 Psychologist Annie Tennis-Aguarn states, people with BPD are often extremely high energy, can be motivating, encouraging, and positive. Their energy can be contagious. Borderline personality disorder, BPD, is a mental condition marked by a pattern of ongoing instability and moods, behavior, self-image, and functioning. Some people diagnosed with BPD may find relief in their diagnosis because it can make them feel more understood. The relief isn't finally getting the answers to explain the condition that they may have been searching for for a long time. They can finally put a finger on why they struggle the way they do. Highly successful people like Angelina Jolie live with BPD. And it's believed other celebrities like Jim Carrey, Britney Spears, Megan Fox, Robbie Williams, and many others might also have it, but have never been officially diagnosed. Before we begin, we would like to have a quick chat. For many, labeling a mental illness like BPD can make you feel like your world is crashing down on you. You mostly hear about the negative aspects of mental illness. So once you're diagnosed with one, it can feel like the apocalypse is coming. Labeling symptoms can be damaging and create more of a stigma around mental illness. This video is not meant to diagnose anyone with BPD or any other mental illness. Our goal with this video is to use psychology to look at the positive aspects of those who are neurodivergent. We've chosen BPD to focus on today. Here are some of the brighter sides of BPD. Number one, borderline empathy paradox. Imilo, who writes for Psychology Today, touches on the fact that people with BPD are hyper empathetic. This means they're super sensitive to others' feelings, thoughts, and even physical sensations like sympathy pains. Imagine a husband feeling nauseous when a wife has morning sickness during pregnancy. They empathize with physical pains more than others. Despite their increased empathy, they may still have trouble with interpersonal relationships and social skills and their emotional hypersensitivity may show up as mood swings and a fear of abandonment. This is called the borderline empathy paradox. According to Australian website, borderlineindiact.org.au, those who learn to manage this awareness of emotion through heightened intuition and perception can help others when they're in emotional distress rather than making it worse. This is shown by a well-known study discussed on the career website linked in where researchers showed them photos of people's eyes. Maybe not a surprise, but the BPD group did much better than non-BPD at correctly identifying the emotions of the faces. This skill can be helpful in offering compassion to others because they can more easily recognize when people may need some support and friendship. Number two, creative. Assistant professor of psychology, Francesca Paraplegicova on self.com, says there are benefits to this finely tuned emotional detection. She explains, those with BPD are really fun, creative, compassionate, beautiful people. She believes this is due to their increased ability to draw on a deeper well of human emotions and experience. Emily Eveland, healthyplace.com, author and BPD diagnosi, also believes that those with BPD can channel their intensity into creativity once they learn to regulate their emotions. Emily goes on to say that she and her friends with BPD all have creative roles, such as musicians, painters, dancers, performance artists, writers and actors. And they put their whole selves into their creative pursuits. Whether you're diagnosed with BPD or not, the next time you're feeling overwhelmed with any emotion, take a moment to think. Is there something positive that I can channel this energy towards? This is most certainly a way to spin something that sounds negative into a sure positive. Number three, loyal. Have you ever had a partner or friend lie to you or betray your trust in some way? If you have, you know firsthand that it feels like a sucker punch when it happens. Can you imagine what would happen if Timon told Pumba they were out of bugs then ate them all without sharing? Yeah, I don't want to think about that either, or buddy. Emily Eveland explains those with BPD can love intensely. Along with their love comes an undying loyalty to you that you may not get with others. Emily also explains that when you get on the negative side of someone with BPD, that could be challenging. But when a person with BPD loves you, they love you intensely with all their heart and along with love comes loyalty. Eveland says those with BPD are great people to be around. On the days they're able to manage their emotions, well, they're funny, intelligent, lively, and 100% loyal. Number four, resilient. If you've ever watched any Gordon Ramsay shows, you've heard him tell the chefs to bounce back after they've royally screwed up. But that's not always easy. Every source we researched for this article mentioned a higher level of resilience as a trait of those with BPD. This means they can bounce back from difficulty, trauma, or harm easier than others not diagnosed with BPD. Many diagnosed with BPD have struggled with negative behaviors. The simple fact that they can still manage their emotions shows resilience in the face of these negative behaviors. They're pretty much superheroes. Number five, energetic. Have you ever met someone who's always energetic and seems like they're caffeine personified? Well, psychologist Annie Tannis-O'Garn on medium.com says that having a friend or significant other with BPD can help uplift and motivate you when you're feeling down, overwhelmed, depressed, or just tired of juggling your daily responsibilities. She goes on to say how good they are at giving encouragement and support. Annie also explains that this energizer bunny high energy quality can also be a coping mechanism to help protect them from the negative emotional crashes that BPD can cause. But when controlled, this can be a positive trait of someone with BPD. And number six, passionate. Have you ever asked a loved one questions about something they love? Launching a friend or a partner get excited and talk about something they're passionate about is one of the most wonderful feelings, don't you think? Christine Hammond at Psych Central says people with BPD are intense about things they're passionate about, whether that's a specific person or art, dance, music, sports, food, literature, or anything else. It's part of their nature that they throw themselves into things that they're interested in wholeheartedly. They don't need anyone to tell them to follow their passions because they already are. Because of this, those with BPD are hardworking and driven to achieve their dreams. How inspiring. Just like anything in life, there are things that sometimes make us feel flawed, but being neurodivergent shouldn't be one of them. If you're diagnosed with BPD, do you agree with or can you relate to these points? Are there any other positive traits with BPD that we didn't mention? Let us know in the comments. See you next time.