me while also attempting to 'mend fences' with them if possible. I learned many valuable lessons in doing that, like that most of the abusers were abused themselves and that much of the abandonment was either not real or much less severe than what I had percieved in my mind. This is not to say that I was not actually abused and abandoned, but looked at through the light of truth and understanding it became much lighter of a burden.

People who are closest to me have admitted to me that they have noticed a marketable improvement in my personality over that past year or so. So, it is possible to improve even if BPD is a chronic illness.

I wish all of you the best of luck, and thanks for reading!