5 borderline personality disorder comics

In this article, we shall answer the question “are borderline personality disorder comics important?”. We shall also discuss what borderline personality disorder is, its causes, risk factors, and treatment methods. This information will help you ‌learn more about borderline personality disorder.

Are borderline personality disorder memes important?

Yes, borderline personality disorder comics are important. Memes can ‌educate others about borderline personality disorder and its symptoms, as well as to provide entertainment. This being said, memes should always be respectful and capture only that which is necessary in order to avoid stigmatization.

Understanding Borderline personality Disorder

To help you understand the content of borderline personality disorder comics, let us look the borderline personality disorder, its symptoms and causes.

BPD (its acronym) is a mental disorder that affects how you feel about yourself and other people. It also causes problems in carrying out normal day-to-day activities. People with BPD have a negative self-image, find it difficult to control emotions, and have a series of unstable relationships.

People with BPD dislike being alone and have an extreme fear of abandonment. However, their negative traits of irritability, mood swings and impulsiveness tend to push people away, even those who love you and want to have a meaningful relationship with you. 

The symptoms of BPD start in early adulthood and seem to worsen in young adulthood, however, the symptoms tend to improve with age and one can function normally with BPD.

Learning the signs and symptoms of BPD

Borderline personality memes not only help define what borderline personality is, but they also discuss the signs and symptoms. The signs and symptoms of BPD include:

Emotional symptoms

The emotional symptoms of BPD include:

• Sorrow
• Shame 
• Terror
• Rage 
• Feelings of sadness and emptiness (long-term)
• Severe mood swings. Some people feel suicidal and then feel better after a few hours. Mood swings vary; some feel better in the morning and some in the evening

Cognitive symptoms

• Having upsetting thoughts, i.e. thinking that you are a terrible person
• Auditory hallucinations. Some people hear voices in their heads telling them to harm themselves.
• Prolonged episodes of hallucinations, i.e. hearing voices and delusions, i.e. believing that your family members want to kill you

The cognitive symptoms of a worsening condition show the need to seek medical help.

Behavioural symptoms

• Self-harm, i.e. cutting yourself with a razor, burning your skin with cigarettes. The symptoms might go to the extreme of trying to commit suicide.
• Engaging in reckless behaviour, i.e. having unprotected sex with strangers, binge drinking and extreme use of drugs, and going on shopping sprees.

What can cause Borderline Personality Disorder 

Finally, borderline personality memes can also try to explain what causes borderline personality disorder. As of today, there is no single cause that can be identified as causing BPD. However, there are factors that predispose you to get BPD. They include;

Genetics

There is a likelihood of BPD genes being passed from one generation to another. Research has shown that if a twin is diagnosed with BPD, there is a likelihood that the other one will have it too. There is no gene for BPD, so these findings should be treated with caution.

Problems with brain development

An MRI showed that people with BPD had a problem with the development of parts of the brain that regulate mood. They include; 

• The hippocampus; regulates behaviour and self-control
• Amygdala; regulates emotions
• Orbitofrontal cortex; involved in planning and decision making

Brain chemicals

Altered levels of the neurotransmitters, especially serotonin, have been linked with depression, aggression and failure to control destructive urges.

Environmental factors

Common environmental factors common in people with BPD include exposure to long-term fear or distress, experienced physical, emotional or sexual abuse, parental neglect, and growing up with a family member with a mental illness.

Unresolved fear and anger from childhood can make you put unrealistic expectations on other people, like expecting people to be like a parent to you, expecting others to bully you, idolising others and behaving like others are adults and you are not.

This information will help you understand how character in comics end up having borderline personality disorder.

3 reasons ‌borderline personality comics are important

For educational purposes

Borderline personality disorder comics provide us with a perspective of how persons living with the disorder feel. Of importance, we can understand the impact of the wide range of symptoms of BPD on people’s lives. They can also ‌illustrate how persons living with people suffering from BPD are affected by this disorder.

Entertainment

Comics provide us with a fun way of learning about other people’s experiences and drive home the need for social support for people living with borderline personality disorder.

Means of expression

The learning pyramid shows ‌we keep 20% of information that we learn through audio-visual sources and 30% of things we learn through demonstration. This information is important since comics fall in between these two categories depending on the content of the meme. Memes can therefore be used as a means of self expression, especially when spoken words ‌fail us. The same goes for people with borderline personality disorder. By the use of memes, they can show to us what goes on in their world.

5 borderline personality disorder comics

Borderline personality comics

Below are five borderline personality comics that try to illustrate the lives of people with borderline personality disorder. Some of the symptoms shown include unstable self-image and perception, unstable relationships and defective social skills and raging emotions.

(Driscoll, 2016)

(Driscoll, 2016)

(Taeshi Diary, n.d.)

(Ferrier, n.d.)

(Tomyo, n.d.)

How to cope with borderline personality disorder

Ways to cope with BPD include:

• Learn the grounding techniques that can help you focus on the present and divert your attention from harmful thoughts. Grounding techniques include counting from 0 to 10, 10 to 0, clenching and unclenching your fists, curling and uncurling your toes, or remembering the names of everyone in the room.
• Avoid alcohol and substances abuse as they can destabilize your emotional state
• Listen to calming music when feeling low
• Eat healthy balanced diets
• Practice gratitude. This helps to inspire positivity in life.
• Have sufficient sleep
• Keep in touch with your feelings and emotional states by journaling.
• Keep a positive company that will encourage you.
• Share your feelings and fears with your friends
• Visit your therapist regularly.
• Identify your anger triggers so that you can stop early.
• Engage in physical activities that can divert your mind away from harmful thoughts.
• Take a warm shower when experiencing a borderline episode
• Express yourself through art.

Treatment for BPD

Medication

There is no medication for BPD but medication can be given for the symptoms that manifest, i.e. antipsychotics, antidepressants and anxiolytics

Therapy

Dialectical Behavioral Therapy will help you respond to emotional situations with positive coping mechanisms and with reason and proper judgment. This will reduce seeing things in white and black.

Hospitalization

This is necessary if you are experiencing extreme symptoms like suicidal thoughts and attempts, or hallucinations and delusions that are affecting your daily functioning and relationship with others.

Conclusion

In this article, we discussed why borderline personality comics are important. We also looked at BPD causes, symptoms, treatment options, and coping skills. We hope this information was helpful.

If you have any questions or comments, feel free to reach out in the comment section.

Citation

Driscoll, B. (2016, May 17). This Cartoon Perfectly Illustrates Life With Borderline Personality Disorder. HuffPost UK. Retrieved July 25, 2022, from https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/borderline-personality-disorder_uk_573adcd9e4b0f0f53e36a050 

Ferrier, T. (n.d.). Borderline Personality Disorder | Ian Williams. Ian Williams. Retrieved July 25, 2022, from https://thebaddr.wordpress.com/tag/borderline-personality-disorder/ 

NHS. (July 17, 2019). Causes- borderline personality disorder. Retrieved from https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/conditions/borderline-personality-disorder/causes/

Kristalyn Salters-Pedneault. (28th November 2021). Borderline Personality Disorder. Verywellmind. Retrieved from: https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-borderline-personality-disorder-bpd-425487

Salters-Pedneault, K. Coping Skills for Borderline Personality Disorder. Verywellmind. Retrieved from: https://www.verywellmind.com/coping-skills-borderline-personality-disorder-425412

Taeshi Diary. (n.d.). Bittersweet Candy Bowl. Taeshi Diary. https://taeshidiary.tumblr.com/post/163502424706/bpd-management-is-a-neverending-process-and-it-can 

Tomyo. (n.d.). #bpd comic | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs. Tumgir. Retrieved July 25, 2022, from https://www.tumgir.com/tag/bpd%20comic