How Does Weed Affect People with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD)

Living with borderline personality disorder (BPD) can sometimes be like riding a roller coaster. Mood instability, reckless and impulsive behavior, and emotional dysregulation become the norm, not the exception.  

Despite one’s best intentions, someone with BPD may often struggle to control their symptoms and lose control over their personal and professional lives, watching relationships or jobs become complicated and strained as they slip away. 

One way someone may try and cope with the ups and downs of BPD — to search for some semblance of normalcy — is through drugs like cannabis. Though it’s touted for some medicinal benefits and may afford temporary relief, what are the negative, long-term effects of BPD and weed?  

As marijuana legalization becomes more widespread and accepted, it’s important to explore what this can mean for people with BPD and the evolving relationship between mental health and marijuana.  

What Is Borderline Personality Disorder?  

What exactly does “borderline” mean in borderline personality disorder? History shows us that in the 1970s, psychoanalyst Otto Kernberg used the word to describe people with a personality and traits that fall somewhere between psychosis and neurosis, as BPD was later added officially to the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual in 1980. 

But BPD may more accurately be called what Johns Hopkins Medicine coins “emotionally unstable personality disorder.” It’s a mental health condition rooted in identity, affecting how someone perceives themselves and others, and marked by unpredictable mood swings and difficulty controlling one’s emotions, which can result in erratic, impulsive, and reckless behaviors.  

“People with borderline personality disorder have a strong fear of abandonment or being left alone,” notes the Mayo Clinic. “Even though they want to have loving and lasting relationships, the fear of being abandoned often leads to mood swings and anger. It also leads to impulsiveness and self-injury that may push others away.” 

What Are the Signs and Symptoms of BPD?

BPD can manifest itself through a host of symptoms: 

• An unstable sense of self: Difficulty maintaining a consistent self-image, often accompanied by changes in personal goals, values, or interests. 

• Rapid and intense mood swings: Shifting emotions that can range from deep sadness and anxiety to anger or frustration, often without warning. 

• Impulsive or reckless behaviors: Actions such as overspending, substance abuse, reckless driving, or unsafe sexual practices. 

• Self-harm and suicidal thoughts: This may include behaviors like cutting, burning, or other forms of self-injury, as well as persistent thoughts of ending one’s life. 

• Chronic feelings of emptiness: A pervasive sense of being unfulfilled, disconnected, or lonely. 

• Unstable relationships: A pattern of intense but short-lived relationships, often marked by idealizing someone one moment and feeling betrayed or abandoned the next. 

• Intense anger or difficulty controlling it: Episodes of prolonged outrage that can lead to shame, regret, or damaged relationships. 

• Feelings of dissociation: Experiencing detachment from reality, such as feeling disconnected from oneself or observing life as if from outside the body. 

Statistics show that about 1.6% of people have BPD but that nearly 6% of the entire population shows characteristics of the condition at some point in their lives. BPD is more prevalent in women than men, with 75% — more than three-quarters — of females diagnosed with BPD than males. 

What Causes BPD?

Like many other mental health conditions, it can originate from different reasons. Mental Health America says that the cause of BPD is unknown, but genetics, environment, and societal factors all play a part. The Cleveland Clinic says that childhood trauma is a risk factor; in fact, nearly 70% of people with BPD have gone through sexual, emotional, or physical abuse as children.  

Cannabis Use in the Context of Mental Health  

From medical marijuana to CBD oil and other forms, cannabis has proven beneficial to treat various ailments and illnesses, from cancer to chronic pain and even alcohol use disorder. But it has a controversial, even fractious, relationship with mental health.  

The Potential Positive Effects of Weed on BPD 

Some research has shown that the medical cannabis of weed and BPD can help alleviate symptoms of borderline personality disorder.  

What explains the promising benefits of mental health and marijuana? For one, cannabis interacts with the brain’s endocannabinoid system (ECS), which plays a role in regulating emotions, stress response, and cognition. So, for people with conditions like BPD that contribute to dysregulated emotions, taking cannabis may provide temporary relief by dampening the intensity of their emotional responses.  

The Risks and Drawbacks of Cannabis Use for BPD 

Can weed cause mental illness? According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), people who use cannabis have a higher likelihood of developing psychosis and chronic mental health disorders, including schizophrenia. The drug is also linked with elevated rates of depression, social anxiety, and suicide, notes the CDC. 

One major concern is the risk of cannabis-induced psychosis — with marijuana use triggering hallucinations, paranoia, or delusions. People with pre-existing mental health conditions, including BPD, may also be more vulnerable to developing weed psychosis. Indeed, a 2020 study indicated that people who smoked cannabis by age 18 were at twice the risk of receiving a schizophrenia diagnosis. Additionally, “those who used chronically were at six times the risk compared to non-users,” notes the study. 

Expert Perspectives on Borderline Personality Disorder and Cannabis 

Despite the risks, scientific evidence paints an optimistic picture, noting the therapeutic potential — along with some cautionary risks — when BPD and weed interact.  

Because the ECS plays such a big neurological role in regulating mood and emotional processing, with dysregulation implicated as a major factor in mental health disorders and BPD, some researchers assert that targeting the ECS through cannabinoids could be effective in treating the condition. “This opens new windows of opportunity for treatment with cannabinoids such as cannabidiol (CBD), as no other pharmacological treatment has shown long-lasting improvement in the BPD population to date,” notes a 2021 study. 

In another study, six out of seven people reported that after taking cannabis-based medicinal products (CBMPs), many of their symptoms associated with BPD, including anxiety, mood swings, and impulsivity, were lessened. However, the study also cautioned against the risks of dependency and that more clinical trials may be needed,d considering the lack of standardized cannabis dosing guidelines. 

The Link Between BPD and Cannabis Use

However, these examples don’t negate the drawbacks created by cannabis use in people with BPD. “Evidence has shown that borderline personality disorder is likely to be associated with substance abuse, including cannabis abuse,” states another study. 

The study noted that demographic variables, such as age and socioeconomic status, influenced patterns of cannabis use — mainly that “daily use of cannabis in young women was associated with a 5-fold increase in depression and anxiety, and weekly cannabis use has doubled the risk of depression and anxiety.” (This finding also points to the risk of developing cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome, aka scromiting.

Alternative Coping Strategies for BPD Symptoms 

Used responsibly and in moderation, cannabis may offer short-term relief from BPD — but it’s not a sustainable substitute. No more than a quick fix, a band-aid over a deep wound, it doesn’t replace the all-encompassing, all-embracing benefits of therapy.  

It’s especially important to remember this because when someone has a co-occurring disorder (in this case, when cannabis use becomes an addiction), treating a mental health condition like BPD needs to be dually diagnosed to include marijuana rehab so you can manage BPD symptoms side-by-side with BPD and weed withdrawal. 

Therapy for Borderline Personality Disorder 

Psychotherapy is the backbone of any mood disorder, and borderline personality disorder is no exception. Open yourself to the opportunity to examine the root of why BPD exists in your life. Answer questions that may have lingered for years — even a lifetime — about symptoms. In fact, dialectical behavioral therapy, or DBT, was created specifically to treat DBT.  

“Dialectical” actually means to combine opposing ideas, as DBT helps people better address their thoughts and emotions, and how they connect to one’s behavior. DBT teaches four key skills: emotional regulation, distress tolerance, interpersonal effectiveness, and mindfulness. 

(In addition to DBT, therapies like CBT, cognitive behavioral therapy, and schema therapy work to change negative thought patterns and develop healthier coping skills.) 

Mindfulness for Borderline Personality Disorder 

DBT is not the only path to cultivating mindfulness in the face and wake of BPD. Different holistic practices, like yoga and meditation, enable you to become more skilled in becoming conscious and aware of your thoughts, even negative ones, no matter how fleeting or persistent.  

By fostering present-moment awareness, you not only reduce stress and anxiety but in moments when BPD symptoms may have dominated, you pause before reacting to intense emotions, just one valuable skill — an invaluable asset — for managing the emotional volatility inherent to BPD. 

Medication for Borderline Personality Disorder 

There aren’t currently any FDA-approved medications specifically for BPD, but certain drugs designed to treat associated symptoms (such as depression, anxiety, or mood swings) that may help are often prescribed by clinicians. According to the Mayo Clinic, these may include antidepressants, antipsychotics, or mood-stabilizing drugs. 

As always, medications are only administered as part of a structured BPD treatment plan, so talking with your therapist during treatment will determine if medications are right for you. 

Treatment for Borderline Personality Disorder 

The connection between BPD and weed is complex. While treatment for both is comprehensive, it is uncomplicated — straightforward, direct, and with a clear goal in mind, which is to set you on the path to recovery.  

Treatment centers like Royal Life Centers make you a priority, offering a structured, but not rigid, environment where healing is intentional. It’s a place where being on your own to fight BPD or cannabis addiction is the opposite of what you’ll find here: a supportive, safe place where compassionate care is accompanied by evidence-based therapy and experienced staff, along with the support network you’ll build through other guests working toward the same goal of recovery. 

The first step to getting treatment for yourself or a loved one begins with you. Honor the power of your voice and begin that journey by reaching out to us today.   

Recovery is possible. You can do this — and life in recovery is better than you can imagine.