It’s been a while since I’ve posted. My apologies. I’ve been interested in borderline personality disorder especially since reading Girl, Interrupted. I decided to do some research. I found that the primary theme of this disorder is impulsivity. According to the DSM, Fourth Edition, Text Revision (DSM-IV-TR), these impulsive behaviors can include
- Extreme reactions—including panic, depression, rage, or frantic actions—to abandonment, whether real or perceived
- A pattern of intense and stormy relationships with family, friends, and loved ones, often veering from extreme closeness and love (idealization) to extreme dislike or anger (devaluation)
- Distorted and unstable self-image or sense of self, which can result in sudden changes in feelings, opinions, values, or plans and goals for the future (such as school or career choices)
- Impulsive and often dangerous behaviors, such as spending sprees, unsafe sex, substance abuse, reckless driving, and binge eating
- Recurring suicidal behaviors or threats or self-harming behavior, such as cutting
- Intense and highly changeable moods, with each episode lasting from a few hours to a few days
- Chronic feelings of emptiness and/or boredom
- Inappropriate, intense anger or problems controlling anger
- Having stress-related paranoid thoughts or severe dissociative symptoms, such as feeling cut off from oneself, observing oneself from outside the body, or losing touch with reality.
These symptoms are not exclusive to Borderline Personality Disorder. It is typical to find someone with BPD also experiencing depression, anxiety, substance abuse, suicidal behaviors, and other co-occuring disorders. The causes of BPD can vary. One of the most common issues in psychology is pinpointing whether certain illnesses are inherited or acquired as a result of certain environmental or social factors. Of course there are studies that show the illness is commonly inherited, or that specific qualities characterized with BPD, like impulsiveness or aggression, are passed along genetically from generation to generation. However, it is also common for crime/rape victims, and people living high-stress or dysfunctional lives to develop BPD later on in their lives. There is no specific medication that is prescribed to people with BPD, but the most common and historically successful treatment is psychotherapy. The types of therapy used include: Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), and Schema-focused Therapy. I won’t get into the details of each form of therapy. However, each type provides the patient with different ways to understand and cope with being diagnosed with BPD. Psychotherapy essentially provides a way for BPD patients to learn how to better interact with others. Borderline Personality Disorder is a serious mental illness that plagues about 1.6 percent of adults in the United States. This is a significant disorder because it covers such a wide scope of symptoms commonly associated with mental illnesses in general. I hope to eventually learn more about how to help someone with BPD, and also further understand the physiological and neurological aspects behind this sickness.
Blossoming Psychology 