Everyone goes through a period of their lives in which something seems to be missing. Maybe there are days when you, without knowing why, feel drained of all emotion, unable to feel. How do you manage that big hole growing inside you?
For people with borderline personality disorder (BPD), emptiness often becomes a chronic feature of their existence. However, do these feelings show any variations from day to day? Maybe some days are worse than others. It could be helpful to find out why.
Emptiness and Its Daily Variations
According to a new study by Bar Ilan University’s Leeav Sheena-Peer and colleagues (2025), emptiness isn’t unique to BPD—but, unlike the form it takes in other disorders, it tends to be more chronic. Even so, as the authors note, “the high prevalence does not necessarily imply that it is static over time” (p. 404). Maybe, they proposed, by tracking emptiness on a daily basis, these fluctuations could be captured and better understood.
It’s important to study feelings of emptiness in BPD, Sheena-Peer et al. go on to note, because there are important clinical implications. In this disorder, emptiness can be predictive of impulsive behaviors that can cause harm. It’s possible that these impulsive behaviors are an effort by the individual to fill the void.
Emptiness isn’t unique to BPD; in fact, the authors suggest, it’s also part and parcel of avoidant personality disorder (APD). However, rather than act out impulsively, people with APD try to cope by withdrawing from situations, turning even more inward and isolated.
One added factor to consider in understanding emptiness in BPD is the process of mentalization (Mz). Defined as “the capacity to consider mental states,” Mz is “one of the building blocks of emotion regulation” (p. 404). It seems likely that the lower the individual’s Mz, the more likely it is that emptiness will predict impulsivity in people with BPD.
Again, though, emptiness shouldn’t be a completely static entity. On days when these feelings are particularly strong, therefore, people with BPD should be at greater risk of becoming impulsive, especially if they are low in Mz. The question is whether this is a greater risk among people with this disorder or anyone at all who feels empty.
Coping with Emptiness
Recruiting people from the New York City area, Sheena-Peer and colleagues administered a computerized momentary assessment measure (EMA) that contained five daily prompts, including a 0-4 rating of the extent to which the individual felt empty and a list of five impulsive behaviors (spending too much money, binging on food, engaging in unsafe sex, using substances, and engaging in self-injury).
The results showed that for those individuals who fit the criteria for BPD, the emptiness-impulsivity connection was higher than for APD participants but not greater than for healthy controls (who still had lower feelings of emptiness). Contrary to prediction, Mz levels didn’t play a significant role. Instead, as the authors concluded, “most participants found chronic emptiness distressing and sought to alleviate it through either maladaptive or, when aware of the link, adaptive coping strategies” (p. 410).
The finding that people who didn’t meet the BPD criteria could still respond to emptiness with impulsive and potentially harmful acts provides an important perspective. It’s possible that even without fulfilling the diagnostic criteria for the disorder in general, anyone feeling empty on a given day can act out in ways that become counterproductive. Although we might worry about the tendency toward self-harm among people with BPD, these individuals aren’t the only ones at risk.
How to Fill That Hole Inside
Now go back and think about some of the impulsive actions you’ve engaged in over the years. How many times did you regret losing your temper with a friend or lover, take too much of a substance (food, drink, or drug), or blow through your entire clothing budget in a single spending spree?
Borderline Personality Disorder Essential Reads
Maybe the only people who are safe from reacting to emptiness with impulsive actions are those who internalize rather than externalize. The people in the Bar Ilan U. study with APD were the only ones who seemed immune to creating havoc to make up for feelings of emptiness.
One of the strengths of this study was its comparison between BPD and the experiences of people who do not have BPD symptoms. Although emptiness is a chronic feature of the life of people with this disorder, it can creep into anyone’s day, potentially without warning.
To sum up, there is much to be learned about the continuum between personality disorders and the makeup of people who do not fit a diagnostic category. Developing a way to cope with emptiness can only maximize your fulfillment as you go about your daily life.
