Happiful – September 2019

It’s essential we

break down the

misconceptions

and uncover the

truth about BPD

BPD DOES NOT MAKE YOU

A TOXIC PERSON

There is a lot of stigma around

BPD, despite it being 2019, folks.

If you find YouTube videos, or

articles involving a person with

the condition, you’ll often see a

lot of people calling them ‘toxic’,

or telling people to ‘stay away

from them’ in the comments.

But people with BPD are not

toxic; they are struggling. The

issue with BPD is that, unlike

other conditions, there is no

medication to treat it. And so,

it’s all about coping mechanisms,

meaning it may take a sufferer

a while to learn to manage it on

a daily basis. Going through a

bad patch with BPD means this

person is having a difficult time,

and they need love and support

to get through it – not fear,

confusion, and judgement.

BPD IS NOT AS EASY TO TREAT

AS SOME OTHER CONDITIONS

Some people are under the

impression that all mental

conditions can be helped with

medication, but BPD is actually

not one of them. While some

people do take medication for it,

experts are divided over whether

this is actually helpful – and no

medication is currently licensed

to treat the condition. It’s not even

recommended by the National

Institute of Health and Care

Excellence. Certain symptoms

within the disorder may benefit

from medication to manage, but

not the disorder itself. Instead,

therapies are usually suggested.

So, the similarity to other mental

illnesses here is that what works for

one person won’t necessarily work

for someone else – after diagnosis,

it can be a period of time trialling

out various methods to manage it.

84 • happiful.com • September 2019