We regularly see posts on our @BPDvideo Twitter account where people express their dismay about the lack of friends in their lives.
Here are a few examples:
“Making new friends is always scary.”
“It feels like everyone hates me.”
“I wanna feel not so alone.”
“I need someone who understands BPD”
This isn’t very surprising considering that one of the diagnostic criteria for Borderline Personality Disorder is “a pattern of unstable and intense interpersonal relationships.”
Making and keeping friends can be very difficult for people with BPD. And while there are many informational resources for people with BPD and for family members who have a loved one with BPD. However, there’s not so much for friends, despite the critical difference they can make in the lives of people with BPD.
We started thinking about this recently when one of our TW followers asked if we had any relevant information about BPD for friends. That was kind of a walkup call for us. We didn’t and realized right away that we should. So we began to look for what might be out there and what we could add to our BPD resource materials.
Shortly after starting our research two things became self-evident: 1) supportive friends can be very helpful, and 2) finding supportive friends can be very difficult.
We were able to find some excellent information about both of these issues on verywellmind.com, a certified Health on the Net (HON) website.
They provide a number of helpful suggestions for people who want to support a friend who has BPD here.
And several very good ideas for people with BPD who are looking to make and maintain new friendships here,
We will continue to research the topic of friends and BPD and curate more information to include on our BPDVideo.com website as we find it.
In the meantime, we would also like to hear your thoughts and suggestions about meaningful ways for people to support a friend with BPD and how people with BPD can improve their friend making skills. Please share them in the review box below.
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