Maheema Misra and Milana Prakash were diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) last year while studying mass media at Sophia College. Defined by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) as an illness marked by an ongoing pattern of varying moods, self-image and behaviour, Misra likens it to an uncontrollable switch that compels you to be ecstatic for a period of time and then, suddenly, have suicidal tendencies. Prakash, who was also diagnosed with bipolar disorder explains, “It’s like a faster version of bipolar disorder. With bipolar disorder [characterised by extreme mood shifts ranging from mania to depression], you can be manic for weeks before a depressive episode. With BPD, the flip is sooner.”
With May being Mental Health Awareness Month, they posted Instagram stories encouraging others to ask them about BPD. Nobody really did, and so they ended up talking to each other, eventually launching BPD Humans last month, an Instagram page-cum-support group along with a blog, as a channel to understand themselves better as well as explain it to those unacquainted with the term and build a community. The support group facilitated via Instagram for those living with BPD is split into two audiences — international and Indian. The former has about 60 members and the latter, 30. There’s also a Zoom-based session they helm once a month, which is supervised by a mental health professional. It is free, and attendees aren’t required to show their face if they wish to.
“It can be a very lonely experience. Finding the right psychiatrist and therapist is difficult, too. I’d say BPD is by far the most stigmatised disorder in the mental health community. For instance, a psychiatrist I visited told me I’m being dramatic. It breaks you when someone you’re looking up to says that to you,” Prakash reveals. Although both share that it was difficult for their parents to understand their condition, it wasn’t impossible, and a good support system is crucial to managing BPD. “I’m lucky that my college professors were very supportive when they realised I was struggling mentally. They made sure I was up to date with the syllabus even if I had an episode in class. It’s not easy for parents because they have to go from seeing their child happy to watching them suddenly get angry or cry in bed,” Misra explains.
Prakash asserts that their initiative is all about establishing a symbiotic relationship — sharing their experiences is cathartic and others doing so makes them feel less lonely. So far, the duo has posts on trivia like how BPD got its name or the relationship between the illness and periods, as well as a series on ‘Borderline things that no one talks about’ and memes on the subject that tackle the persistent feeling of abandonment.
“The page was a very fluid concept so that it doesn’t affect us negatively — it’s not like we have to upload a certain number of posts per day. That being said, we really hope that it evolves with respect to the number of people who approach us. We are not acting as therapists but as part of the community. We know it may not help people understand BPD in a wholesome sense but it helps to know that it exists.”
Maheema Misra and Milana Prakash
Log on to @bpdhumans on Instagram
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