Borderline Personality Disorder Essay

What is Borderline Personality Disorder? Defined by the website www.borderlinepersonalitydisorder.com, “Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a serious mental illness that causes unstable moods, behavior, and relationships. It usually begins during adolescence or early adulthood.” One may wonder what can be the cause of this disorder. BPD can be detected by an in-person interview about the symptoms that are occurring. The input from family and close friends of the individual that is being treated can also help detect the symptoms. The causes for BPD are not fully

This article is about Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) and its evidence based treatment for Borderline Personality Disorder (Chapman, PhD & Fraser, 2006). The article also discusses how DBT can be used to help parasuicidal women with borderline personality disorder (BPD) as well as those with Substance Use Disorders (SUDs), binge-eating disorders and depression in older folks (Chapman, PhD & Fraser, 2006). DBT includes aspects of cognitive-behavioral therapy, and cognitive restructuring. The five functions of treatment with DBT are also discussed; enhancing capabilities, generalizing capabilities, improving motivation and reducing dysfunctional behaviors, enhancing and maintaining therapist capabilities and motivation and structuring the environment.

Individuals who suffer of such disorder are capable of changing their behavior and mindset drastically. For example, if the person is in a relationship they can love and idolize their partner at one instant and completely hate and seek revenge against them, if they feel their partner hurts them. At times, they even try to self-sabotage themselves by attempting to hurt themselves. Their personality characteristics are known to be demanding, intense, aggressive, and even feeling empty an abundant amount of times. Essentially an individual with borderline personality disorder are defined by the word “instability” as their behavior is completely unpredictable and rocky to their experiences (Buss & Larsen, 2001).

Most patients of borderline personality disorder suffer from problems regulating emotions and thoughts, impulsive and reckless behavior, and unstable relationships with other people. People with this disorder have high rates of depression, anxiety, substance abuse, and eating disorders. Oftentimes, it leads to self-harm, and suicidal behaviors.

Borderline personality disorder is defined in its most simplest sense as being a mental health disorder that generates significant emotional instability. [1] In sufferers it generates a wide range of symptoms typically characterised into three groups; Problems regulating emotions and thoughts; impulsive behaviour without thinking of the consequences of actions; and lastly unstable relationships. Evaluating the most effective treatment(s) for BPD remains a target for mental health services as the disorder is associated with self harm and suicide attempts, with suicide attempts recorded in 69-80% of patients. [2]

Aka BPD, is a mental disorder marked by ongoing intense mood swings, self-imaging problems, and impulsive behavior usually surfacing during adolescence to early adulthood and can lead to major psychological disorders later in life.

Other symptoms of borderline personality disorder include efforts to avoid abandonment, impulsive behavior, distorted sense of self, chronic feelings of emptiness, inappropriate and intense anger or problems controlling anger, stress related to paranoid thoughts, a pattern of unstable relationships with family, friends, and loved ones. Mood and emotion are often swinging from extreme dislike or rage andhaving feelings to harm themselves such as cutting themselve out of the world, observing themselves from outside the body and feeling vulnuarable, or losing touch with reality (National Institute of Mental Health, 2016). The symptoms can be triggered by minor separations, such as vacations and sudden change of plans (Chapman and Gratz 2013). Chapman and Gratz also stated when an individual has borderline personality disorder they have unstable emotions, one minute the person can feel joyful and then suddenly they can have intense negative emotions. Emotions that are most common and are particularly tough for people with borderline personality disorder includes sadness, shame, loneliness, fear, and anger toward themselves. People with borderline personality disorder often fear rejection and abandonment, especially when it comes to

Introduction: This article discusses the significance of psychotherapy options in treating borderline personality disorder (BPD). Borderline personality is a disorder with a variety of symptoms that can be briefly summarized as instability in mood, thinking, behavior, personal relations, and self-image. Psychotherapy options include cognitive

“Personality disorders have been documented in approximately 9 percent of the general U.S. population” (Angstman, Rasmussen, 2011). Emotional dysregulation disorder or its common name borderline personality disorder is a very serious and chronic disorder. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) describes borderline personality disorder as “a pervasive pattern of instability of interpersonal relationships, self-image, and affects, and marked impulsivity that begins by early adulthood and is present in a variety of contexts” (Gardner, 2006). Within the last 20 years, psychologists and other mental health professionals have made tremendous strides in research on what exactly borderline personality disorder, some of its triggers and possible effective treatment options. Borderline personality disorder is defined as a disorder that generates severe emotional instability which can be a springboard that can lead to other stress induced mental and behavioral problems.

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a serious and complex mental disorder involving maladaptive behaviors and multiple symptoms. This disorder often occurs in the context of relationships and can have a chaotic effect not only on the individual with BPD but also on their loved ones. According to the NIMH, “borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a serious mental illness characterized by unstable moods, behavior, and relationship”.9 A primary character of BPD is behavioral and emotional dysregulation. These behaviors are difficult

Though several personality disorders are highly complex and a challenge to treat, there are effective treatments available (“Treating Borderline” 1). The various treatments are broken down by method, the first of which being cognitive behavioral therapy, which attempts to alter the conscious thoughts and behavioral patterns of patients (Daniel); (“Treating Borderline” 2). Cognitive behavior therapy itself is broken down into two therapies, dialectical behavioral therapy and schema-focused therapy (“Treating Borderline” 2). Dialectical behavioral therapy, developed by Dr. Linehan, is centered on the basis that personality disorders are formed when hypersensitive patients are in situations which lack the emotional support they require, therefore leading to their “inability to regulate emotions” (“Treating Borderline” 2). Thus, the treatment serves to help the patient gain control over their emotion and behavior (“Treating Borderline” 2). The treatment itself consists of group and individual sessions and typically lasts approximately one year (“Treating Borderline” 2). During the group sessions, patients learn to become more aware of their behaviors and emotions through sessions pertaining to “problem solving, mindfulness meditation, and breath training“(“Treating Borderline” 2). In personal sessions, referred to as psychotherapy, the psychiatrist explains to the patient how the lessons from the group therapy sessions are applicable

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a personality dysfunction that is characterize by disinhibition and impulsivity and often is manifest as self-regulation difficulties. (Sansone & Sansone, 2015). Clients with BPD commonly have fear of being abandoned. They will get close to someone then start to isolate themselves from them because they feel as if the feelings are not mutual. They often have do risky activities such as binge eating, shopping sprees, and several sexual partners. It is common for them to participate in self-injurious behavior such as cutting themselves. The DSM-5 states that a client must have at least five of the

With BPD there are often extremes in beliefs and views, such as all good or all bad. People with BPD are can be uncertain about whom they truly are as a person. With no self sense, interests and values may conflict as well as change rapidly. Their views of others may also change quickly. One day a certain person may be admired. The next day that same person may be despised or hated. Suddenly shifting feelings often foster relationships that are unstable and intense. There are numerous other identifiable traits someone with BPD may display. Some of these symptoms may include fear abandonment, feelings of emptiness and boredom, frequent displays of inappropriate anger, destructive impulsiveness, intolerance of being alone, as well as repeated self crises (i.e. self injury).

In the 1980s, the first of a number of brain imaging, biochemical and genetic studies were published indicating that Borderline Personality Disorder is associated with biological disturbances in brain function, some of which appear to be genetic. In the early 1990s, Marsha Linehan introduced Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), a specific and well documented psychotherapy for Borderline Personality Disorder patients prone to self injurious behavior and who require frequent, brief hospitalizations. Since then, more therapies have been developed that are specifically designed for Borderline Personality Disorder and the wide range of symptoms that patients often present with. (Friedel, 2011)

The history of BPD can be traced back to 1938 when Adolph Stern first described the symptoms of the disorder as neither being psychotic nor psychoneurotic; hence, the term ‘borderline’ was introduced (National Collaborating Centre for Mental Health, 2009, p. 15). Then in 1960, Otto Kernberg coined the term ‘borderline personality organization’ to describe persistent patterns of behavior and functioning consisting of instability, and distressed psychological self-organization (National Collaborating Centre for Mental Health, 2009, p. 15).