5 Self Help Books People with Borderline Personality Disorder Can Use
Mental disorders are health conditions that are characterized by alterations in thinking, mood, or behavior associated with distress or impaired functioning. This notion of continuum views mental health on the one hand as good mental functioning compared with mental illness on the other end of the spectrum as poor functioning.
Mental health is our way of thinking, feeling, and doing things in our lives. It also helps determine how we manage stress, relate to others, and make choices. Just like physical health, mental health matters at every stage of life, from childhood to adolescence to adulthood.
Mental illnesses are quite common and are believed to affect about one in five families in the U.S. These disorders such as depression, phobias, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and many others are real diseases that one cannot get away from.
All over the world, the statistics around mental health issues are getting more and more alarming. The key factors for the apparent increase in mental health cases remain to be fully determined. In fact, many of the figures from health authorities may be inaccurate since people never really try to diagnose their mental illnesses or when they do, tend to hide, or ignore them. This is also one of the main reasons why many mental health problems get worse. Perhaps the only good news that emerges from all of this is that there are common mental health disorders and problems among the statistics.
Mental health, as defined by the Surgeon General’s Report on Mental Health, refers to the successful performance of mental functions, resulting in productive activities, fulfilling relationships with other people, and the ability to adapt to change and cope with adversity.
Everybody gets worried, anxious, sad, or stressed sometimes, however, in the case of a mental illness, these feelings do not go away and are serious enough to affect the person’s daily life. It can make it hard to meet and keep friends, hold a job, or enjoy life.
Emotional and mentally healthy people control their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. They feel good about themselves and maintain good relations. They are better able to put issues in context than those with mental health-related issues. It is important to remember that people who are healthy emotionally can sometimes have emotional problems or mental illnesses.
Scientists believe that mental illness often has a physical cause, like a chemical disequilibrium in the brain. Stress and issues with family, work, or school can sometimes trigger or worsen a mental illness. If you feel that you or someone you care about is at risk, it is always better to ask for help, it may not be easy at first, but some ways and steps may save you or someone else’s life.
Depression is a common symptom associated with numerous mental health conditions. About 80% of people experienced some form of clinical depression at some point in their lives. For a lot of people, this problem can be alleviated by counseling.
However, the problem lies in the fact that most people tend to see the early stages of depression as just a negative mood swing. As it is generally difficult for most people to detect depression until it has taken full effect, the condition can often go unnoticed. For some people, the physical and mental changes associated with mental are gradual, making it harder to identify the problem.
Some other people, they can get so depressed that they even reach a point where they begin to question their sanity and sometimes wander close to the edge. Anyone who has lived in a home with toxic parents can relate to this. In our post on
What about you? Do you see yourself going to the edge sometimes? See if you can answer the following questions:
Are you experiencing any sadness or irritability?
Has there been a loss of interest in some of the activities you previously enjoyed?
Have you noticed a decrease in weight or a change in your appetite?
Did you notice any changes in your sleep patterns?
Do you feel sorry for yourself?
Are you having trouble focusing, remembering things, or making decisions?
Have you ever considered suicide or death?
If you answered yes to most of these questions, it is time to consider seeing your mental health doctor because your mental health could be at risk.
Fortunately, many of them are treatable. Medication and therapy can improve the lives of most people affected by mental illness; however, a lot of people find that it’s more cost-effective to use some self-help books rather than have a doctor prescribe mood stabilizers or visit a psychiatrist. However, following a doctor’s instructions on counseling and referrals to mental health professionals is much more important.
Some mental health books that people with various mental health disorders have been able to successfully use over the years include the following:
When your Mom has Borderline Personality Disorder
by LINSY B
This book also features in our earlier post on 6 Books That Can Help You Heal from Toxic Parenting from Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) Mothers.
If you are a victim of toxic parenting, especially from a toxic mother who had BPD, then this book is definitely for you. If you are not sure if your parents should be described as toxic parents then if your life has been a struggle with self-esteem, anger, depression, and maintaining relationships with friends and lovers, it is time to suspect that your upbringing may have played a role in that especially when your relationship with your mother is not a very loving one.
This book shows how heartbreaking the experience of a child with borderline personality disorder can be, how the instability, emotional volatility, self-injury, and suicide attempts can be very draining and devastating for the emotions of the child and leave them feeling lost, helpless, and alone.
This book helps you recognize that you are not to blame for your mother’s behavior with steps you can take that will aid you in healing some of your wounds.
This book was written for young kids who presently have to live with a mother who does not seem to understand them. It shows them various tips, tricks, and ways of handling various situations.
It is also written for adults who grew up in homes where they suffered various forms of abuse from their mothers while growing up.
It also comes with a workbook that you can use as a form of self-help towards the process of healing or detoxification by first building your self-esteem.
This is a great gift or presents to give a friend, spouse, or lover who you suspect suffers from this kind of situation.
For more details, check it out on Amazon
Lonely Road by Linsy B.
Click Here to Check it out on Amazon
Life on the Borderline and Inside the Head of a Borderline Personality Disorder, the Daily Crazy Life of a Person, Learning from the Experiences of People Who Have Walked the Same Route
If there is one book people with BPD can relate to, it has to be Lonely Road. It is one book that can make you cry and is one of the only books that is written from the perspective of a BPD person. No book will appeal to your emotion and captures what a BPD person goes through daily as this book does
This book explains what can happen in the life of a person with borderline personality disorder in every typical day of their life using real-life experiences. The experiences will tell you how some BPD persons react when they believe they are about to be dumped and abandoned and what they do about it. It will also show how some other BPD persons feel when they feel empty in their inner core.
You will also learn the three emotions a BPD person has to deal with daily as they attempt to manage impulsive and non-impulsive actions.
A BPD person who reads this book will quickly identify from the beginning of the book that his or her feelings have been finally captured correctly by someone emphatic enough to try and understand what goes on in the head of a person with a borderline personality disorder.
He should be able to understand some aspects of him told from the perspective of a BPD person. So, it does not matter if you are a man, woman, working, or a stay-at-home, you will find aspects of yourself that relate to you as you go through this book.
For more details, check it out on Amazon
I Hate You–Don’t Leave Me by Jerold J. Kreisman
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Available on the market for more than two decades now, this is an essential guide for anyone who wants to learn more about Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), this book researches the neurobiological, genetic, and developmental roots of the disorder as well as connections between BPD and substance abuse, sexual abuse, Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome, ADHD, and eating disorders.
It is an advanced book that highlights pharmacological and psychotherapeutic advancements toward achieving success in the treatment and understanding of BPD.
It is an important book as well as a go-to source for those diagnosed with BPD, their family, friends, and colleagues, as well as professionals and students in the field.
For more details, check it out on Amazon
Stronger Than BPD by Debbie Corso
Click here to check it out on Amazon
Written by a BPD survivor and advocate, Stronger Than BPD offers practical, evidence-based dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) skills to help you manage the intense emotions and negative self-image that can occur with BPD. This easy-to-use guide helps you apply the fundamental components of DBT—such as mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness—to everyday situations that can trigger your symptoms. And through personal examples and real-life stories, you’ll see how others have put these skills to work in their own lives to get relief. You’ll even learn how social media can help you heal!
