My ONLY criticism of this book is that it focuses on girls - all BPD literature focuses on girls...some of us aren't girls!!! some of us are non-binary! some are guys!!!!
also, this isn't a substitute for medical help, but it is definitely a great resource

Great book on how to implement Dialectical Behavior Therapy, at least pieces of it. That advice is mixed in with personal anecdotes from the author. Worth a read even if your emotional or relationship problems are minor or not. The author is a fairly famous woman who has been diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder, usually a fairly significant mental illness with many repercussions. DBT actually has many skills (as does CBT) that could be used to make most people's lives and relationships better.

This book has actually suggestions to try, something that seems to be less concrete in many books on these topics.

The first thing that came to mind when I read this book was how this book addresses people who haven't figured out a way to rein in their intense emotions.

Debbie discusses Borderline Personality Disorder, how she was diagnosed and measures she implements to manage it.

She focuses on the use of Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT). DBT is a set of highly effective skills that helps treat chronic suicidality in patients diagnosed with BPD.

There are many lessons to learn especially mindfulness. You don't necessarily need to have BPD to learn healthy habits, effective ways of living and expressing emotions in a better way.

Rating: 4/5

Favourite quote: "We can learn to accept the reality that we cannot completely avoid upsetting circumstances and situations. We can learn to accept and deal with the fact that some issues can’t be resolved as quickly as we’d like and that we can find ways to skilfully wait things out"

Excellent! Easy to read .

I have reviewed this book as it was sent to me for review kindly from the publishers.

I have to say firstly, I recommend this book if you or someone you know has Borderline Personality Disorder. I personally have a friend who has been diagnosed with BPD and she wants to read this book now too after me telling her about it.

In the book the author describes how the condition can cause such intense emotions that lead to uncontrollable situations. The author describes how she ended up in accident and emergency most times as no one else could help to keep her calm as often is the way with people with BPD, my friend is the same.

BPD can be triggered by traumatic events, suppressed memory can also lead to PTSD and that often coincides with BPD.

Dialectical Behavior Therapy is used to treat suicidal patients with a BPD diagnosis. Obviously the overall aim is to prevent the situation of suicide but also teaching skills to be able to cope more with the BPD and running emotions.

The basic breakdown of DBT comes into four categories;

Personal relationships, coping with distress, paying attention to your life, coping with your emotions.

The activities in the book are capable for BPD sufferers and others alike with mental health issues such as bipolar disorder.
For example the most common technique mentioned in the book is mindfulness which is very popular anyway, focusing on living in the moment and not focussing on the past you.

This book has been a very eye opening read into the world of Borderline Personality Disorder. I am definitely more aware of how others with the condition must feel in certain situations now too.

The misconceptions surrounding BPD are everywhere. Considering it's still "new" makes it that much harder to find good reference books.