CBD AND BORDERLINE SCREAMING & ANGUISHING
by Eunice Veloso on Mar 20, 2024
BPD.
Americans have a thing for acronyms. It gets to be a little irritating. For mental disorders then: it makes your head spin.
BPD is “Borderline Personality Disorder”. Borderline Personality Disorder.
But there is also PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder), ADHD or ADHD (attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder).
They are all disorders that can create serious problems with family and/or social integration, in a context of harmony, of course.
But a disorder is not necessarily a disease. It may or may not be.
A menstruating woman has a disturbance, a nuisance: she is not sick.
Could some disorders of the mind also be seen this way? Also? Which may not necessarily be diseases?
They may or may not be.
Returning to the acronym disorders mentioned above: what is the root of all evil? What is the common link?
The common link is anxiety. A giant, overwhelming anxiety. Overwhelming to a point that turns us into its vassals.
And anxiety can be controlled. The screaming, the anguish of the borderline.
Here we are going to talk about borderline personality disorder. And CBD, of course.
Can CBD help?
Let's navigate these waters and see what we can discover.
#1. WHAT IS BORDERLINE PERSONALITY DISORDER (BPD)?
Basically it is a set of symptoms.
It is a fact that there are already imaging tests that allow a neuro-diagnosis to be made, to better support the hypothesis of borderline personality disorder: because there are areas of the brain that can present changes. Namely the areas associated with emotion management, decision-making and the fight-flight system.
Therefore, BPD can cause changes in the brain.
And on the other hand, the brain has neuroplasticity as its great ally. The discovery is relatively recent and the truth is that, if properly stimulated, new neural networks can be formed in the brain.
The truth is that, for those who have the symptoms, the discomfort of the disorder and its consequences for quality of life are felt in a very objective way.
@1.1 So what are the symptoms or signs of Borderline Personality Disorder?
Symptoms can be divided into 4 large groups:
Emotional instability:
- Intense mood swings. Episodes can last hours or days.
- Strong feelings of fury, hatred or intense anger along with difficulty controlling anger.
- Codependency to remain stable, irritation and anguish when faced with small separations from people close to them (holidays, work or sudden changes in plans, for example).
- Fear that emotions are out of control and tendency towards irrational behaviors in contexts of greater stress
- Proportional reactions to words with negative meanings and difficulty interpreting emotions in other people's faces (they can see anger in an emotionally neutral face).
- It is rare but psychotic episodes can occur
Impulsivity/compulsion:
- Dangerous, impulsive and/or compulsive behaviors: compulsive spending, unprotected sexual compulsion, alcohol/drug abuse, reckless driving.
- They may have intrusive and/or paranoid thoughts in stressful contexts
Chaotic Interpersonal Reactions:
- Rejection trauma and abandonment trauma: they make frantic efforts to avoid real or imagined abandonment, to never feel alone, rejected or without support
- Jealousy and possessiveness
- Close relationships go from extreme idealization to extreme devaluation due to hatred/fury. They fall in love and fall out of love in a sudden way.
Low self-esteem:
- Distorted self-image and instability in relation to oneself.
- They are very sensitive to rejection and have recurring feelings of emptiness and loneliness. Small rejections can trigger big, disproportionate emotional storms, with accusations of rejection, abandonment and selfishness. , disproportionate
- Suicidal ideas, destructive self-harm behaviors.
@1.1 What are the hypothetical causes that may be at the origin of Borderline Personality Disorder?
Trauma, often during childhood.
This is what many people with borderline personality disorder report: abuse, abandonment, unstable and hostile environments.
In a way, we return to the aforementioned common root with other disorders with similar symptoms that are confusing (PTSD, bipolarity, ADHD): extreme anxiety caused by trauma.
@1.2 Does the brain of people with symptoms of Borderline Personality Disorder have distinct structural characteristics?
People with Borderline Personality Disorder may present structural and functional changes in the area of the brain that controls impulses, decision-making and emotional regulation (hyperactive cerebral amygdala, prefrontal cortex, dysregulated hypothalamus).
However, there are many people with changes in these areas of the brain who do not have this disorder.
#2. CAN CBD HELP BPD?
Possibly.
Eventually, CBD may help reduce the symptoms of Borderline Personality Disorder.
The endocannabinoid system, which plays a fundamental role in the processing, learning and memory of emotions. This includes traumatic events.
There is extensive expression of CB1 and CB2 receptors in areas of the brain where they experience the greatest changes and are deregulated with the disorder. Namely the hypothalamus and the cerebral amygdala.
Although CBD does not bind to the CB1/CBD receptors (and for this reason it is not psychoactive), CBD nevertheless has the indirect role of modulating the endocannabinoid system, increasing the levels of anandamide available in the body.
For this reason, CBD has been used as a mood stabilizer and has the associated property of combating anxiety.
We also know that anandamide is the “internally produced THC”, the neuro-transmitter of happiness.
Some recent studies made upon people with symptoms of Borderline Personality Disorder, discovered that there is a connection between the Bordeline's states of irritation/aggressiveness/hostility with a low level of anandamide in the brain and hyperactivity of the cerebral amygdala.
In fact: when anyone experiences spikes of anger and anxiety, their brain's amygdala becomes very active.
People with Borderline symptoms have more of these moments.
This also means that if there is greater availability of anandamide in the brain, and this can be achieved with the contribution of CBD, the activity of the cerebral amygdala is regulated.
When the activity of the cerebral amygdala is reduced, it is the same as saying that its reactivity is reduced: the fight and flight system stops being triggered by false alarms, people feel less anxiety, and have fewer hostile/aggressive/rage reactions.
In short: Even though the studies are timid, because they contradict the trends towards the use of synthetic chemicals, CBD can help with Borderline symptoms because it helps the body have more anandamide available.
And with more anandamide available, the brain's amygdala becomes less reactive. A less reactive cerebral amygdala can actually contribute to less anxiety and fewer bouts of anger/aggression.
#3. THE HOLISTIC APPROACH MAY BE THE MOST EFFECTIVE
But as science is “moving slowly” to support the application of dosages of CBD of natural origin, to effectively reduce Borderline symptoms, taking a holistic approach and acting on several fronts can be an effective strategy.
Check out this testimony of how someone with Borderline symptoms acted to live better: https://www.quora.com/What-are-your-experiences-with-CBD-oil-and-borderline-personality-disorder
What would be a holistic approach to reducing borderline symptoms, besides natural CBD?
- emotional therapy to eliminate the causes of anxiety and heal traumatic events. Extreme anxiety is a symptom. If you change the way in which some emotions were processed: you can eliminate the cause of anxiety. At the root.
- a controled diet that is neuroprotective, non-inflammatory and promotes brain health in particular and the nervous system in general. To ensure that the body's physical/emotional response is proportional to events: without excessive or unnecessary production of hormones such as cortisol or adrenaline that put the body and brain in a state of alert, without it being necessary
- physical activity or other activities that promote well-being and naturally trigger the internal production of anandamide, so that it becomes available in the body and guarantees a good physical/emotional response to stressful everyday issues
- avoid activities/environments that cause stress. This includes what you read, the films you watch, social media, the people you spend time with. And these activities create layers of stress throughout the day that easily destabilize a person with Borderline.
- practice meditation or breathwork as a way of self-regulating the nervous system. Daily.
Absolutely everything we do out of habit has a compound effect. Whether good or bad. If we install good habits to replace less good ones: the results will eventually appear.
Is borderline curable?
Some say no. And that's for what it's worth.
If it is a disease or a set of symptoms?
There are also those who say no. That's also worth what it's worth.
That it can be torture to live with Borderline symptoms?
Certainly.
Is it possible to improve the quality of life?
Yes.
As long as people persist in wanting to live better and act upon it.
This involves changing lifestyle habits to see results.
No one is born with Borderline. It's not genetic.
And the body has the capacity for self-regeneration (it does so every night to restore the best possible conditions, as long as you get quality sleep).
The brain is capable of neuroplasticity: which means that, being properly stimulated, it is possible to improve its functioning to its optimal or best possible condition.
References:
https://www.vittude.com/blog/sindrome-de-borderline/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32351183/https://www.cannabisesaude.com.br/remedio-borderline/
DISCLAIMER: THIS ARTICLE DOES NOT HAVE ANY ASSESSMENT OF HEALTH ADVICE, IT IS MERELY INFORMATIONAL, THEREFORE, ANY INITIATIVES YOU HAVE, REGARDING MEDICINAL CANNABIS, SHOULD ALWAYS GO THROUGH THE ADVICE OF YOUR PHYSICIAN.
