Key Takeaways
- Cannabis may provide temporary symptom relief for some people with BPD. The article notes that cannabis may temporarily lessen emotional intensity, anxiety, mood swings, and impulsivity by interacting with the brain’s endocannabinoid system.
- Cannabis can also create mental health risks. The article discusses associations between cannabis use and psychosis, paranoia, depression, anxiety, and other mental health concerns, which may be especially concerning for people with existing mental health conditions.
- BPD and cannabis misuse can become interconnected. Some people may turn to cannabis to cope with intense emotions, but ongoing use can contribute to dependence and may prevent the development of healthier coping strategies.
- Therapy remains central to treating BPD. The article highlights dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), schema therapy, mindfulness, and other approaches for managing BPD symptoms. When cannabis use becomes problematic, treatment may need to address both conditions.
Question:
How does weed affect people with borderline personality disorder (BPD), and can cannabis help or worsen BPD symptoms?
Answer:
Royal Life Centers explores the complex relationship between cannabis use and borderline personality disorder (BPD), a condition characterized by emotional instability, impulsivity, relationship difficulties, and challenges with emotional regulation. The article explains that some research has found cannabis may temporarily reduce symptoms such as anxiety, mood swings, and impulsivity for certain individuals. However, these potential short-term benefits must be considered alongside risks associated with cannabis use, including dependence, depression, anxiety, paranoia, and cannabis-induced psychosis. People with existing mental health conditions may be particularly vulnerable to some of these effects. The article emphasizes that cannabis should not be considered a substitute for comprehensive BPD treatment. Instead, evidence-based therapies such as dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), and schema therapy can help people develop healthier coping and emotional-regulation skills. Mindfulness, meditation, and other supportive practices may also help. When BPD and problematic cannabis use occur together, treatment can address both conditions simultaneously.
What to Know
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.
For some adults with BPD, weed may seem to take the edge off by offering temporary relief, but its effects are mixed and controversial: cannabis can also raise the risk of anxiety, depression, psychosis, and dependence, especially over time. Despite one’s best intentions, someone with BPD may 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 a person may try to cope with the ups and downs of BPD — or search for some semblance of normalcy — is through drugs like cannabis. Though it’s touted for some medicinal benefits and may afford short-term relief, the bigger question is how weed affects BPD symptoms, co-occurring mental health issues, and long-term stability.
As marijuana legalization becomes more widespread and accepted, understanding weed and borderline personality disorder matters for adults living with BPD, as well as loved ones and caregivers trying to make informed decisions about symptom management and treatment. Below, we break down what BPD is, what causes it, how cannabis may help or worsen symptoms, what experts say, and which alternatives — including therapy, medication, and dual diagnosis treatment — may offer safer support.
What Is Borderline Personality Disorder?
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. Substance misuse is also common in BPD, with about two-thirds of people with the disorder abusing substances.
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. About two-thirds of BPD patients also abuse alcohol or drugs. BPD is more prevalent in women than men, with 75% — more than three-quarters — of females diagnosed with BPD than males.
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 and physical health, and its effects can vary widely depending on the person and condition.
The Potential Positive Effects of Weed on BPD
Some research points to the potential benefits of medical cannabis for easing certain symptoms linked to borderline personality disorder, though evidence remains limited and largely anecdotal.
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.
Medical organizations do not endorse cannabis as a treatment for BPD, and any use should be discussed with medical professionals.
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. In some cases, those symptoms can resemble psychotic disorders. 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. High-THC strains can worsen anxiety, paranoia, and emotional instability in people with BPD. 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. Frequent cannabis use can also impair cognitive functions, which is especially concerning for people with BPD. Substance abuse can worsen BPD symptoms and lead to poorer treatment outcomes.
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, especially given the co occurrence of borderline personality disorder and substance abuse, including cannabis abuse, as another study states.
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.” Age has also been linked with borderline personality disorder among cannabis users. Using cannabis can complicate treatment when BPD and substance use disorders co-occur. (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, which helps people manage symptoms over time instead of relying on cannabis for temporary relief.
It’s especially important to remember this because when someone has a dual diagnosis — BPD as a mental health disorder alongside addiction, such as cannabis use disorder — treatment must address both conditions at once. That matters in part because BPD can overlap with other mental disorders, so accurate diagnosis and weed withdrawalsupport should be part of care side-by-side with BPD.
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 research-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.
REFERENCES:
- 7 Potential Health Benefits of Cannabis | Johnson & Wales University
- Borderline Personality Disorder | Johns Hopkins Medicine
- Borderline Personality Disorder | Mental Health America
- Borderline Personality Disorder: Causes, Symptoms & Treatment
- Cannabis Health Effects | Cannabis and Public Health | CDC
- Cannabis-Based Medicinal Products in the Management of Emotionally Unstable Personality Disorder (EUPD): A Narrative Review and Case Series
- Cannabis shows promise as treatment for BPD
- Cannabis and Mental Illness: A Review – PMC
- Targeting the Endocannabinoid System in Borderline Personality Disorder: Corticolimbic and Hypothalamic Perspectives – PubMed
- Case Series: Cannabis Effective at Treating Borderline Personality Disorder – NORML
- Borderline personality disorder – Diagnosis and treatment – Mayo Clinic