Borderline Personality Disorder

Many people have heard the term, ‘’ used incorrectly to reference a person who is difficult to get along with and potentially self-destructive. This is not the actual correct usage of the words though. A person with an actual disorder is affected in a life-long sort of way as they deal with rapidly fluctuating emotions and an unclear self-image. It is common for normal people to go through stages of uncertainty, but unless the condition persists over a long period of time, the individual probably does not have a disorder. The person who does have the disorder will want to seek treatment because life can get very rough for her.

The Ups and Downs of
Up and down is the best way to describe a life lived with . Emotions tend to follow a general up and down trend. Unfortunately, the emotions of this person are down for a considerably longer time than they are up. Because life is not perfect and because a person with is very sensitive, the vast majority of life seems hopeless and sad. While emotions are not rational in most cases, this person is convinced that there are explanations for all of the down days in her life. She blames all kinds of situations and people, including herself, for all of the negative feelings in her world.

Relationships
Relationships do not typically go well for a person with . She attempts intimacy very quickly and may scare off a potential mate. When the other person does not respond in kind, she is devastated. Even when a lover sticks around, the smallest infraction on his part sends her into a time of anger and resentment. Most relationships seem chaotic and extremely unstable. Because this person is very sensitive to rejection and because she wants desperately to avoid abandonment, she may seem overly controlling in the relationships. When the rejection occurs, she becomes impulsive.

Self Destruction
The person with does tend to be self-destructive. From acting impulsively to actual physical endangerment, she acts out when provoked. She may be prone to use drugs, have inappropriate sex, drive dangerously, gamble and spend more than she can afford. While all of the aforementioned actions do become self-destructive, she may also more directly hurt herself by cutting or burning her skin. Suicide attempts are not unheard of. Many of these activities make the person feel guilty later, but they recur anyway.

Treatment
People with need to broaden their view of life. They do experience very high and very low emotional states. To avoid such severe disappointments and therefore destructive reactions, they should try to see the bigger picture. If they realize that time changes everything and that more happy times will come, they will be less affected by the negative moments in life. The disorder will also improve with age and learning. Building quality relationships with several people will make it easier to take disappointment from one relationship.

Frances, Allen MD and First, Michael B. MD. Your Mental Health: A Layman’s Guide to
the Psychiatrist’s Bible. New York: Scribner, 1998.

• A Psychiatrist And Mental Illness
• A Step Toward Substance Abuse Can Lead To A Deep Hole Of Addiction
• A World Full Of Phobias
• All Children Are Different, But What Differences Are Normal? (information About Mental Retardation)
• Antisocial Personality Disorder
• Avoidant Personality Disorder
• Being Anxious Over Everything And Nothing
• Being Well Adjusted To Life May Involve Some Struggles
• Bipolar Disorders Are Difficult To Diagnose
• Borderline Personality Disorder
• Cognitive Loss
• Common Illnesses That Psychiatrist Treat
• Coping With Physical Illness
• Defining The Science Of Psychiatry
• Dependent Personality Disorder
• Depressed Spirits And Major Depressive Disorder
• Fear And The Physical
• Fearing Fear Itself
• First Psychiatric Medications And Treatments
• Food And Thoughts: Does One Control The Other?
• Forensic Psychiatry
• Gratifying Impulses
• Has Psychiatry Gone Too Far? Has It Gone Far Enough?
• Histrionic Personality Disorder
• How Psychiatry Methods Evolved Over Time From Force To Healing
• Important Facts Regarding Psychiatry And Mental Illness
• Money Matters In Psychiatry
• Narcissistic Personality Disorder
• Obsessive-compulsive Personality Disorder
• Paranoid Personality Disorder
• Playing The School Game When It’s Hard
• Preparing A Life For Autism
• Psychiatric Malpractice And Standard Of Care
• Psychiatric Organizations And Their Contributions
• The Onset Of Dementia
• The Psychological Interacting With The Physical
• The Top Schools In Psychiatry
• The Truth About Obsessions And Compulsions
• Top Ten Misconceptions About Psychiatric Disorders
• Treatable Depression
• Treating Bipolar Disorder
• What Is Cognition?
• What Is Psychiatry?
• When Acting Out Is Serious
• When Personality Isn’t Personal
• When Reality Isn’t Real
• When Sleep Goes Wrong
• Who Is “i”?
• Who Was Freud?
• Psychiatric Treatments And Support
• Psychoanalysis And The Need For More Scientific Psychiatry
• Reason Behind The Madness
• Schizoid And Schizotypal Personality Disorders
• Self-diagnosis And Treatment Of Psychiatric Conditions
• The Aftermath Of Trauma
• The Beauty Of Sleeping
• The Beginnings Of Psychiatry
• The Controversy In The Classroom: Adhd Diagnosis
• The Importance Of Recognizing Psychiatric Issues
• The Majors And ‘minors’ Of Depression
• The Need For Psychiatrists In The Military