This quilt is meant to represent Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) (aka, Emotional Dysregulation Disorder).  As a marriage and family therapist, I consider BPD a relational diagnosis, meaning that it may not show itself in public, but will be blatantly apparent (and often explosive) in a relationship with a close loved one. The feelings of low self-worth (and sometimes self-hatred), a felt sense of abandonment, and splitting (love/hate & black/white thinking) are excruciating to live with. This diagnosis is stigmatized (as all personality disorders are) as it can be seen as a 'broken person' complex. More recently this diagnosis has been referred to differently as Emotional Dysregulation Disorder, which I believe is more accurate in its understanding of the symptom’s complexity. Please keep in mind, this diagnosis is so stigmatized that some health providers don't share this diagnosis with their clients, OR they will be unfortunately misdiagnosed as having Bipolar Disorder.

What to look for:  The improvisationally pieced nature of this quilt is an artistic interpretation of the often-polarized energy between family members living with BPD symptoms noted above.

Book recommendation(s):  These books are not meant to replace medical intervention and/or skilled therapy.

Dialectical Behavior Therapy to the Rescue: Tackle Your Borderline Personality Disorder Using DBT Skills https://a.co/d/abgJSaq

Stop Walking on Eggshells: Taking Your Life Back When Someone You Care About Has Borderline Personality Disorder. Free at https://www.academia.edu/44019341/Stop_walking_on_eggshells

From NIMH (National Institute for Mental Health):

People with Borderline Personality Disorder may experience intense mood swings and feel uncertainty about how they see themselves. Their feelings for others can change quickly, and swing from extreme closeness to extreme dislike. These changing feelings can lead to unstable relationships and emotional pain.

People with borderline personality disorder also tend to view things in extremes, such as all good or all bad. Their interests and values can change quickly, and they may act impulsively or recklessly.

Other signs or symptoms may include:

• Efforts to avoid real or perceived abandonment, such as plunging headfirst into relationships—or ending them just as quickly.
• A pattern of intense and unstable relationships with family, friends, and loved ones.
• A distorted and unstable self-image or sense of self.
• Impulsive and often dangerous behaviors, such as spending sprees, unsafe sex, substance misuse, reckless driving, and binge eating. However, if these behaviors happen mostly during times of elevated mood or energy, they may be symptoms of a mood disorder and not borderline personality disorder.
• Self-harming behavior, such as cutting.
• Recurring thoughts of suicidal behaviors or threats.
• Intense and highly variable moods, with episodes lasting from a few hours to a few days.
• Chronic feelings of emptiness.
• Inappropriate, intense anger or problems controlling anger.
• Feelings of dissociation, such as feeling cut off from oneself, observing oneself from outside one’s body, or feelings of unreality.

Not everyone with borderline personality disorder will experience all of these symptoms. The severity, frequency, and duration of symptoms depend on the person and their illness. People with borderline personality disorder have a significantly higher rate of self-harming and suicidal behavior than the general population.

Resources:

Click here to watch a 15min video of a personal account of what it's like to live with borderline personality disorder.

If you have a loved one that struggles with these symptoms, please check out this free e-book:  "Stop Walking on Eggshells"

Check out a very helpful book to start learning coping skills to manage these symptoms:  "Dialectical Behavior Therapy to the Rescue"

Learn more about this diagnosis at the National Institute for Mental Health.