Borderline Personality Disorders: A Case Study

Katie Young is a 15 year old Caucasian female that was referred to my agency from the Virginia Family Assessment Planning Team and Colonial Behavioral Health due to the issues of stability with the intensive in home services. Her family history consists of rapid cycling Bipolar Disorder. Along with the bipolar II disorder, Katie suffers from PTSD that includes panic attacks 1-2 times per week, intrusive thoughts, flashbacks, high reactivity to being touched by others and trauma echoes regarding interaction with staff at school. She attends a school that is supposed to use behavior interventions with children with emotional disabilities. She has had an IEP on file since the age of 7 for ADHD and mood related needs. She is unfortunately uninformed of how to return to the public school in her city of residence or her current grade, which is possibly the 9th or 10th.

Borderline Personality Disorder is named borderline personality disorder because at one point in history they considered this disorder to be on the “borderline” between neurosis and psychosis. Borderline personality disorder is a severe mental disorder that impacts an individual’s behavior, relationships, and mood. The disorder usually begins during adolescence or young adulthood. People with BPD have a tendency of rapid change in attitude or feelings toward others because they cannot regulate them well. Individuals with BPD may find it difficult in to hold on to a relationship due to the quick anger and negative feelings. People with BPD often fall into impulsive and potential self-harming incidents. These events could include partaking in substance abuse, gambling, reckless speeding and driving, and undiscerning sexual activity. Any acts of this kind could damage an individual’s potential future of help and a life at all. People with BPD have challenges in staying faithful to what they believe in regarding their values. This may also affect education and career choices. Individuals with BPD may lack the understanding of their sense of self and obtaining a positive self-esteem. With that being said, BPD has the potential impact on someone to participate in self-harming actions. Self-harm could include various behaviors like cutting, burning, or punching. These behaviors consist of harming themselves, but disregard the intentions of killing themselves. According to the

Assessment of the patient with borderline personality disorder is inclusive of the patient's: (1) physical; (2) emotional; (3) cognitive; (4) social; and (5) spiritual characteristics. These are assessed based on the patient's: (1) subjective reports; (2) interview records; and (3) behavioral

Borderline Personality Disorder is a mental illness categorized under Cluster B Personality Disorders. This illness affects approximately 2% of adults, 75% of them being women. There are nine most common symptoms including; intense emotions (anger and mood swings), impulsivity, and a distorted self-image. These side effects often lead to relationship problems, temper tantrums, depression, substance abuse, and self-harm; particularly cutting or thoughts of suicide. Also, most BPD patients display feelings of emptiness and fear abandonment (whether real or imagined); in this case, symptoms tend to become more acute when feeling isolated or lacking social support.

The diagnostic process for personality disorders currently covers a broad scope of various tests and symptoms, causing a source of frustration for psychiatrists (Aldhous). The symptoms and side effects of several personality disorders can tend to blur together, making diagnosis challenging (Aldhous). Most psychiatric patients are diagnosed with several personality disorders at once, with twenty percent of people with personality disorders simply diagnosed with a “personality disorder not otherwise specified” (Aldhous). Using the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Health Disorders, commonly referred to as the DSM, psychiatrists attempt with great difficulty to categorize their patients into a specific disorder, only to diagnose

Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is characterized by fluctuation of self-image, lack of stable interpersonal relationships and pronounced and unpredictable impulsivity. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 5 (2013) also lists fear of abandonment, suicidal or self-harming behaviors, intense or inappropriate anger that is difficult to control as well as paranoid ideation or dissociative symptoms. Morcos and Morcos (2016) wrote that patients with BPD are often misdiagnosed with other trauma related disorders, such as PTSD, depression or bipolar disorder. According to Beatson, et al. (2016) there are additional issues in diagnosing older patients, as the criteria indicates that symptoms would have been seen early in the patient’s life, not later. Beatson, et al. (2016) also noted that there is a considerable lack of studies and literature concerning BPD in older patients, making the diagnostic process more difficult. In this case study we will be working with an older patient, one that was well into midlife before Borderline Personality Disorder was included in the DSM, to see if she fits the criteria for BPD and what treatment options might be available.

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

According to the DSM-5, Personality Disorders are characterized by “impairments in personality functioning and the presence of pathological personality traits”. Borderline Personality Disorder is one of ten personality disorders listed in the DSM-5. The DSM-5 lists several criteria that must be met in order for someone to be diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder. They are quoted as follows:

This essay will discuss and analyse the diagnoses given to Diana Miller, also known as Disco Di. Disco Di was diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) and Major Depressive Disorder (MDD). The information given about Disco Di will be analyzed to see if she was given the proper diagnoses and if there are other possible diagnoses that were missed in her initial examinations. Her past and environment play a role in influencing her diagnoses so they will also be examined and in turn will help distinguish which 20th century psychological paradigm can be used to explain Disco Di’s disorders, along with the treatment that would best suit her condition.

Another sign that relates to borderline personality disorder is loneliness. People with BPD fear of abandonment and being alone. Loneliness causes severe stress on them and can affect their health. It was stated that “persistent loneliness is one of the key experiences reported by individuals with borderline personality disorder (BPD)” (Liebke, 2017). In the Diagnostic Statistical Manual of Disorder III (1980), the intolerance of aloneness is so characteristic for BPD patients that it was even one of the diagnostic criteria for BPD when it first came up as independent

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).

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is described as “a serious mental disorder marked by a pattern of ongoing instability in moods, behavior, self-image, and functioning” (National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), 2017, p. 1). Individuals who have BPD struggle to regulate or control their emotions and impulses.

The main feature of borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a pervasive pattern of instability in interpersonal relationships, self-image and emotions. People with borderline personality disorder are also usually very impulsive.

“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.

Becky experiences many of the criteria for borderline personality disorder. The first she describes is her need for physical contact, which exemplifies the fear of abandonment expressed in many of those with BPD, and she describes this need for contact as overwhelming and constant. The feelings that this need create in her, and the feelings after not having this need met, lead her to cut herself. Self-injury is another symptom evident in those with the disorder. Becky has unstable interpersonal relationships which are further damaged by her intense emotional outbursts. Lastly, she describes herself as having no secure identity.