Sima Saleem
What is borderline personality disorder?
An instability in all aspects of life, affects interpersonal relationships, emotions, and self-image (a picture that person have from own). This mental illness begins in the first years of adulthood and manifests itself in various aspects and causes emotional instability. People with this disorder have unstable interpersonal and self-image relationships, their relationships are intense and chaotic, and they see their friend or lover as an extreme idealist who after a while becomes frustrated and disappointed with the same people
And this pattern is usually accompanied by the following symptoms:
•Impulsive behavior
•Transient paranoid thoughts
•Chronic feeling of emptiness
•Suicidal behaviors
•Emotional instability
•Frequent self-harm
•Anger
Main symptoms
1- Shaky relationships: they have shaky and unstable relationships with family, relative and friends. It also happens that these people quickly and intensely become interested in someone and very quickly suddenly lose interest in him and even hate that person.
Any separation or change of plan will provoke a strong reaction of rejection in them, when they are interested in someone or something and for whatever reason that person or thing goes away, the person with borderline personality disorder will feel isolated and empty.
2- Dangerous behaviors: behaviors that arise from a person that are the result of poor self-image, like:
Spending money indiscriminately and unaccountably
Improper six
High risk driving
Over eating
Anger
Excessive consumption of addictive substance
3- Hurting themselves: people with this disorder may show dangerous symptoms and have problems with their body image and self-esteem. These people hurt themselves, cut their bodies and even think of suicide, in this case the person should see a psychologist or psychiatrist, and if it’s necessary, admit the patient to the best psychiatric clinic.
Fear of being alone: their anger and fear are caused by the fear of being alone, and even by imagining being alone, they become afraid and angry. Fear of being alone. Serious causes are problems in their family relationships.
4- Excessive use of drugs and alcohol: these people turn to drugs and alcohol to escape problems or relax.
All of these conditions need to be treated to better control the symptoms of the disorder.
Signs of borderline personality disorder
•Volatile and unstable emotional relationships even with family and close friends.
•Extreme anger towards the situation is out of control. For example, if a parent or loved one is away from home to do something a person with borderline personality disorder may experience anger and resentment and isolation.
•Spending money carelessly and in large quantities.
•Having risky relationships
•Craving to eat
•Dangerous driving
•Betting, martingale
•Poor self-image
•Causing physical damage
•Body image and self-confidence are problematic
•Suicidal thoughts
•They experience extreme feelings of isolation and inability to cope with loss
•Extreme fear of loneliness
Causes of borderline personality disorder
Many psychologists believe that factors such genetics, the brain, the acquired causes and childhood experiences are affective in causing such a disorder. But the early experiences of the child, especially the first three years are very important such as mentioned in bellow:
Instability of mother for different reasons
Reject the child
Conflict between parents
Lack of secure attachment in childhood
Punish the child
Ignoring the child’s feelings
Incompatible and trapped parents
Divorce of parents
Common co-occurring disorders
Borderline personality disorder often occurs at the same time with mood disorders and when the criteria for both disorders are same, both diagnoses can be made. This disorder is almost stable and does not change much over time. Some studies have shown that it can lead to schizophrenia. And also it’s very likely that the person face depression.
Stigma over borderline personality disorder
Doctors and people are often seen with negative expressions. This disorder may have a stigma that goes beyond what is associated with other mental illnesses. Borderline personality disorder related stigma may affect how physicians tolerate their actions, thoughts, and emotion reactions.in society, people tend to distance themselves from stigmatized populations, and there is evidence that some physicians may themselves emotionally from people with Borderline personality disorder. This may be particularly problematic in the treatment of patients with Borderline personality disorder
Treatment
This disorder can be treated in different ways:
Pharmacotherapy of borderline personality disorder
Medication is helpful in counteracting certain personality traits that disrupt the overall functioning of a patient with borderline personality disorder. Antipsychotics and antidepressants are commonly used to stabilize a person s mood to control symptoms.
Psychotherapy of borderline personality disorder
Different methods of counseling such as psychotherapy, or a new method of therapy called dialectical behavior can be useful in controlling the disease of these people, also in group therapy, one tries to replace good behaviors with bad behaviors and even teaches to their peers.
Self-help to person with borderline personality disorder?
Friends and family members of those who suffer from borderline personality disorder often feel suffocated, worn out, or injured by their behavior.
Research or learn about this disorder is a real and debilitating disease, it is not the fault of the sufferer. The person you are looking for may feel ashamed and guilty about their behavior, but is unable to change it. You should try to increase your knowledge about this disorder, example there are many programs blogs and other resources online that help you become more aware of this disorder.
Communicating with these people is a complex task due to the nature of their illness.
- listen to him carefully, even if you disagree with him, you should listen to him patiently. But do not necessarily express your opposition.
- ask open ended questions. Let the person easily share his or her thoughts and feelings with you.
- listening to him does not mean agreeing with his views, but it will lead to a better relationship and a more intimate relationship with him.
- do not try to win the discussion with the patient with borderline personality disorder or impose your opinion on them.
