If you have been diagnosed with a borderline personality, there is a high likelihood that you also engage in substance abuse. This self-medication will be an attempt to ease your inner-discomfort and sense of isolation. The problem is that falling into addiction is like jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire. It is vital that you overcome your substance abuse problem, so you can manage your borderline personality symptoms.
What is Borderline Personality Disorder?
Borderline personality disorder is a relatively new diagnosis (although there is growing support for renaming it ‘emotion regulation disorder’). It is not that this condition has suddenly appeared out of nowhere but that people with these symptoms used to end up with diagnoses such as emotionally unstable, pseudo-schizophrenic, or pseudo-neurotic. The word ‘borderline’ refers to the fact that the symptoms share similarities to other mental health conditions.
People who have been diagnosed with borderline personality disorder have problems regulating their emotions and dealing with interpersonal relationships. Common symptoms would include:
- A history of acting impulsively and making bad decisions
- Difficulty sustaining long-term relationships ( a pattern of best friends becoming ex-friends)
- Highly insecure in romantic relationships
- A history of self-harm
- A history of substance abuse
- Poor emotion control
- Negative self-image
- Fear of abandonment
Addiction Rehab for People with Borderline Personality Disorder
If you choose a regular drug rehab programme, you may not have access to all the resources you need to build your new life. Although alcohol and drugs have been making your situation worse, this self-medication will have been part of your coping strategy. This means that when you become sober, you may start to feel overwhelmed by your other symptoms. Choosing the wrong type of rehab may mean you lose your chance of recovery, and there is no guarantee you will have further opportunities in the future.
The best option if you are dealing with any type of mental health issue is to choose a rehab that offers dual diagnosis treatment. This means that both of your conditions will be dealt with together. A growing number of rehabs offer this type of programme, but you also need to be sure that the facility has enough experience with helping clients who have borderline personality disorders. Rehabs that offer cognitive-behavioural therapy or mindfulness training are worth considering because these evidence-based treatments can help you gain more control over your emotions and thoughts.
