When you can’t gain access to therapy easily and you can’t afford to do anything privately you might be feeling stuck in a bottomless hole. The good news is there are ways to cope with many of the symptoms of BPD and while targeted self-help on the symptoms you personally suffer is the best way to go I have some ideas on how you might go about dealing with the general problems that having BPD brings…
One of the main things people suffer with when it comes to their BPD is the fast shiting emotions caused by the main symptom ‘Extreme Emotional Swings‘. Without a doubt, this can be the most tiresome of all the symptoms, but it is also one of the easiest to learn to cope with. Some ways to manage this symptom are…
Mood Tracking: To get control of your mood swings a simple way of doing that is to keep a written track/journaling about your moods as you might start to see a pattern and with better understanding, you might learn to better cope with them. This will also help you to work out what might be triggering you, but with BPD there doesn’t always have to be a trigger point at all.
Fresh Air: While many self-help sites will tell you to get outside and maybe do some exercise to increase your stress hormones, you really don’t need to go that far. Just by opening up some windows, or hanging your head out of that said window will be enough to ground you for a short while. Just close your eyes and feel the air upon your face. Do this for long enough and you should soon calm down.
Rest/Sleep: If you notice your mood staring to go from one end to another why not try having a little nap. If you can you should try to sleep or at least lay down with your eyes shut for about 30 minutes, that should help you feel a little more grounded.
Distraction: Why not do something to distract your mind, maybe do a puzzle on your phone, try and do a crossword, or a Sudoku puzzle. I personally like to make things like cakes or maybe savoury items as it takes a long time and uses all my senses, brain, exercise, touch, smell and of course taste.
While all these ideas are good in the short term you should be aware that BPD mood swings may have a significant impact on health both mentally and physically. So if they do persist you should seek the help of a mental health professional as soon as you can or at the very least talk to your local GP.
If you have any questions relating to BPD please do drop a comment below and help us all share the knowledge with others. If you have any other questions relating to BPD or would just like some advice on the disorder do get in touch with us via the contact us page. It’s easy to do, we are both responsive and confidential, plus we never save any of your details in any way.
