Borderline personality disorder (borderline personality disorder, emotionally unstable personality disorder) is considered to be one of the most serious personality disorders. Patients struggling with it show excessive impulsiveness, often have a depressed mood, and also feel rejected when they actually distance themselves from other people. What other problems can be associated with borderline, and what are the treatment options for this personality disorder?

Borderline personality - characteristics

Borderline- what is it? Borderline personality disorder is sometimes referred to asborderline personality disorder , borderline personality disorder or borderline personality disorder. This type of personality disorder began to be distinguished in the middle of the previous century, and the problems of patients whose ailments originated from the border of psychotic and neurotic disorders were defined as borderline personality disorder.

Personality disorders are mental disorders in which patients with them display persistent personality traits and the resulting behaviors that - without treatment - are completely unmodifiable and not amenable to change. This group of psychiatric problems includes various entities, e.g. histrionic personality, antisocial personality, and anankastic personality. However, the most interest and controversy is caused by a completely different type of personality disorder - borderline.

The frequency of borderline occurrence can be considered relatively high- although different authors assess it differently, according to some researchers, up to 3% of the population may struggle with this problem (for comparison, the prevalence of schizophrenia , according to statistics, it is around 1%).

In the past, it was clearly stated that borderline personality disorder is predominantly found in women, but nowadays it is suggested thatrepresentatives of both sexes, the problem occurs with similar frequency.

What are the causes of borderline personality?

The concept of borderline causes stands out a lot. Psychotherapists working in various fields are able to tell a lot about the pathogenesis of this personality disorder - they mention, among others, on the importance of primitive defense mechanisms in the pathogenesis of emotionally unstable personality, much attention is also paid to problems that occur in early childhood and which may ultimately result in abnormal personality development.

It is noticeable thatborderline personality is more common in people who:

  • in the early years of their lives, they were exposed to adverse environmental factors, e.g. domestic violence, constant criticism of their parents, frequent quarrels between family members, experience of severe trauma (e.g. as a result of rape).
  • the occurrence of a problem is often preceded by repeated separation from close people, physical violence, which may ultimately result in improper development of ties with the closest family members. The result is difficulties with mentalization - the ability to understand the psyche of other people. Borderline patients are usually not able to fully understand their own behavior and the behavior of the people they come into contact with - ultimately they find it difficult to cope with a variety of difficult events.
  • some influence on the occurrence of an emotionally unstable personality may also be exerted by biological factors. The supporters of these theories argue that they are correct in the fact that in some patients with borderline disorders, the use of psychotropic drugs, such as antidepressants, brings improvement - this would suggest that abnormal levels of neurotransmitters in the central nervous system may be related to personality disorders.

borderline personality: symptoms

"You love me today, you hate me tomorrow" - a quote from a song by Polish band Sweet Noise, in a way reflects the essence of borderline.

The most common symptoms of borderline personality:

  • One of the most characteristic manifestations of the problem is significant emotional instability - patients with it may bestow the same people with very extreme feelings, one moment considering them as their beloved, and in the second considering them as their worst enemies. Such attitudes are due to the high sensitivity of borderline people to rejection - they are easily offended, and innocent remarks may be considered terrible insults. At the same time, patients with this personality disorder - for fear of preciselyabandonment - they can reject other people themselves only to stop worrying that they will be rejected.
  • The above-described problems may sound rather complicated, but in practice people with borderline face these different contradictory feelings. They experience emotions very strongly, especially such as anger, anger or rage (colloquially referred to as "borderline attack"). They tend to enter into intense, short-term relationships that eventually foster emotional crises.
  • Another distinctive feature of borderline is anxiety intolerance. Patients are not able to cope with it - their adaptive abilities in this case are significantly limited, which means that various unexpected events may disorganize their functioning and make them incapable of further action.
  • A person with borderline borderline may undertake various activities aimed at reducing the perceived anxiety - in this case, it is not uncommon to abuse psychoactive substances, impulsive behavior (fast driving, accidental sexual contacts) or even self-destructive behavior (e.g. self-mutilation) .
  • Borderline symptoms are also mood disorders. Patients are often irritable, have mood swings, and often experience low mood. These phenomena are quite dangerous - it is enough to take into account the emotionally unstable impulsiveness that makes these people, especially those struggling with depressed mood, attempt suicide.

Borderline personality: consequences

Borderline has a number of different consequences. One of them is unsuccessful relationships - it is worth knowing that patients find it difficult to lead a successful personal life. They often associate with people with whom the relationship simply has no chance of working. It is worth adding here that a person with borderline personality in a partner relationship is rather not an ideal - due to the fear of rejection, a person with this disorder keeps people at a distance, does not allow them to get too close, but also does not allow them to drift away too far.

An emotionally unstable personality is also associated with reacting with anger to various difficult life situations - a patient with this problem often leads to quarrels and arguments.

Is borderline dangerous? Borderline personality disorder leads to difficulties not only in personal life. People affected by it also experience problems in their professional life - due to low self-esteem, they can work in positions below their qualifications, and quite often they can, from variousreasons, to feel the need to change the professional environment and undertake completely new, not necessarily satisfying, employee challenges.

Borderline personality disorder: diagnostics. Borderline test

Patients with borderline features should see mental he alth professionals - a psychologist, psychotherapist or psychiatrist.

Specialist personality questionnaires, such as the MMPI (colloquially referred to as the borderline test), are extremely useful in diagnosing an emotionally unstable personality. Such tests are usually performed by psychologists, but it is worth adding here that in order to carry out differential diagnosis - it is worth going to a psychiatrist.

Borderline should be differentiated, among others with changes in behavior resulting from substance abuse, mood disorders (especially bipolar disorder), psychotic disorders and other personality disorders.

Treatment of borderline personality

In the treatment of borderline personality disorder, one method is of primary importance: psychotherapy. However, there are many different difficulties associated with it in this case - first of all, patients with borderline borderline disorder rarely decide to undertake it on their own, they look for the reasons for their constant difficulties in others, and not in themselves.

Emotionally unstable personality is a challenge for many therapists - patients with this personality disorder can evoke extreme emotions in them, ranging from compassion and willingness to help at any cost, to complete reluctance to conduct therapy.

Long-term psychotherapy is usually necessary in the case of borderline personality disorder. Some patients, however, even demand the introduction of pharmacological treatment.

Opinions on the merits of borderline pharmacotherapy are divided. There are scientific reports supporting a certain effectiveness of antidepressants, antipsychotics (especially atypical ones) and mood stabilizing drugs. On the other hand, it is emphasized that pharmacological treatment in people with borderline disorders is best started when they have mood disorders, severe drug manifestations or psychotic symptoms.

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Category:

Psychiatry