Tag: bpd

Is mood dysregulation a symptom of BPD? I’ve tried to do research but all I’ve found is DMDD. And are there any other disorders with mood dysregulation?

textsfromtheborderline:

Simply put, BPD is a disorder of emotional dysregulation, not mood dystregulation. 

That’s not to say that we don’t get moody, but it is not in itself a symptom of BPD.

According to Dr. Marsha Linehan, BPD as a disorder has five key dysregulations:

  1. Emotion Dysregulation: Emotion dysregulation means not managing your emotions in context. It happens when you must reduce or escape your emotions by not managing them, without regard to consequences. Emotional dysregulation can be rage, anxiety, depression, and not feeling validated.   
  2. Interpersonal Dysregulation: Interpersonal dysregulation is indicated by chaotic relationships and fears of abandonment. 
  3. Self Dysregulation: Self dysregulation means an unstable sense of self and a sense of emptiness.
  4. Behavioral Dysregulation: Behavioral dysregulation is characterized by self-injury and impulsive behaviors (such as substance abuse and promiscuity). 
  5. Cognitive Dysregulation: Cognitive dysregulation is indicated by paranoia and dissociative responses that are made worse by stressful situations.  

This article identifies four components of emotional dystregulation in particular:

  1. Emotion sensitivity 
  2. Heightened and labile negative affect
  3. A deficit of appropriate regulation strategies
  4. A surplus of maladaptive regulation strategies

In plain language, this means:

  1. We feel emotions very deeply and strongly, quite frequently.
  2. We feel negative emotions (sadness, fear, anger) in a more intense way than most people, and yet these negative emotional states can cycle (change) very quickly.
  3. We don’t have a whole lot of healthy ways of working through our emotions. Our skillset related to emotional processing is apparently a lot less developed than that of neurotupical people.
  4. We have a whole lot of unhealthy ways of working through our emotions, which include things like substance abuse, suppression, self-harm, avoidance, and self-isolation, instead of developing healthier methods such as clear communication, excersizing, building a circle of trustworthy friends, and embracing new experiences. 

I hope that helps clarify things for you!