Lesson 35: Borderline Personality Disorder – Emotional Instability and Impulsivity (Lessons 1261–1300) · Course Catalog
Symptom characteristics:
Borderline personality disorder is characterized by drastic mood swings, sensitivity to abandonment, unstable interpersonal relationships, impulsive behavior, and a blurred sense of identity, often accompanied by dissociation, feelings of emptiness, and fluctuations in self-worth. It has a profound impact on learning, work, and intimate relationships, requiring ongoing intervention with a focus on safety.
Course Objectives:
Through six pathways—crisis safety, emotion regulation, pain tolerance, interpersonal efficacy, cognitive modification, and self-construction—it aims to stabilize emotions, improve relationships, reduce impulsivity, and build the ability to maintain long-term relationships.
- Understanding the core characteristics of BPD: rapid mood swings, unstable relationships, impulsivity, and blurred sense of identity.
- To explore the fundamental mechanisms of "sudden mood swings" and the inability to soothe oneself.
- Identify the triggers and behavioral patterns of impulses, and learn to set up buffer zones in advance.
- Understanding the formation path from the perspectives of attachment, early experiences, emotional sensitivity, and environmental interaction.
- A comprehensive assessment method combining scales, interviews, and medical records.
- A comprehensive pathway centered on DBT: emotion regulation, interpersonal efficacy, and pain tolerance.
- Understand trigger points and practice safe words and soothing scripts.
- Identifying the sources of "emptiness" and techniques for restoring a positive experience.
- From extremes to gray areas: learning the middle ground.
- To understand rapid changes in relational evaluation and to build a more stable explanatory framework.
- By quantitatively recording data, we can see specific patterns in emotional fluctuations.
- Practice immediate skills such as pausing, distraction, and alternative behaviors.
- Establish a crisis plan: internal resources, external resources, and emergency procedures.
- Identify mild dissociation and excessive disconnection and use grounding exercises.
- Develop specific action procedures for interpersonal conflicts and emotional breakdowns.
- Understanding emotional responses in current relationships through attachment styles.
- Discover the links between old schemas and automatic responses and begin to loosen them.
- From vague to specific, making emotions actionable.
- Develop strategies for protecting and preventing vulnerable moments.
- Master the core skills system in the treatment of borderline personality disorder.
- Learn the "stop, look, feel" three-step method to reduce the frequency of emotional outbursts.
- Use safe alternatives such as ice cubes, rubber bands, and the 5-minute rule.
- Adjust the experience from three levels: emotional function, needs, and motivation.
- Tools for returning to the present moment, such as 4-7-8 breathing, foot sensations, and five senses scanning.
- Learn to stabilize your inner state through physical experience.
- Use the fastest physiological regulation methods to reduce the intensity of emotions.
- When what you "want to do" is harmful to you, protect yourself by doing the opposite.
- Make resilience a daily, accumulative practice, rather than a grand goal.
- It takes into account three main aspects: relationships, goals, and self-esteem.
- The key requirements express the need while preserving the relationship.
- Use "steady-state communication" to reduce conflict and increase intimacy.
- Maintain self-esteem and self-consistency in relationships.
- Clear boundaries and prevent imbalances or over-integration in relationships.
- Establish a repair process: emotional calming—expression—taking responsibility—collaboration.
- Explore your true self, interests, and values to reduce role confusion.
- The shift from harsh criticism to compassion rebuilds self-security.
- Shift your focus from pain to something constructive.
- Break down your long-term vision into actionable paths.
- Set up four alarm dimensions: emotion, relationship, sleep, and behavior.
- Turn skills into a way of life to maintain stability and the quality of relationships.
- Traditional psychological mandalas are visual healing tools that integrate traditional religious mandala forms with modern psychological symbolism.
- Please complete the course evaluation to review your learning and provide suggestions. This will help you deepen your understanding and help us improve the course.
Note: This content is for self-understanding and training purposes only and does not replace professional medical diagnosis and emergency treatment. If you experience strong emotional fluctuations, dissociation, impulsive risks, or any thoughts of self-harm/suicidal ideation, please contact offline professional and crisis resources immediately.
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