This question comes up frequently on the BPD Forum: "My spouse has borderline personality disorder (BPD). Should I divorce him/her?" There is no easy answer to this question, and it certainly depends on the nature of the BPD and non-BPD spouse and their relationship. Many people have stuck by a spouse with BPD and found that the symptoms improved with time and treatment, others have tried to stay together but couldn't make it work. This is probably an issue best considered with the help of a therapist.

Read more about divorce and BPD...

I don't really like to make resolutions, but the New Year is a good time to look back at the past year, reflect, and look forward to the future. Maybe this year didn't go as planned, or there were bumps along the road, or maybe the year was a good one. Today is a good day to give yourself some credit for the challenges you've faced this year and to think about positive changes you would like to make or identify some goals you'd like to move toward. Maybe this year you'd like to start treatment, or practice healthy coping skills more often. Happy New Year to all!

Because people with borderline personality disorder (BPD) often experience an increase in symptoms under stressful conditions, the current economic woes may be particularly hard. The stress of unemployment or financial trouble may lead to more emotional lability, impulsive behavior, and paranoid thinking. If you or a loved one with BPD is under financial strain, be on the lookout for symptoms and be in contact with providers at the earliest signs of relapse.

If you have borderline personality disorder (BPD), you've probably tried every trick in the book to try to get rid of the very intense emotional experiences that are part of the disorder. Maybe you drink alcohol, or engage in impulsive behaviors to get rid of the feelings. Or maybe you've tried stuffing your feelings down so that you can't feel them anymore-- you've tried to suppress your emotions.

It turns out that all of these strategies can have a negative impact on your emotional health. Most people think that trying to just suppress your emotions by pushing them away is a fairly harmless strategy for reducing emotional pain, but although it has less obvious harmful consequences than drinking alcohol, for example, it still has harmful effects. Read more about why emotional suppression can hurt you...