Recovery

For many people who struggle with borderline personality disorder, it seems like a never ending battle. The fact is that, with the right treatment and strong support, recovery from BPD is a possible.

But what exactly is recovery?

William Anthony, Director of the Boston Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation, feels that “Recovery involves the development of new meaning and purpose in one’s life as one grows beyond the catastrophic effects of mental illness.”

For Seth Axelrod, Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Yale School of Medicine recovery begins when “an individual who’s chronically miserable and chronically looking for ways to escape their life or their experience… says okay, let’s put some effort into seeing if we can make it better and see if that works.”

Recovery from BPD is not easy, it usually takes years, but it does happen for many people. According to Mary Zanarini of Harvard Medical School, perhaps as many as 80% of people diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder recover. She refers to BPD as “the good prognosis diagnosis” because so many people with BPD do achieve recovery.

Recovery is a journey to make a life worth living. Improved understanding of the disorder, several new treatment approaches, and carefully chosen medications are giving people who have borderline personality disorder and their family members hope.

MORE FACTS ABOUT BPD→