Cycle 5 - Video 1 - Smarter Than BPD Quiz

How Borderline Personality Disorder can Distort Thinking: Understanding the Cognitive Problems and Treatments

• Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is associated with thinking-related problems that contribute to relationship issues, emotional instability, and impulsive behavior.
• Paranoid ideation is a common symptom of BPD, experienced by 87% of people with the disorder, leading to a belief that others are constantly planning to harm them.
• Chronic paranoid ideation, on the other hand, is a delusional belief that others plan to harm, indicating a psychotic disorder like schizophrenia.
• Dichotomous or black and white thinking is also common in people with BPD, who struggle to see the complexity in people and situations, leading to an inability to maintain a cohesive set of beliefs about oneself and others.
• Splitting refers to the tendency of people with BPD to slip from one side to the other in their thinking patterns and can harm their potential to hold long-lasting interpersonal relationships.
• Dissociation is another problematic pattern of thinking that occurs in BPD, which involves feeling unreal, numb, or separate from one's own body or psychological experiences.
• Psychotherapy is the most commonly recommended treatment for BPD, including strategies for addressing the problems in thinking that are characteristic of the disorder.
• Transference-focused therapy and Schema-focused therapy are two approaches that help clients recognize maladaptive ways of thinking and change those patterns.
• Medications are also sometimes prescribed along with psychotherapy, but it's crucial to talk to a GP and explain thoroughly how you feel and your thought progressions.
• Comparison is the thief of joy, and people with BPD should only compare themselves to their previous selves and think more positively to make progress.
• People with BPD can learn grounding skills to help them end dissociative episodes when they occur during psychotherapy.
• Emotional range shrinks with medication, and it's important to weigh the pros and cons before deciding to take them, especially for actors or people who need to experience the full range of emotions.