Borderline Personality Disorder: Home Treatment

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Home Treatment

There are many steps you can take at home to help manage your borderline personality disorder symptoms.

• Get enough sleep, and go to bed around the same time every night.
• Eat a balanced diet that is low in saturated fat and contains lots of fresh fruits and vegetables.
• Get regular exercise, such as walking or swimming.
• Avoid alcohol, illegal drugs, and medicines that have not been prescribed to you. These may make your symptoms of borderline personality disorder worse and also may interfere with your prescribed medicines.
• Avoid making any major life decisions (like changing jobs, moving, or getting married or divorced) when you are feeling irritable, anxious, angry, or depressed.
• Keep scheduled counseling appointments, and take your medicines as prescribed.

If you know someone with borderline personality disorder, you may want to watch for warning signs of suicide, because suicide attempts are common with this disorder. You also may want to seek support for yourself because this condition can be demanding for those who care about the affected person.

Last updated:	March 26, 2007
Author:	Jeannette Curtis
Reviewed By:	Kathleen Romito, MD - Family Medicine, Lisa S. Weinstock, MD - Psychiatry
Editors:	Susan Van Houten, RN, BSN, MBA, Pat Truman, MATC