Borderline personality disorder is a condition in which a person makes impulsive actions, and has an unstable mood and chaotic relationships.
Symptoms
Relationships with others are intense and unstable. They swing wildly from love to hate and back again. People with BPD will frantically try to avoid real or imagined abandonment.
BPD patients may also be uncertain about their identity or self-image. They tend to see things in terms of extremes, either all good or all bad. They also typically view themselves as victims of circumstance and take little responsibility for themselves or their problems.
Other symptoms include: -Feelings of emptiness and boredom -Frequent displays of inappropriate anger -Impulsiveness with money, substance abuse, sexual relationships, --binge eating, or shoplifting -Intolerance of being alone -Recurrent acts of crisis such as wrist cutting, overdosing, or self-injury (such as cutting) Source(s): https://www.google.com/health/ref/Border… and AP Psychology Knowledge _____________________________________________________________________________________ Individuals with Borderline Personality Disorder make frantic efforts to avoid real or imagined abandonment. The perception of impending separation or rejection, or the loss of external structure, can lead to profound changes in self-image, affect, cognition, and behavior. These individuals are very sensitive to environmental circumstances. They experience intense abandonment fears and inappropriate anger even when faced with a realistic time-limited separation or when there are unavoidable changes in plans (e.g., sudden despair in reaction to a clinician’s announcing the end of the hour; panic or fury when someone important to them is just a few minutes late or must cancel an appointment). They may believe that this “abandonment” implies they are “bad.” These abandonment fears are related to an intolerance of being alone and a need to have other people with them. Their frantic efforts to avoid abandonment may include impulsive actions such as self-mutilating or suicidal behaviors.
Individuals with Borderline Personality Disorder have a pattern of unstable and intense relationships. They may idealize potential caregivers or lovers at the first or second meeting, demand to spend a lot of time together, and share the most intimate details early in a relationship. However, they may switch quickly from idealizing other people to devaluing them, feeling that the other person does not care enough, does not give enough, is not “there” enough. These individuals can empathize with and nurture other people, but only with the expectation that the other person will “be there” in return to meet their own needs on demand. These individuals are prone to sudden and dramatic shifts in their view of others, who may alternately be seen as beneficent supports or as cruelly punitive. Such shifts often reflect disillusionment with a caregiver whose nurturing qualities had been idealized or whose rejection or abandonment is expected.
There may be an identity disturbance characterized by markedly and persistently unstable self-image or sense of self. There are sudden and dramatic shifts in self-image, characterized by shifting goals, values, and vocational aspirations. There may be sudden changes in opinions and plans about career, sexual identity, values, and types of friends. These individuals may suddenly change from the role of a needy supplicant for help to a righteous avenger of past mistreatment. Although they usually have a self-image that is based on being bad or evil, individuals with this disorder may at times have feelings that they do not exist at all. Such experiences usually occur in situations in which the individual feels a lack of a meaningful relationship, nurturing, and support. These individuals may show worse performance in unstructured work or school situations.
Individuals with Borderline Personality Disorder display impulsivity in at least two areas that are potentially self-damaging. They may gamble, spend money irresponsibly, binge eat, abuse substances, engage in unsafe sex, or drive recklessly.
Individuals with Borderline Personality Disorder may also sometimes display recurrent suicidal behavior, gestures, or threats, or self-mutilating behavior. Completed suicide occurs in 8%-10% of such individuals, and self-mutilative acts (e.g., cutting or burning) and suicide threats and attempts are very common. Recurrent suicidality is often the reason that these individuals present for help. These self-destructive acts are usually precipitated by threats of separation or rejection or by expectations that they assume increased responsibility. Self-mutilation may occur during dissociative experiences and often brings relief by reaffirming the ability to feel or by expiating the individual’s sense of being evil.
Individuals with Borderline Personality Disorder may display affective instability that is due to a marked reactivity of mood (e.g., intense episodic dysphoria, irritability, or anxiety usually lasting a few hours and only rarely more than a few days). The basic dysphoric mood of those with Borderline Personality Disorder is often disrupted by periods of anger, panic, or despair and is rarely relieved by periods of well-being or satisfaction. These episodes may reflect the individual’s extreme reactivity to interpersonal stresses.
Individuals with Borderline Personality Disorder may be troubled by chronic feelings of emptiness. Easily bored, they may constantly seek something to do. Individuals with Borderline Personality Disorder frequently express inappropriate, intense anger or have difficulty controlling their anger. They may display extreme sarcasm, enduring bitterness, or verbal outbursts. The anger is often elicited when a caregiver or lover is seen as neglectful, withholding, uncaring, or abandoning. Such expressions of anger are often followed by shame and guilt and contribute to the feeling they have of being evil. ____________________________________________________________________________________
*Having worked with Borderline Personality Disorder persons in the past, let me tell you a few other things I know about them (at least the ones I've dealt with).
They are usually very manipulative and have almost no insight into their own behaviors. They tend to blame everyone else for everything that happens to them. They use the threat of suicide often to get what they want. They are usually very likable people, at first.
I can only tell you that when a fellow therapist or psychiatrist heard the term "Borderline" used in reference to a person, he or she would try to run away from them asap.
Kristi Source(s): I'm a retired PhD psychotherapist. _____________________________________________________________________________________ I'm quoting from my psychology textbook: "The key characteristic of those with this disorder is instability. They tend to be unstable in various aspects of their lives, including, but not limited to, romantic partners, career choices, world-views, and even sexual orientation. In addition to having unstable interpersonal relationships, borerline personalities have unstable self-images. They are, on average, very impulsive and will go on various forms of "sprees." Some times the sprees are shopping sprees during which they will run up thousands of dollars on credit cards for things they do not need, and sometimes will go on "sexual sprees." The other important characteristic of those with borderline personalities is that they will often will engage in self-mutilating behaviors as a means of threatening suicide. Although they have been known to commit suicide, they tend to only threaten suicide as a means of getting others' attention." _____________________________________________________________________________________ QUIZ:
Answer the following statements as true or false:
1. I often become terrified that people close to me will leave me. 2. My relationships are really intense, involving a lot of passion, anger, or both. 3. I have cut or injured myself in response to feeling stressed out or depressed. 4. I have a history of changing my ideas about who I am going to be, such as changing to completely different jobs, completely different ways of dressing, or changing my major in college many times. 5. I get angry, or even furious, more easily than most people do. 6. Many times I have done things w/o thinking about them first that have gotten me into trouble, such as taking drugs, spending too much money, or having sex w someone I barely know. 7. Sometimes I feel empty inside. 8. I can love someone one minute and hate them the next. 9. I really don't know who I am. 10.I tend to do risky things on the spur of the moment. 11.I have made one or more suicide attempts or serious gestures (such as cutting my wrists or taking an overdose). 12.My mood can change from minute to minute, from being depressed to being just fine or even being on top of the world, or from being completely nervous to being completely confident. 13.When I think somebody close to me is going to leave me for good, I'll do anything to keep them involved with me. 14.I have to admit I can be pretty moody. 15.Sometimes I feel as if I don't even exist, as if I have to pinch myself to know that I am here. 16.I have a hot temper. 17.Sometimes I blank out or space out, and forget a block of time for a number of hours, even when I'm not on drugs or alcohol. 18.Sometimes I feel like I can't trust anyone, and that people are just looking for ways to hurt me or trip me up.
Scoring: Score 1 point for each true response. The higher the score the more likely it is that you have borderline personality disorder. This "test" has not been scientifically validated. In a clinical interview, however, I would consider a person w a score of "9" (true) or more likely to have borderline personality disorder. Source(s): The book NEW HOPE FOR PEOPLE WITH BORDERLINE PERSONALITY DISORDER,by Neil R. Bockian, Ph.D. et. al. and also because of personal experience growing up w the disorder. _____________________________________________________________________________________ BPD: Because of their upbringing, people suffering from BPD tend to see things in terms of black and white, rather than shades of grey, and often idealise, then devalue, in relationships. They also tend to have a great fear of abandonment, and sometimes go to extreme lengths to prevent it. They often become involved in alcohol and/or drug abuse, and/or high risk activities. Closely examine the http://1-800-therapist.com/ & http://www.metanoia.org/choose/ websites. Contact the local & national organisations of clinical psychologists, therapists, and/or psychiatrists, to find a therapist who uses Dialectical Behavio(u)ral Therapy, or get a good book on the subject, and give to a therapist using Cognitive Behavio(u)ral Therapy (fairly common, and probably nearby) and ask that it be incorporated into your treatment. Dialectic Behavior Therapy (DBT) http://www.priory.com/dbt.htm & http://www.behavioraltech.com/downloads/dbtFaq_Cons.pdf Some locators are via http://your-mental-health.weebly.com/ind…
BOOKS: Read "I hate you: don't leave me." by Jerold J. Kreisman, M.D. and Hal Stras. Also: The Stop Walking on Eggshells Workbook: Practical Strategies for Living With Someone Who Has Borderline Personality Disorder, by Randi Kreger and James Paul Shirley, & NEW HOPE FOR PEOPLE WITH BORDERLINE PERSONALITY DISORDER, by Neil R. Bockian, Ph.D.. Try http://www.amazon.com/ for these, and others on BPD. View: http://www.sane.org/information/factshee… & http://www.2knowmyself.com/uieforum?c=sh… Most people are suggestible, to some degree, so you could either seek professional hypnotherapy, or, quicker, cheaper, and more conveniently: http://www.hypnotictapes.com/ - ABANDONMENT, OVERCOME FEAR OF, and/or http://www.hypnosisdownloads.com Improve Impulse Control Google: "support groups; borderline personality disorder" and try some. Do similarly with chat sites and forums.
* NOTE: Around half of all therapists are either assaulted, or threatened with such, by their clients, during their careers, and a disproportionally high number of them come from people with BDP.
For this reason, I advise avoiding that term at all, and just mentioning some of the symptoms, may well be the best way to proceed with someone who is not a therapist experienced in DBT, but one who employs the more common Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, and who may well be disinclined to take on any BPD patients, on the basis of reputation.
Once a rapport has been built, and s/he believes that you are unlikely to be troublesome, you could mention your relaxation/meditation techniques, and anger management skills first. Then, perhaps in a later session, that you took quizzes on BPD, and bipolar disorder, and believe that there is a fairly high degree of probability that such a diagnosis may be applicable in your case. You could then begin mentioning books that you have been reading on the subject, such as the DBT workbook shown above, and ask that s/he reads it, if not already familiar with the content. _____________________________________________________________________________________ What is Borderline Personality Disorder?
Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is a mental disorder. People affected by BPD frequently experience distressing emotional states, difficulty in relating to other people, and self-harming behaviour.
Between two and five per cent of the population are affected by BPD at some stage in their lives. The symptoms of the disorder usually first appear in mid to late teens or in early adulthood. Women are three times more likely to be diagnosed with BPD than men.
The causes of BPD are not fully understood. They are likely to be a combination of biological and life factors. It is thought that many people with BPD have experienced abuse, trauma or neglect during childhood, and that this may have contributed to development of the disorder.
With early diagnosis and effective treatment, the outcomes for people with BPD are good.
What are the symptoms? People with BPD have persistent difficulty relating to other people and to the world around them. This can be very distressing for the person and for those who care for them.
Symptoms include:
Deep feelings of insecurity Difficulty coping with fear of abandonment and loss; continually seeking reassurance, even for small things; expressing inappropriate anger towards others whom they consider responsible for how they feel; a fragile sense of self and one’s place in the world.
Persistent impulsiveness Abusing alcohol and other drugs; spending excessively; gambling; stealing; driving recklessly, or having unsafe sex.
Confused, contradictory feelings Frequent questioning and changing of emotions or attitudes towards others, and towards aspects of life such as goals, career, living arrangements or sexual orientation.
Self-harm Causing deliberate pain by cutting, burning or hitting oneself; overdosing on prescription or illegal drugs; binge eating or starving; abusing alcohol and other drugs; repeatedly putting oneself in dangerous situations or attempting suicide.
Some people with BPD may also have symptoms of other mental illnessses. They may experience symptoms associated with anxiety or mood disorders, such as excessive worrying and having panic attacks, obsessive behaviour, hoarding or having unwanted thoughts, feeling persistently sad, moving or talking slowly, losing sexual interest or having difficulty concentrating on simple tasks.
They may even experience psychotic symptoms such as delusions or false beliefs – believing, for example, they are being deceived, spied on or plotted against.
What else do we know about BPD?
BPD is a complex disorder that is often misunderstood.
Not all people who harm themselves have BPD. While self-harm is common among people with BPD, not all those who do this have the disorder. People may self-harm for other reasons such as low self esteem, to momentarily express and release emotional pain or even to punish themselves. This may relate to a mental illness, a disorder or emotional problem unrelated to BPD.
People with BPD are not ‘bad’. The anger and rejection that people with BPD display mean they are sometimes labelled as ‘bad,‘ ‘manipulative’ or ’attention-seeking’. While things they do may at times lead to confusion, distress or inconvenience for other people, it should be remembered that this behaviour results from feelings of fear, loneliness, desperation, or hopelessness associated with BPD.
People with BPD can get better. Contrary to common belief, people with BPD can recover well with appropriate ongoing treatment and support. While there is no cure yet, BPD is a treatable disorder.
What is the treatment? Diagnosis is generally made by a psychiatrist, with ongoing treatment managed by a psychiatrist, clinical psychologist or other mental health professional.
The most effective treatment usually involves a combination of, psychological therapy, medication and support.
Psychological therapies that have been found to be effective in the treatment of BPD are Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT) and Dialectical Behavioural Therapy (DBT). During IPT, a person learns new and effective ways to relate to significant people in their lives. DBT helps people learn to handle their emotions better and re-learn the way they typically respond to situations and other people.
Medication alone does not ‘fix’ BPD. It can be helpful, however, in the management of some symptoms, such as depression, anxiety and mood swings.
Longer term psychiatric treatment may be provided by a GP or community mental health services – a clinic with specialist health workers treating people in their local area.
Community support programs may include help with finding suitable work, accommodation, training and education, psychosocial rehabilitation and mutual support groups.
Family and friends of people with BPD can often feel confused, angry and alone. Education and support for family and other carers is an important part of treatment, as is understanding from the community.
With appropriate treatment and support, most people with BPD can lead full and productive lives.
How do I find out more? It is important to ask your doctor about any concerns you have. SANE Australia also produces a range of easy-to-read publications and multimedia resources on mental illness. For more information about this topic see:
The SANE Guide to Staying Alive Provides practical step-by-step hints and advice for consumers, carers and health professionals on dealing with suicidal thoughts and behaviour.