Borderline Personality Disorder

1. Borderline Personality Disorder Pia Torres and Kristine Tran Period 5

2. Vignette • Diana Miller, 25, entered a long-term treatment unit of a psychiatric hospital after a serious suicide attempt. Diana had been a sociable child until she turned 12. She became demanding sullen, rebellious, shifting from a giddy euphoria to tearfulness and depression. She became promiscuous, abused marijuana and hallucinogens and ran away at 15 with a boy. She craved excitement and would get drunk and dance wildly, and left with strange men. When she was 17, she made her first suicide attempt by cutting her wrist severely. She was obsessed with calories and with the need to have her food cut into particular shapes and arranged on her plate in a particular manner. If her parents didn’t do this she would have tantrums. She never had female friends and she has often been “eaten alive” with boredom. She languished at home, grew more depressed and agoraphobic and escalated her valium use.

3. Definition Symptoms Frantic efforts to avoid real or imagined abandonment. A pattern of unstable and intense interpersonal relationships characterized by alternating between extremes of idealization and devaluation. Identity disturbance, for example significant and persistent unstable self-image or sense of self. Impulsivity in at least two areas that are potentially self-damaging. Emotional instability due to significant reactivity of mood. Chronic feeling of emptiness. Inappropriate, intense anger or difficulty controlling anger. Transient, stress-related paranoid thoughts or severe dissociative symptoms. • Borderline personality disorder is when people have unstable emotions. • Has a pattern of instability in interpersonal relationships, self-image and emotions. • Person must be at least 18 years of age before they can be diagnosed with them. • More prevalent in females.

4. Theories on the development of the disorder • The causes are likely due to biological and genetic factors, social factors, and psychological factors. • There is no single factor that is responsible for this. • There is a slightly increased risk for this disorder to be “passed down” to their children.

5. Treatment • When borderline personality disorder is diagnosed, you most likely will begin treatment with professional counseling (psychotherapy) The first goal of therapy is to help you control destructive behaviors, especially if you are feeling suicidal or self-destructive. When you are less likely to harm yourself and you are able to function more normally, treatment will focus on managing your emotions, such as controlling feelings of anger or unhappiness. • Types of counseling commonly used to treat the disorder include: • Cognitive-behavioral therapy, which focuses on changing certain thoughts and behavior patterns to control the symptoms of a condition. • Dialectical behavior therapy which helps reduce destructive behaviors by teaching healthy ways to adapt to and cope with challenges and feelings of frustration or lack of power. • Psychodynamic therapy, which focuses on uncovering or understanding your past to gain insight into your actions and current behavior. This technique assumes that problems with behavior are caused by internal conflicts that you are not consciously aware of. • Family therapy, which can help educate your family about your condition and provide support to you and to those who care about you and are affected by your condition. For example, it is sometimes hard for a parent with borderline personality disorder to be nurturing, even to his or her own child. • Support groups, where you and people you care about are able to meet others who share similar challenges. • Techniques that may help you manage symptoms of borderline personality disorder, such as stress and anxiety, include: • Getting enough sleep and going to bed around the same time every night. • Eating a balanced diet. • Getting regular exercise, such as walking or swimming. • Avoiding alcohol, illegal drugs, and medicines that have not been prescribed to you. These may make your symptoms of borderline personality disorder worse and also may interfere with your prescribed medicines. • Avoiding any major life decisions (like changing jobs, moving, or getting married or divorced) when you are feeling irritable, anxious, angry, or depressed. • Building a strong social support system by developing positive relationships with other people, such as family members, friends, and doctors.

8. EXTRA FACTS

9. Celebrities with Borderline Personality Disorder • Adolf Hitler • Princess Diana of Wales • Amy Winehouse • Marilyn Monroe

10.  It occurs in about one in every 33 women, compared with one in every 100 men, and is usually diagnosed in early adulthood. • BPD affects approximately two-percent of adults – young women, for the most part • Among the people affected there is a high rate of self-injury without suicidal intention, as well as a significant rate of attempted suicide and suicide in more severe cases. • BPD accounts for around twenty-percent of the number of hospitalizations due to psychiatric reasons, although with assistance many people improve over a period of time and are able to lead productive lives.

11. resources • http://psychcentral.com/lib/2007/symptoms-of-borderline-personality-disorder/ • http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/tc/borderline-personality-disorder-treatment-overview • http://www.borderlinecentral.com/articles/famouspeoplewithbpd.php • http://www.disabled-world.com/disability/types/psychological/bpd.php