Information on emotional instability
This self-care programme is for people who have difficulties with emotional regulation or who have been diagnosed with borderline personality disorder. The programme can be useful to their loved ones and professionals as well.
Welcome!
The first step in treating emotional instability is getting information. This programme will provide you and your loved ones with information about emotional instability and its special characteristics.
Instructions for starting the self-care programme
Before starting this self-care programme, you should take a little time to learn what the programme is all about. Be sure to read our general instructions for self-care programmes as well.
Emotions give life its colours and are an essential part of everyone’s life. Sometimes a person’s emotions and moods may fluctuate so intensely and rapidly that it can be called emotional instability.
In the video below, registered mental nurse Outi Karvinen talks about borderline personality disorder.
What is BPD?
This self-care programme contains information on emotional instability. The programme includes several videos in which psychiatric nurse Outi Karvinen, pscyhologist and psychotherapist Reetta Latvala and experts by experience talk about emotional dysregulation, its underlying causes, how it manifests and ways to learn emotional regulation. The various contemplative assignments of the programme are designed to guide you into thinking about how emotional instability or dysregulation affects your own life and experiences.
This self-care programme contains plenty of information and various contemplative assignments, and the intention is not for you to go through all the materials at once. You also do not have to go through the programme in its entirety – you can instead utilise aspects of it that are important to you.
The programme consists of eight different themes. If you are planning to go through the entire self-care programme, you can schedule the themes across a suitable timeframe, such as 5–8 weeks. If you do that, you can mark the start and end dates on your calendar.
You can also use your calendar to mark clear time slots for taking your time to read the information provided, watch the videos included in the programme and work on the assignments. This will make it easy for you to set goals for yourself and monitor your progress in the programme.
Start the programme:
- 1. What is emotional instability?
This section involves learning about emotional instability and thinking about the diagnosis.
- 2. Regulating moods and emotions
Challenges with emotional and mood regulation are the key set of symptoms in emotional instability. This section contains information on emotional regulation and dysregulation. The section is suitable for everyone with difficulties with emotional regulation.
- 3. Behaviour
Difficulties with behavioural regulation affect a person’s everyday ability to function, relationships and notion of themselves alike.
- 4. Thinking and perception
Strong emotions affect a person’s thoughts and what they focus their attention on. Intense emotional fluctuations can cause cognitive and sensory distortions.
- 5. Identity and relationships
Emotional instability may cause a person to feel like they are a chameleon – as if they are a different person in different situations and relationships.
- 6. The development of emotional instability
A person’s emotional regulation is impacted by the environment in which they grow up as a child and young person. The impact of the environment is even greater to biologically sensitive people than to others.
- 7. How is emotional instability treated?
This section provides information on different studied forms of treatment and what a person can do themselves.
- 8. Emotional instability and loved ones
Emotional instability almost always has an impact on a person’s close relationships. The person’s loved ones should take care of their own wellbeing, but they can also provide support and help through everyday means.