Your question should really be whether its possible to attain a mental illness or parts of a mental illness and I believe that it is , that its possible to rewire pathways and circuits in your brain that would give you the outlook and effects of a mental illness and I think its not self harm as much as it is wanting to see the world differently or challenge your brain or feel unique . With BPD its very easy to actually take on traits of another mental illness especially if you spend time around someone with that illness . I actually got triggered by someone with skitzophrenia and I started feeling and thinking in tune with them and I even started feeling the symptoms for real , like extreme paranoia , mild hallucinations , loss of reality . when I stopped hanging out with him , I stopped feeling those things or thinking those thoughts . I think the desire to feel a mental illness is based off of curiosity , wanting to be different or unique , wanting to escape reality , wanting to be cared for or treated differently or wanting to fit in with or understand another person who has that illness . But repetition of any thinking pattern over a long period of time will change your brain chemistry , so be careful ! I ' m pretty sure my wanting to be different or given extra love and attention actually led to my breakdowns .