Allan Fruzzetti—BPD Awareness Month in Canada
Watch our Expert Education Series presentation on BPD and Stigma
ANNOUNCEMENT: HEALTH CANADA HAS NOW RECOGNIZED MAY AS BORDERLINE PERSONALITY DISORDER AWARENESS MONTH
Sashbear is devoted to raising awareness of this oft-misunderstood disorder. We are pleased to announce that Health Canada has now recognized May as Borderline Personality Disorder Awareness Month. See here: https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/calendar-health-promotion-days.html#m05
We hope that you will join us in raising awareness throughout BPD Awareness Month in May.
Allan Fruzzetti—BPD Awareness Month in Canada
Watch our Expert Education Series presentation on BPD and Stigma
BORDERLINE PERSONALITY DISORDER (BPD)
Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a serious and complex mental health disorder. There is no research on the prevalence in Canada, but it is likely similar to the prevalence in the UK and US, where it affects an estimated 1-2% of the general population, approximately 22% of people in inpatient psychiatric settings, and as high as 43% of adolescents in inpatient settings (Ellison et al., 2018).
Looking further than prevalence, the enormous impact of BPD becomes more obvious when you consider that 84% of people with BPD have engaged in some kind of self-injurious or suicidal behaviour (Soloff et al., 2002), and 10% of people with BPD die by suicide (Paris & Zweig-Frank, 2001).
BPD is rooted in chronic emotion dysregulation – ongoing difficulties with regulating emotion – and as a result, people with BPD are emotionally sensitive and reactive, and this may lead to challenges in their relationships as well. It is important to be aware that people with BPD experience extreme emotional pain, and the behaviours that may be challenging to others are often a result of trying to cope with the emotional pain they are living with.
In spite of the historical stigma surrounding personality disorders, we now know that most people with BPD can get better, especially when appropriate, evidence-based treatment is available to them. Dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT) and mentalization-based therapy (MBT) are two well-researched treatments that are increasingly available in Canada.
Learn more here: https://sashbear.org/about-bpd/