Today I want to talk about 12 ways to handle BPD symptoms. They are all the things that helped me and the people I know.Â
Now, before we begin, you do know that I am not a professional doctor or a therapist, right? Glad we got this out of the way.
Okay…
Taking care of our mental health should be our priority. Without it, we have nothing, as what is happening in our brain dictates what happens in our lives. If we are happy and balanced, our lives are so much more happier and balanced.
Having Borderline Personality Disorder should not ruin our lives.Â
Here are 12 ways to handle BPD symptoms:
- Dialectical Behaviour Therapy. I have a workbook here that will help you start.
- Medicine. Talk to your doctor about it first, of course, but you can also read about my personal experience with aripiprazole and quetiapine.
- Punching the pillow when I am angry or screaming into it. Instead of yelling at someone I love or kicking the door, I just use my soft pillow (or a mattress) to take my anger out.
- Meditation. This has been an important tool for me and I love practising mindfulness with the Waking Up meditation app.
- Working out. Now, this can be a movement of any type, as long as you are active. For me, pilates and walking do the trick. For you, it might be something else, but whatever it is, do it daily.
- Spend time with your companion animals. They remind us that life is beautiful and that stretching and sleeping do a lot for our health.
- The Back From The Borderline podcast with Mollie. It has helped me so much spiritually and mentally just listening to her every week. (Just a note to say that Mollie seems to be anti-psychiatry and anti-medicine currently which is something I strongly disagree with.)
- A community of supportive people. No one has ever achieved anything alone (not really, when you think about it). So find your group of people and create your own little tribe that will love and respect you.
- Go out in nature and be amazed at how small you are. Looking at giant trees and the stars reminds me of how unimportant most of my problems are and that life is too precious to take for granted.
- Cognitive Behaviour Therapy. I have a workbook here that will help you start.
- Read books. I find that books have had the biggest impact on my mental health besides medicine. I recommend you start here.Â
- Cappuccino or watching Friends or cuddling with your dog. Basically, whatever it is that makes you happy and joyful and brings you comfort.
Now that you have these 12 ways to handle some of the BPD symptoms, you can try implementing them.
I have a toolbox of things I can do when my mental health is down, and all of these are in it. The best part is that I now know what works for which symptom and I can calm myself down more quickly.
It takes time but it is worth it.
Tanja