What daily emptiness in borderline personality disorder teaches us about coping—and what it means for Thailand
A new 2025 study conducted by researchers at Bar-Ilan University in Israel uses a fresh approach to understand a familiar human experience: emptiness. By asking participants to rate how empty they felt several times a day, the researchers painted a picture of how this feeling waxes and wanes, and how it relates to impulsive behaviors. The headline takeaway is that emptiness is not unique to borderline personality disorder, though it can play out quite differently there. In people with borderline personality disorder, emptiness tends to be a chronic backdrop that can spike impulsive actions when the feeling is strongest. Yet the study also shows that emptiness can occur in anyone on any given day, and the link to impulsivity is not a simple one-to-one relationship. For Thai readers, this research arrives with clear relevance: it speaks to daily mental health realities in families, schools, clinics, and communities where emotional struggles are often kept private.