Increased attempts to suppress negative and positive emotions in Borderline Personality Disorder

Abstract

Patients with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) show evidence of disturbed emotion regulation. In particular, patients may try to suppress their emotions with possibly negative effects on mental health. We investigated the suppression of both negative and positive emotions in BPD patients and healthy participants. Thirty BPD patients and 30 matched healthy controls were assessed for emotion suppression using the Emotion Acceptance Questionnaire (EAQ). In addition, we administered additional questionnaires to validate emotion suppression findings. BPD patients reported increased attempts to suppress both negative and positive emotions. These findings indicate that BPD patients are not simply acting out negative emotions. Therapeutic approaches that focus on emotion acceptance of emotions are supported by our study data. Apart from negative emotions, treatment programs should consider positive emotions as well.

Keywords: Borderline Personality Disorder; Emotion acceptance; Emotion regulation; Emotion suppression.