BPD: What I Wish My Family Had Known

For far too many years, I was suffering and struggling with suicidal thoughts, intense emotions, and an overwhelming sense of emptiness but hadn't yet received the diagnosis of borderline personality disorder.

While there are many things I wish that I had known then, there are also things that I wish my family had known such as...

• they did nothing to cause the disorder and that there is a strong genetic component to BPD so it runs in families just like diabetes or heart disease

• their love and affection wasn't enough and that I needed treatment from a well-trained and compassionate mental health professional

• even when I needed a lot of help, I wasn't helpless or hopeless

• I really was doing the very best I could when it came to controlling my behaviors and I felt ashamed that I didn't have greater control

• they were doing the very best they could with the information and resources they had available to them

• gentleness and kindness are powerful healers

• I sometimes confused a lack of understanding as proof of a lack of love

• on-going education about borderline personality disorder really does make a difference

• even when I didn't say "thank you," I truly was thankful

If you are a mom, dad, spouse, or best friend, there are things you can do to help your loved one with BPD.

You can make a difference.