HealthInfo Waitaha Canterbury
Self-care for borderline personality disorder
Tāu ake whakaora i te mate whakatangata hurihuri
There are several things you can do to help yourself if you have a borderline personality disorder (BPD).
- Talk to your general practice team about how you're feeling.
- Avoid recreational drugs and alcohol.
- Try to keep a regular sleep pattern.
- Read about physical health with a mental illness or addiction. Look after your physical health by eating well, quitting smoking and keeping active.
- Ask your general practice team or psychiatric team to write a care plan for you. This can include information about what kind of treatment works for you and who to contact if your symptoms get worse or if you're in a crisis.
- Learn about talking therapy. This aims to teach people to reduce unhelpful thoughts, recognise worsening symptoms, improve problem solving abilities and learn when to get help. It also aims to reduce stress and distress in families.
Family Support
Parenting when you have BPD can be really challenging, and your tamariki (children) may find life difficult at times. These videos from the Australian BPD Foundation may be helpful. Also, you can use the resources and support groups listed on Children of parents with a mental illness or addiction to help your whānau (family) deal with the issues they may face.
The websites listed on Overview of borderline personality disorder also have information that might help your family support you.
On the next page: Getting help for borderline personality disorder
Written by HealthInfo clinical advisers. Last reviewed May 2023.
SourcesReview key: HIBPD-503517
