To the Guy on Twitter Who Said to Avoid Girls With BPD at 'All Costs'

The other day as I was scrolling through Twitter, and I stumbled across a thread from a guy pointing out the “red flags” of a girl with borderline personality disorder (BPD). He encouraged avoiding these girls at all costs.

At first I was sad. I already know the stigma surrounding my illness, but seeing it written out that way definitely stung a bit. My hurt soon turned to anger, and I decided to make a list of all of the good qualities of someone with BPD. While we struggle through some of the hardest symptoms, it also can give us good qualities too.

So, here’s a list of all the “dangers” of a girl with BPD:

1. Resilience

For the most part, people with BPD have survived some kind of traumatic event or ongoing trauma. That means we’re constantly fighting through and struggling, which makes us pretty brave and strong to battle this disorder.

2. Compassion

It’s unlikely that someone who feels so much emotion and understands it well wouldn’t be extremely compassionate. It gives us an ability to look after, and help others who are struggling.

3. Being Observant

Because of the intense, high emotions we can usually pick up on others’ emotional states and social cues. Being able to do this means we’re likely to be more understanding and sensitive when we can see others are feeling uncomfortable or anxious. 

4. Passion

When we care about something, we care deeply about it! We’ll throw ourselves entirely into it whether it be a job, relationship, friendship or hobby. When we love, we love deeply. 

5. Creativity

While releasing our emotions doesn’t always come out in a “healthy” manner, we pour ourselves into art, music and other creative outlets as a healthy emotional release. So many people with BPD are incredible at these things.

This is by no means a comprehensive list, as there are many more qualities and strengths in us. Mental illness isn’t your fault, and we shouldn’t allow ourselves to be vilified by someone who doesn’t understand what the illness even is or how hard we fight every day.