Borderline Personality Disorder and The Holidays
Are the holidays making you angry? Does your family let you down, not doing what they should do? When your college age child comes home for winter break, do you want him or her to spend more time with you than they do?
If your child causes you to feel let down, sad, or angry, you might want to rethink how you look at their behavior. We cannot control what other people do, we can only control the way we react to them. Even though your child or family members might be unreasonable, you do not have to suffer because of it.
If your emotions are controlled by the actions of other people or the situations in which you find yourself, you can change that. You can have peace even when things are not going your way.
At Surf Ridge Counseling there is therapy for Borderline Personality Disorder, BPD. I am Amoret Phillips and I have worked with clients who have a diagnosis of BPD for over six years. People who fit the criteria of BPD, often have difficulty regulating their emotions. You might not have BPD, and yet you could still benefit from learning the skills created to help people with that very diagnosis. In fact, most people who learn about DBT, [Dialectical Behavior Therapy] wonder why this is not taught in high school. You do not have to have a diagnosis to benefit from learning DBT.
Things Can Be Better This Year
Dialectical Behavior Therapy, DBT, created by Marsha Linehan is one of the most wonderful therapy modalities to help people with Borderline Personality Disorder, BPD. At Surf Ridge Counseling, I can help you become familiar with the skill set from DBT in a way that will help you enjoy your holidays.
With Mindfulness, Interpersonal Effectiveness, Emotional Regulation and Distress Tolerance skills, you can begin to enjoy all of your life, and experience less suffering.
The remarkable thing about Marsha Linehan’s DBT is that she labels behaviors that we all use, and breaks them down into parts explaining step by step, how to use these skills intentionally. Once we use these skills [behaviors] with intention, they become more effective. We begin to have a life with less suffering.
There may not be an earth shattering skill you learn from DBT that you’ve never thought of before, but it is the way she presents these skills, that makes them so effective. We all have skills, we just don’t use them as often as we could.
At Surf Ridge Counseling, I teach the skills from DBT one on one. DBT is a modality that uses co-therapy [two therapists] in group therapy combined with individual counseling. What I provide is taken from Marsha Linehan’s DBT modality; the skills, which I can help you use and understand.
You Can Help Your Family Enjoy The Holidays
By learning and using the DBT skills, you can roll model these skills and begin to help the people in your life enjoy their lives more. We have all heard the phrase, when mom’s happy we are all happy. It is true. Someone who enjoys life is fun to be around.
You are the only person that you are with for every minute of your own life. By learning how to regulate your own emotions, no matter what is going on, you have a nice life. Then your happiness is not at the mercy of how much time your college age son or daughter spends with you on their winter break. You can actually enjoy the time you do spend with them more than you ever have, because your happiness is no longer dependent on what they do or don’t do.
And, when that daughter you have raised so well sees your happiness, they will probably enjoy their time with you more than ever. You will be helping them spread the Christmas spirt to all of their friends too.
For more information on BPD Treatment click here
