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Mindfulness Skills for BPD

If you've been learning about treatments for BPD, you may have heard the term "mindfulness" tossed around. What is mindfulness and how can it help you cope with your symptoms? Learn more about this powerful tool.

More on Treatment for BPD

Borderline Personality Disorder Blog with Kristalyn Salters-Pedneault, PhD

Coping Skills for Right Now

Wednesday May 21, 2008

What do you do when you are in the midst of a very strong emotional reaction? Many people with BPD experience urges to engage in a variety of unhealthy behaviors in an attempt to get rid of emotional pain. Self-harm, substance use, physical aggression, and other harmful habits often go hand-in-hand with strong feelings.

If you want to change the way you respond to strong emotions it will require some planning-- you can't wait until you are already upset, because it is too hard to think clearly when emotions are in control. Make a list of healthy coping behaviors that you can engage in when you are upset, and keep it with you at all times. The next time you notice a strong emotional reaction coming on, go straight to the list and pick a coping skill to try. If that one doesn't get you through, try the next thing on the list. Keep trying until the emotion has passed or the urge to engage in an unhealthy behavior has declined. For some ideas, use this list of healthy coping skills to get you started.

This technique is easier said than done, but with practice, you can start to make positive changes in your responses to strong feelings.

New Online Hotline for Survivors of Sexual Assault

Thursday May 15, 2008

Last month, the Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network (RAINN), one of the world's largest anti-sexual assault organizations, launched a new online hotline for survivors of sexual assault. The online hotline works like instant messaging, allowing you to chat privately with a trained volunteer via the internet. The service is free, and RAINN has taken special steps to protect the identity of anyone using the hotline-- all users are completely anonymous and IP addresses and session transcripts are not logged.

The RAINN online hotline can be used by anyone who has survived sexual abuse or assault, or any spouse, partner, friend, or family member of someone who has been sexually assaulted, whether it happened recently or decades ago. Hotline volunteers provide crisis intervention, support, local treatment referrals, and information on recovery from sexual assault, medical issues, the criminal justice system.

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