Exploring Barriers to Compassionate Acts in Individuals with Borderline Personality Disorder: A Critical Literature Review

TL;DR

This review examines why people with borderline personality disorder struggle to show compassion to themselves and others, highlighting barriers like trauma and stigma.

Contribution

The paper introduces a comprehensive synthesis of barriers to compassion in borderline personality disorder, emphasizing trauma and societal stigma.

Findings

Adverse childhood experiences and stigma significantly hinder compassionate behaviors in individuals with borderline personality disorder.

Internal challenges like self-judgment and shame prevent engagement in compassionate acts.

Personalized, trauma-informed interventions are needed to support compassionate behaviors in this population.

Abstract

This critical literature review explores the barriers that individuals with borderline personality disorder face when engaging in compassionate acts, including self‐compassion, receiving compassion from others and expressing compassion towards others. Borderline personality disorder is characterised by emotional instability, impulsive behaviours and difficulties in maintaining stable relationships. Although compassionate acts are known to enhance recovery and well‐being, individuals with borderline personality disorder often struggle with these behaviours. This review identifies several key barriers, including adverse childhood experiences, stigma and systemic discrimination, known as sanism, and internal challenges such as self‐judgement, shame and fear of compassion. By synthesising findings from 29 studies, this review highlights the complex interplay between these factors and their impact on the ability of individuals with borderline personality disorder to engage in compassionate behaviours. The findings emphasise the need for personalised, trauma‐informed therapeutic interventions and broader societal changes to foster a more compassionate environment for individuals with borderline personality disorder. Future research should focus on longitudinal studies, inclusion of individuals with lived experiences and exploring diverse sources of compassion to enhance understanding and support recovery in this population.

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