Support Borderline Personality Disorder Awareness

A bipartisan coalition of House members, led by Representative Tom Davis (R-VA) and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), have introduced a resolution to increase awareness of Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) and authorize the first ever BPD Awareness Month. NAMI strongly supports H.Res. 1005 and is urging all House members to cosponsor the measure. NAMI has joined with the National Education Alliance for Borderline Personality Disorder to press for action on this measure.

This Resolution supports the designation of MAY as BPD Awareness Month.

Action Required

Advocates are strongly encouraged to contact their House member and urge them to cosponsor H.Res. 1005.

It is important that you, as a constituent, contact and ask your Representative to become a co-sponsor of H. Res. 1005. The more constituents your Representative hears from the more likely that he/she will become a co-sponsor of this Resolution. Passing this Resolution will help to acknowledge the pressing burden of those afflicted with BPD, confirm the widespread prevalence of this disorder, and seek to spread awareness of this under-recognized, and often misunderstood mental illness.

	●	Click here to view NAMI’s factsheet on BPD, its symptoms, prevalence and treatment:
	●	Click here to view a copy of the “Dear Colleague” letter issued by Reps. Davis and Van
	●	Click here to view a copy of H.Res. 1005
Remember, there is strength in numbers. Your support can make it happen.

To Contact Your House Representative:

(1) Call
To call, you can dial Congress’ main switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and they will identify your Representative and provide the office phone number.

Place a brief call to your Representative’s office and ask to speak to the Health Legislative Aide. This staffer typically hears requests to join resolutions like this that urge increased awareness of important topics. If the Health Legislative Aide is not available, leave a message on his/her voice mail. Your message should call attention to H. Res. 1005, and urge that your Representative become a co-sponsor this month to help ensure passage by May (the awareness month). See sample e-mail below for other ideas. Please also ask the Health Legislative Aide to return your call (or e-mail you) in order to confirm receipt of your message - so often messages on voice mail are not acted upon unless there is this type of request. You could also follow up later to check on your Representative’s decision.

(2) or E-mail
To e-mail go to https://forms.house.gov/wyr/welcome.shtml - then type in your state and your zip code. This will identify your Representative and his/her contact information. Please follow the instructions to write to your Representative.

Below is a sample e-mail to your Representative (please feel free to edit, shorten and personalize it as you see fit, or write your own e-mail).

	Sample E-mail:
	Subject: Please Co-sponsor H. Res. 1005, a Resolution for Borderline Personality Disorder Awareness Month Dear Representative: I am writing to urge you to cosponsor and support H. Res. 1005, a resolution raising awareness about Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) and authorizing BPD Awareness Month. BPD is perhaps the most misunderstood serious mental illness. It is characterized by pervasive instability in moods, interpersonal relationships, self-image, and behavior. It is a disorder of emotion dysregulation, associated with instability that often disrupts family and work, long-term planning, and the individual’s sense of self-identity. While less well known than schizophrenia or bipolar disorder (manic-depressive illness), BPD is as common, affecting between .07 to 2% of the general population. The complex symptoms of BPD often make it difficult to treat and therefore may evoke feelings of anger and frustration in professionals trying to help, with the result that many professionals are often unwilling to make the diagnosis or treat persons with these symptoms. Nevertheless, there has been much progress and success in the past 25 years in the understanding of and specialized treatment for BPD. It is, in fact, a diagnosis that has a lot of hope for recovery. I urge you to support efforts to increase awareness for this serious condition. Please cosponsor and support passage of H.Res. 1005.