Suicide in BPD

TRIGGER WARNING: Suicide

Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) has been considered one of the most difficult disorders to live with due to the emotional dysregulation. BPD has higher ratings of suicide attempts than many other mental health disorders. I wanted to share this because I recently went through an attempt. Around 70-80% of people with BPD will make at least one suicide attempts in their life. It is common for people with BPD to make multiple attempts throughout their life. The mean is about 3-4 times in a lifetime; however, the numbers range from 1-21 times in a lifetime. I believe I have about 7 times now in my lifetime. Around 5-10% actually complete suicide. I believe these statistics are so important because a lot of people dismiss BPD and assume that we are expected to just "get over" our emotions. BPD is an extremely difficult disorder to live with and a lot of us need help to get through the day.

It can seem like a lot because of the sudden anger outbursts and sudden mood swings, but a lot of us need the support and at least one person to stick around in our lives. We usually fear abandonment more than the average person, so leaving will make it extremely difficult for us. I know it can be hard to understand someone with BPD, but whether you understand or not; it is still important to stick around and support the person with BPD in your life. One of the most common triggers of BPD can be separation. Most of my suicide attempts were due to past breakups. That is not always the reason, but it is a common reason for suicide attempts because we feel rejected. Please be patient with the person with BPD in your life. It means so much to me when people stick around even when they have seen me at my worst moments. Be the person who makes a good impact on the person with BPD in your life.