Borderline personality disorder 

(BPD) is often associated with emotional highs and lows, impulsive behavior, and sensitivity.
Many people with BPD experience intense emotional instability, or extreme fluctuations
between feeling great and feeling depressed or sad.1 You may notice that your emotions can
change quickly in reaction to some events, such as a disagreement with a friend.
Often, your emotional reactions may be disproportionate to the incident that triggers the
emotion, such as feeling so sad you begin to cry over a very small inconvenience.
People with BPD often feel emotions much more intensely than others, and it may take longer
for those feelings to pass. This means that situations or events that may not faze another
person can be highly disruptive and upsetting for someone with BPD. This underlying instability
may also be the driving force behind other symptoms of this condition, including
impulsivity.2 All of this can be very disruptive to your daily life, impacting your relationships,
career, mood, and overall functioning.
While some medications can help reduce your emotional instability, you can make changes to
your lifestyle to help dramatically impact this symptom.3 That could include avoiding some
unhelpful coping mechanisms you've used in the past and instead adopting techniques
designed to help you self-regulate. Making these changes can reduce the frequency and
intensity of your feelings and can improve your overall ability to regulate your emotional
responses.
Before undergoing any sort of treatment plan to address emotional instability, be sure to talk to
your therapist about what's going on to make sure you don't interfere with your therapy. They
can even help you with these changes to help manage your emotions.
Get Quality Sleep
Have you ever noticed that when you feel tired, you are more likely to be bothered by smaller
things? Sleep deprivation can impact the way you perceive and respond to your surroundings.
In fact, a lack of sleep can cause people to react more negatively to things they would
otherwise perceive as neutral.4
A good night’s sleep is one of the most important things you can do to reduce your emotional
instability and reduce irritability.5
What constitutes a "good night's sleep"? While the answer varies depending on each individual,
most adults should aim for somewhere between seven and nine hours each night.6
If you have trouble falling or staying asleep, you can do some things to improve your sleep
overall and help you get through your days with less emotional turmoil, such as:
Staying on a regular routine
Avoiding alcohol and caffeine before bed
Making sure your room temperature is comfortable (and cool)
Shutting off lights and electronics at least an hour before bedtime
 8 Reasons Why You're Not Sleeping Well and What to Do About It
Exercise
It’s no secret that you will feel better physically and mentally when your body is active. Exercise
doesn’t just fight a host of physical health problems that are associated with BPD, it is also a
great way to maintain a more stable emotional system.7 If you don’t have an exercise program,
consider consulting with your doctor first to determine which forms of exercise would be best
suited for you. Then you can take some steps to begin your own exercise routine:
Start small, and don't overdo it. If you're highly motivated to start, you may push yourself too
hard and risk injury. Instead, try gradually increasing the duration and/or difficulty of your
workouts slowly over time.
Experiment with different types of exercise. Trying out a variety of exercises can help you
determine which form you like the most—which will make you more likely to stick with it. You
may find that you prefer solo workouts, or perhaps something team-oriented keeps you more
entertained.
Include stress-reducing workouts in your routine. In addition to strength training and cardio,
consider taking up calming forms of exercise, like yoga or tai chi. These forms of exercise
combine movement with controlled breathing, and they may help you combat stress.
 Why You Should Exercise to Relieve Symptoms of Mental Illness
Eat Healthy
When you feel bad, you may be more likely to let your diet slip. Negative emotions can lead to
urges to eat unhealthy foods, binge eat, or skip meals altogether.8 You may find yourself
turning to comfort foods to help you handle stress or depression. Unfortunately, this can turn
into a vicious cycle, because poor eating also impacts mood, leaving you feeling even worse.
Maintaining a healthy diet, however, may actually improve your mood by ensuring you get the
nutrients needed for good mental health (though your results may vary depending on the
diet).9 If you're not sure where to begin, consider working with your doctor to determine a plan
that will work for you.
 Reduce Stress and Stay Healthier With a Healthy Eating Plan
Practice Self-Care
The best way to reduce emotional ups and downs is to make a commitment to take good care
of yourself. With all the demands that you are facing, this can be easier said than done, but it's
well worth the effort to add self-care to your regular routine.
 5 Self-Care Practices for Every Area of Your Life
This can include any activities that help you feel fulfilled and cared for, like:
Spending time with friends and loved ones
Engaging in hobbies you find mentally stimulating or fun
Taking part in religious or spiritual activities, if those suit your lifestyle
Managing your stress through relaxation or meditation
Ensuring your overall health is cared for by eating well, getting adequate sleep, and exercising
The time you spend on a self-care program will pay off if you can improve your emotional well-
being. From taking time for yourself to relaxing, meditating, or even pampering yourself, self-
care can help you manage your symptoms.
Create Structure
When do you find yourself experiencing periods of emotional instability? If you're more likely to
feel them during your downtime, when you have no other activities planned, creating a
structured routine could help you stay occupied and more emotionally stable.
Creating a consistent daily schedule lets you know what to expect, which may help you feel
better prepared to meet each day and more secure overall. Following a routine can also ensure
you set aside time to spend on other healthy activities, such as exercising, practicing self-care,
and preparing healthy meals.
 How a Structured Schedule Helps Borderline Personality Disorder
Practice Mindfulness
Mindfulness can help you refocus your attention during moments of emotional instability.
Mindfulness involves learning to become more aware and observant of yourself and your
surroundings and encourages you to live in the present, without judgment.
Living mindfully means paying attention to the sights, sounds, and smells around you, as well as
the sensations within you. You can practice mindfulness at any time during your day by
purposefully tuning in to those details. You can try this by:
Noticing the tastes and textures of your food while you eat a meal
Paying attention to the feeling of the warm water on your body during a shower
Noting the temperature and sensation of drinking a hot cup of coffee
Focusing on the way your body feels during a yoga session
Mindfulness is helpful for reducing anxiety and managing stress.10 If you find yourself reacting
emotionally to something that happened in the past or something that may occur in the future,
consider taking a mindfulness break. This practice can help pull you back into the present.
 Can Walking Mindfully Help Manage Borderline Personality Disorder?
Meditate
While mindfulness is something that you can engage in at any time, meditation is a more
structured practice. It's often done in a quiet place that's free from distractions, which allows
you to focus on something specific, like your breath, a specific object, or a mantra. Scheduling
regular meditation sessions for set time periods may help you manage your overall stress.
Research on meditation suggests that the practice may carry a number of benefits, like:11
Less anxiety and depression
Reduced insomnia
Better overall mood
Within the context of BPD, loving-kindness meditation may increase feelings of self-acceptance
and self-kindness while reducing self-criticism.12
Mindfulness meditation is a combination of both of these techniques—and research suggests it
may help improve mood and reduce impulsivity for people with BPD.13 Mindfulness meditation
is structured, meaning it involves setting aside a certain amount of time to allow yourself to get
comfortable and focus. Generally, mindfulness meditation encourages you to pay attention to
your body and breath, while noticing thoughts as they occur.
 How Mindfulness Meditation Can Help Borderline Personality Disorder
Ground Yourself
Grounding techniques are intended to help you focus your attention during those moments
when you're feeling overwhelmed with emotion. They work by pulling your thoughts away from
the intense emotion you're experiencing, directing your attention instead toward something
more neutral, like a sight, smell, sound, or tactile sensation. Mindfulness is a key component of
grounding.
One grounding technique, called the 5-4-3-2-1 method, relies on your senses to focus your
attention on your surroundings. To try the 5-4-3-2-1 method, focus on:
Five things you see
Four things you can touch
Three things you hear
Two things you smell
One thing you taste
Some other grounding techniques include:
Engaging in a breathing exercise
Snapping a rubber band gently on your wrist
Holding an ice cube or running your hands under cold water
Smelling something fragrant, like a candle, essential oil, or spice
Touching something soft, like a rug or blanket, and noting the texture
Observing your surroundings and noting objects based on specific criteria (e.g., finding all of the
red items in the room or locating objects that begin with the letter "A")
 How Grounding Exercises Can Help You Cope With BPD Symptoms
Seek Treatment
Dealing with the emotional instability that often accompanies BPD can be a challenge for
anyone, but you don't have to go through it alone. BPD is a treatable condition with a good
prognosis possible.2 Seeking treatment from a qualified healthcare provider can ensure you
have access to more information about BPD, therapy, and potentially medication—all things
that may help reduce instances of emotional turmoil.
Professional help can also ensure that you receive treatment for any other conditions you're
currently experiencing. People with BPD often have a co-occurring condition, which will impact
their treatment options.14 These conditions can include:
Anxiety disorders
Mood disorders
Substance use disorders
The treatment options available for BPD are varied. Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) is one
treatment technique that has been shown to be very effective at managing the symptoms of
this condition.15 DBT encourages you to learn skills that will help you self-regulate and manage
symptoms. This form of therapy may help you develop healthy coping mechanisms—and that's
particularly useful if you typically turn to things that can exacerbate emotional instability, like
substance use or disordered eating.
DBT is not the only option available for people with BPD, and you may find that you thrive with
another form of therapy. The important thing is to find a healthcare provider you feel
comfortable with and determine what works best for you.
 The Options You Have for Treating Borderline Personality Disorder
A Word From Verywell
Emotional instability is difficult to deal with, but it is something that you can learn to overcome.
With practice, these tips and techniques can help you deal with emotional dysregulation so you
can feel more secure and grounded. If you need additional help, reach out to your healthcare
provider for treatment options.