: Fight Stigma | Borderline Personality Disorder

FACTS ABOUT
Borderline Personality Disorder

* BPD makes up at least 2% of the general population, which is 6 million people in the United States.

* BPD comprises 20% of the inpatient psychiatric population.

* BPD comprises 11% of the outpatient psychiatric population.

* In comparison, BPD affects 50% more people than Alzheimer's disease and nearly as many as bipolar disorder & schizophrenia combined 2 1/4%

* BPD has a 10% rate of suicide; one in ten people with BPD will die.

* Between 21-67% of people with BPD meet the criteria for substance abuse.

* Of the MICA population, 50-67% meet the criteria for BPD.

* Treatment for Substance Abuse that does not recognize the critical link with BPD is bound to fail.

* BPD is generally co-morbid with depression, anorexia, bulimia, and other problems resulting from impulsivity (reckless driving, gambling & shoplifting) * About 20% of men who batter have BPD.

* Parents of persons with BPD have replaced the "schizophrenogenic mothers" and "ice-box mothers" of autistic children as the newest family group blamed for psychiatric illness.

* BPD patients have replaced schizophrenics in the psychiatric revolving door.

* Patients with BPD are currently the most stigmatized in the mental health system. Many clinicians will not treat BPD patients.

* Males with BPD are often sent to jail or prison for violent outbursts resulting from a biological inability to control impulsivity.

* According to Dr.Joel Dvoskin former Commissioner of the NYS OMH, "Why would psychiatry and psychology turn so viciously against people they call mentally disordered? Apparently the greatest sin a client can commit is poor response to treatment. What is apparently so wrong about these unfortunate souls is that they have yet to demonstrate the ability to get better in response to our treatment. Thus, they don't make us feel very good. With a few notable exceptions, we have simply given up on helping people who desperately need us to do a better job of helping them."(CAMI Journal on BPD, Vol 8)

* Treatment is available for those with BPD. Since research indicates that those with BPD are biologically emotionally vulnerable and lack the ability to control impulses, treatment includes carefully prescribed psychopharmacology f or symptom reduction and cognitive behavioral therapy including psychoeducation and skills training.