Natural Remedies for Borderline Personality Disorder?

[lilyka]

I have a friend who was just diagnosed with borderline personality disorder.  She prefers to remain untreated than go with pharmaceuticals.

So first off any suggestions for natural treatments or types of practitioners she can look into?

And secondly any encouraging words I could pass on about more standard methods of treatment?

[ACsMom]

There's no medication specifically for BPD, but she may have been prescribed mood stabilizers to help with the symptoms.  I can certainly understand her not wanting to take pharmaceuticals, though.  Is she in therapy?  People with BPD often do really well with the right kind of therapy - preferably a combination of individual and group treatment.  The group therapy is so that they can learn and practice social skills.  As far as alternative treatments, she could take a good look at her diet and exercise habits and do some research on natural mood stabilizers.  Regular exercise should probably be her best friend.  Also there's been some research studies lately that show that omega-3's can be as effective as SSRI's for depression.  She could increase her intake of fish, walnuts, etc. or take supplements like krill oil, for example.  B-vitamins, as well, are associated with stable neurological functioning.  She should probably avoid alcohol like the plague.  There's probably a lot more she could do naturally, as well.  I find myself going to mercola.com a lot, when I'm trying to find a natural remedy for something.  Hope that helps or at least gives you/her a place to start!  Good luck to her, I know it's hard to get a diagnosis like that, but it can be freeing as well, because when you know what's wrong you can do something about it. 

[lilyka]

Thanks.  I will pass this information on to her. 

[birdhappy85]

The best natural treatment for borderline personality disorder is DBT, or dialectical behavioral therapy. It is highly effective. Your friend might benefit from taking medication for symptoms during her early time in therapy, as it can be very overwhelming to work on deep issues in the beginning, but that's something her therapist can assess and determine if she needs to see a psychiatrist for dual care. She might be able to stabilize herself and get to a functional level then where she might not need the medication anymore and can continue her DBT treatment on an ongoing basis to continue making progress.

[tireesix]

I have been diagnosed with BPD for 12 years now, only found out about it recently and 're-diagnosed' with it.

Thing is, no one will medicate me as I am so 'unstable', (jeez), I have been in and out of therapy since I was 12. I have tried all sorts of things. I am pretty sure I suffer from bipolar as well.

Anti depressants make me manic, mood stabilisers make me depressed, no one wants to try them together. I am going in for MORE therapy tomorrow for a course lasting 12 weeks, then ANOTHER course after that and then I will be put on a (18 month long) waiting list for one to one therapy......... Its the NHS..........

Nothing seems to help, I have tried fish oils, tried st. johns wort, exercise, hypnosis, art therapy, various talking therapies, various herbal remedies and on and on it goes and NOTHING works for me.

I just don't know what to do anymore. I am obviously going to do this course a) because I hope it will have some effect, b) because if I don't do it they assume I am not willing to help myself, so I do all the things I am told and c) the psychologist running it is seriously cute.

I am just tired of all the crap that goes with this damned diagnosis, I am tired of my family having to put up with it, I am tired of therapy that doesn't seem to work for me, I am tired of my 'female hormones' always being brought up by psychiatrists, I am tired of every damned aspect of my mental health and I am tired of not being believed about the bipolar........... (I get severely depressed, can have periods where I am kinda normal and also have periods where I am quite clearly manic, thing is, cos the psychiatrists have only really been involved recently, they haven't seen it, I know at the moment my mood is good and heading up which isn't good).

I can't afford private care so am stuck with the NHS........... There has to be something out there that helps?????

[tireesix]

OK, looking at DBT it would seem this is what this course is going to be about but its called something else, but essentially, its all stuff I have done in the past.

Is there anything else???

[nikkimouse135]

It does'nt fully cure bpd, But 5 HTP helps me some. It helps to produce more serotonin in your brain. You can find it at Walamart =)