may is BPD awareness month. BPD is one of the most misunderstood diagnoses in mental health. it comes with stigma and a LOT of very negative misconceptions despite BPD being more common than people think: it’s the 3rd leading cause of death for young women between the ages 15-24.

there’s no clear cause on BPD, but research shows that anything from genetics to environmental or neurobiological factors play a big role. only twenty years ago mental health researchers were so convinced there was no hope for people with BPD to manage their symptoms :/

media portrayal and misunderstanding of those who have these conditions contribute to this stigma surrounding BPD every day. but, talking about this and raising awareness is a step in the right direction. please, please take the proper time to educate yourself on the disorder.

as goes without any other mental health illnesses, you probably wouldn’t even know a loved one might be struggling with BPD. partly because not everyone feels like opening up about it due to the stigma surrounding it.

one of the four types of BPD is known as “quiet” BPD: aka “high-functioning” BPD. this term is super misleading lmfao, since having quiet BPD usually just means that you direct your symptoms inward. and it only makes an already invisible MI even more complicated.

I talk a lot, but I usually don’t like to make stuff personal. but this topic really does matter to me a lot due to various reasons. many people with quiet BPD suffer in silence out of fear of burdening anyone. so when someone opens up to you, please, please be open-minded.

you are no one’s savior, and your pain isn’t worth less than someone else’s comfort. protect urself, set firm boundaries and ALWAYS take care of yourself: but maybe take a sec to read up on BPD to try and understand. to HELP minimize the stigma surrounding it. it helps so much.

not just by being more educated on a very relevant topic, but also by being able to maybe help out other, more myopic and close-minded people, when they speak ill of the disorder. it’s an invisible illness, but it’s lethal and it’s not an easy load to carry.

so please, take a second this month to just even google the term BPD. try and understand and read up on the symptoms. that’s all I’m asking from anyone :] people with mental illnesses aren’t any less human. please don’t let the media and TV-shows define these MI’s for you.

imagine being haunted by feelings of inadequacy and inferiority every day. it’s unfathomable for most to view life as black-or-white, but for over 5 million people in the USA alone it’s a reality, (75% of them being women), not even counting cases that go undiagnosed.

I know people always counteract by going “well, being mentally ill isn’t an excuse for-“ but I don’t wanna get into that, cause that’s a discussion that occurs every single day. as someone that cares about this topic, I just want you to be a bit more empathic when it comes to BPD

might delete this thread later idk, but here’s an article that’s a beautiful read. being “”high-functioning””, in any illness for that matter, doesn’t mean that it’s any less hard. a lot of people don’t know about may being BPD awareness month, so yea https://paintedbrain.org/mental-health/what-is-quiet-borderline-personality-disorder/