Emotionally Unstable Personality Disorder is a serious mental health condition affecting many individuals. According to government data, the prevalence of this condition in the UK indicates that the percentage of people over 16 who screened positive is in the region of 13.9% to 17.3%, depending on ethnic groups.
To avoid confusion, EUPD is an initialism for Emotionally Unstable Personality Order, which is commonly interplayed with BPD, meaning Borderline Personality Disorder. Either of these terms can be used when referring to the same psychiatric condition distinguished by emotional instability.
Are You Experiencing Emotionally Unstable Personality Disorder?
If you have arrived at this page, you, or someone you care for, are likely experiencing some kind of personality instability or behavioural issues that you may find difficult to explain. Sometimes, it is very hard to understand what is going on with our health, particularly our mental health, and it can become quite worrying when we know something is wrong but we don’t know why.
You might have an intense feeling of being detached from reality or struggling with elevated thoughts of being abandoned by family or friends. Perhaps you have unusually strong feelings toward someone yet these emotions can become aggressive with bouts of inappropriate anger followed by fear of losing their relationship.
For most of us, putting psychotic symptoms into words is a difficult task because one can only try to define how it feels rather than declaring any specific condition. Someone who may suffer from depression could easily describe their symptoms as feeling “under the weather” and may accept the consequences as just being normal. Depression is a serious condition if left untreated, so taking a passive approach will not resolve the cause of the ailment.
Regardless of stigmas surrounding mental health concerns or believing that how you are feeling is going to fade in time, it is crucial to recognise that mental health issues are real. Gone are the days when anyone with a mental health complaint was whisked away in a straight jacket and locked up forever in a mental asylum.
To the contrary. Today, we have experts and professionals who are fully dedicated and highly qualified in dealing with all mental health disorders. Their intervention can help resolve or improve conditions with the best diagnosis and course of action.
How To Identify The Signs And Symptoms Of EUPD
There are several signs and symptoms related to EUPD that might make one believe they are suffering from this condition. However, only a proper investigation and assessment will determine a positive diagnosis.
As a general guide to some of the symptoms associated with EUPD, an individual will typically experience some or more of the following indications:
Experiencing Emotional Instability
Initially, there may appear signs of a person distorting their self-image. This may show up in the form of a disturbed identity. What this means is that ideas, thoughts, and values swap and change regularly without any consistency.
They find it difficult to express goals and aspirations due to confused self-concepts. This emotional conflict tends to fluctuate between negative and positive evaluations of most aspects of their life, including relationships or career prospects.
Mood swings are characteristic of this disorder and show significant patterns of emotional dysregulation. One of the principal signs of EUPD is a frantic need to avoid abandonment, either as imaginative or real.
People suffering from BPD often have unstable or chaotic interpersonal relationships as they switch between extremes of mood, ideals, and values.
Developing Disturbed Thought Patterns
Living with this condition is extremely painful for an individual as they struggle to understand who they are while wanting to scream out their trapped frustrations. Emotions can change quickly and become overwhelming.
Thoughts become distorted and confusing, and you may think you are a bad person or something is wrong with you and that you deserve bad outcomes because you believe it’s your fault. You often feel that nobody listens to you or understands you, and whatever you feel and say is impossible to describe. You may consider yourself different from others or live like a child in an adult world with no specific purpose.
Developing a sense of emptiness and not knowing what you want from life can make you feel more isolated, wanting to run and hide. You take on a black-or-white view of other people, sometimes referred to as “splitting,” meaning they are either good or bad but with no middle-of-the-road opinion.
One of the most significant signs of this condition is showing strong emotions of abandonment. The thought of a friend leaving you forever if they become upset with you can become unbearable, and ironically, although there is a desire to be close to other people, there is also a heightened fear of having a close relationship.
Resorting To Impulsive Behaviour
Reckless and impulsive behaviours are the result of so much emotional frustration going on in the mind. Disturbed thought patterns often cause a person to change plans, ideas, or jobs frequently and may give up on potential achievements if they think there may be a chance of failure or disappointment.
Uncontrollable bouts of inappropriate anger and aggressive behaviour are typically observed that can be accompanied by the desire to self-harm or even suicidal attempts.
Impulsive spending or eating are other recognisable factors, and many individuals take up the recreational use of drugs or alcohol to help with stress.
Creating Unstable Relationships
Many people with BPD find relationships intense and unstable. There are several situations in which an individual with EUPD responds to.
- They struggle to put trust in a person
- They get easily frustrated and angry with people
- They end relationships or stop seeing someone as they believe they might leave them
- They constantly worry about what other people may say or do
- They tend to make unusually frequent contact with a person
- They desire constant reassurance of keeping a friendship
- They are always on the lookout for being rejected
These intense and fluctuating emotions make it difficult to maintain relationships, which can lead to exacerbate further chronic feelings of emptiness.
The Impact Of Emotional Instability On Daily Life
On a daily basis, there are distressing symptoms that can have a devastating impact on work and relationships.
Mood swings and inappropriate anger can make it difficult to maintain a job or complete an education. Outbursts of impulsivity can lead to unreasoning, and decisions may be made that are later regretted. People suffering from this type of disorder often change jobs or end up losing them as a result of their intense emotions.
More concerning is the damage caused to relationships, whether family, partners, or friends. Random outbursts of anger and swiftly changing mood swings are devastating emotions that a loved one has to endure. While in one moment, a relationship seems solid and happy, in the next moment, it appears they are being rejected and abandoned.
This rollercoaster of emotions may also lead to becoming involved with legal issues associated with any aggressive behaviour, reckless driving that may cause accidents, and attempts to self-harm, such as cutting or burning or other self-inflicting injuries, as well as attempted suicide.
Crisis Of Borderline Personality Disorder
A crisis of BPD doesn’t happen every day but can be an elevated concern to overcome when one occurs. It is considered a crisis when there is a severe burst of symptoms during a short space of time.
The outburst may last a few hours or maybe for a day, during which time the worst symptoms are intensified. A crisis may be triggered by several minor incidents that generally appear insignificant to an outsider but have huge importance to the person suffering from BPD.
Sometimes, these outbursts can accelerate to dangerous levels and may require emergency attention. Helping someone experiencing a crisis should recognise the triggers and know how to control the symptoms to prevent reactions from escalating.
Living With Someone With BPD
Living closely with an individual who has BPD can be extremely demanding. Handling constant mood swings and withstanding unstable emotions takes a lot of patience and effort. This is emphasised when a person is reluctant to find help.
It is not unusual for family members or friends to turn their backs to angry outbursts and impulsive or abusive behaviour but in doing so, they will intensify the symptoms making matters worse.
The best support is to encourage a person with BPD to find help for their condition and discover ways to manage their symptoms.
Diagnosis And Views On Diagnosis
The symptoms relating to BPD are very broad and similar to other mental health conditions. Not all healthcare providers understand the condition, and sometimes, a wrong diagnosis may be given. At the same time, there are many different opinions on how the condition is described, how it is diagnosed, and what treatment should be applied. Occasionally, a person who has BPD may also have another underlying mental health issue going on at the same time.
A person suffering from emotional instability can find it extremely difficult to put into words what they are feeling or the discomfort they experience, making a correct diagnosis even harder to decide.
There are different views surrounding a BPD diagnosis, as some people may not get one when they feel they should, or they may get a diagnosis of another mental health condition that one feels is not appropriate to their symptoms. Other opinions may be that when a BPD diagnosis is given, there is no call for any diagnosis at all.
A correct diagnosis should fit how a person feels according to their unique symptoms and emotions, and if it doesn’t seem right, you should consult a professional mental health provider to ensure you receive the correct diagnosis and treatment.
Causes Of Borderline Personality Disorder
The causes of BPD are unclear for developing this condition, but anyone with a diagnosis of BPD more than likely has faced some form of traumatic experience during their lifetime.
This kind of trauma could be living through a difficult family environment; perhaps a parent was an alcoholic or other form of addiction. The loss of a parent at an early age can also be extremely stressful for a child or being left alone and scared for long periods. Physical or relationship abuse can lead to trauma or other emotional disturbances.
During exposure to trauma, it is often a person who develops ways to cope that can change opinions of themself and of other people and, over time, may create feelings of anxiety or anger. Difficult childhoods can lead adults to manage any stress or trauma they experience unsuccessfully.
There is also a possibility of never experiencing trauma, and BPD may be genetic.
Effective Treatment For Mental Health Conditions
At present, there is no prescription medication to treat patients with BPD, although sedatives may be considered if symptoms of anxiety or depression are also present.
Managing symptoms is fundamental to helping someone living with BPD develop new coping strategies.
Effective treatment for people diagnosed with BPD typically involves psychotherapy. There are many forms of talking therapies that use evidence-based practices when treating mental health issues.
Dialectical Behavioural Therapy (DBT) can help you understand and recognise that your emotions are genuine and real, so you may accept them with approaches and views that are different from your own.
Mentalisation-based therapy (MBT) focuses on thinking about your thoughts. This therapy allows you to determine whether your thoughts are realistic and work out if they are helpful to you. It also shows that people have their thoughts and ideas even if you don’t understand them and how your impulsive actions may affect their feelings.
Treatment of patients with this condition can last for several months and should always be supervised by mental health professionals.
Treatment for EUPD, otherwise known as BPD, is crucial to help someone overcome their symptoms and recover from this terrible condition.
Suppose you or someone you love may be showing symptoms of BPD. In that case, you are not alone, and help is available either through the NHS services or private mental health services.
Treatment Options With PROMIS
Today, all mental health is considered normal, treatable, and non-judgemental. Anyone feeling extreme emptiness with uncontrollable mood swings may wonder why and not be sure what to do. There are many accessible ways of getting help so you don’t have to suffer more from this devastating disorder.
At PROMIS, we treat mental health with our dedicated commitment and treat you as a genuine person. We understand the difficulties a person faces and realise it’s not an easy task to consent to get help, but we are confident that with our expertise and knowledge, we will assure you find peace and emotional stability so you can enjoy a healthier and happier life.
Call us today to find out about us, our services and the level of care we provide for all mental health care issues that we can help you with.
