When you have borderline personality disorder, it can be very difficult to feel stable and happy: socially, personally, mentally, and physically. The disorder is characterized by drastic mood shifts, unstable relationships, periods of depression, self-harm and thoughts of suicide. The mood of the BPD individual can shift within a single day. And they always seem to be having a personal crisis, no matter the degree of the situation. Unfortunately (and especially so if the individual is not diagnosed yet), the symptoms of BPD typically manifest in relationships, which are always difficult to maintain with this diagnosis.
For the individual with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), it can be very difficult to keep friends and maintain relationships because they seem to thrive on chaos. When you look beneath the surface of the borderline personality diagnosis, a very tired, confused, and often depressed person is revealed.
If alcohol is added to the equation, BPD becomes far more difficult to manage. What was once a lack of self-control and recklessness can become a serious health risk. Unstable moods might have you going out, partying, and throwing all caution to the wind (reckless behavior is also a common characteristic of BPD). Since suicide and depression is always a higher risk for those with this psychiatric disorder, this behavior can be exacerbated by alcohol. If you’ve been diagnosed with BPD, according to SAMHSA, “[a] large survey found that 50.7 percent of individuals with a lifetime diagnosis (i.e., meeting the criteria for a diagnosis at some point during the individual’s life) of BPD also had a diagnosis of an SUD over the previous 12 months.”
What you may notice about the individual diagnosed with BPD is that they feel largely at blame: everyone is out to get them, they always feel like the victim, and never the instigator. They’ll ask you for help, but won’t move toward a solution, but continue to belabor their case for victimization. Of course, this latent character trait would never be apparent to the BPD individual (and we’re not saying it should be, merely that it is difficult to diagnose, especially at the source). It’s hard to feel that you’re being blamed for no reason, and if you’ve been diagnosed with BPD, this sentiment is purely pathological. It might simply be viewed as a negative character trait, when really, there is far greater instability beneath the surface. Turning to alcohol does seem like a logical solution for dealing with BPD, especially because as a depressant it can quell those feelings of instability and insecurity. But ultimately, alcohol will always make mood swings for BPD more severe, and depression more pronounced, and as a result, more difficult to shake. As co-morbid illnesses, BPD and alcoholism should be treated concurrently, to effectively unpack the elements that make the two a self-perpetuating cycle of addiction and discontent.
