Borderline Personality Disorder
According to the Mayo Clinic,
borderline personality disorder is a mental
health disorder that impacts the way
people
think and feel about themselves and others.
It causes problems functioning in every day
life. It includes
issues with self
image, difficulty managing emotions and
behavior, and a pattern of unstable
relationships.
With borderline
personality disorder, you have an intense
fear of abandonment or instability, and you
may have
difficulty tolerating
being alone. Yet inappropriate anger,
impulsiveess and frequent mood swings may
push
others away, even though you want
to have a loving and lasting relationship.
Signs
and symptoms
*
an intense fear of abandonment, even going
to extreme measures to avoid real or
imagined separation or rejection.
* a pattern of unstable
intense relationship such as idealizing
someone one moment and then suddenly
believing
the person
doesn't care or is cruel.
*
rapid changes in self-identity and
self-image that include shifting goals and
values and seeing yourself as bad or as
if you did not exist.
*
periods of stress related paranoia and loss
of contact with reality, lasting from a few
minutes to hours.
*
impulsive and risky behavior such as
gambling, reckless driving, unsafe sex,
spending sprees, binge eating
or drug abuse,
or sabotaging
sucess
by suddenly quitting a good job or ending a
positive relationship.
*
suicidal threats or behavior or self injury
in response to fear of separation or
rejection.
* wide mood
swings lasting from hours to a few days
which can include intense happiness,
irritability, shame or anxiety.
*
inappropriate, intense ager, such as
frequent temper outbursts or having physical
fights.
Treatment of Borderline Personality
Disorder
Treatment of BPD
is a challenge because it is complicated and
stigmatizeld and its symptons relect
ingrained patterns
of thinking and
behavior.
It is heterogenous in nature, and causes
a different cluster of symptoms in different
people. Many paitents with BPD
also have other mental health problems such
as a mood disorder or post-traumatic stress
disorder.
Drugs may be moderately helpful
at reducing particular symptons such as
depression or anxiety, but they do not
address
core personality traits and
behaviors. Because of this,
psychotherapy remains the predominate
treatment for BPD,
although there is no
singular treatment that helps all.