Borderline personality disorder, or BDP, is a personality disorder which is described as a prolonged disturbance of personality function in a person. It is characterized by instability and variety of moods, black and white thinking, highly unstable interpersonal relationships, identity and behavior, and the disturbance in the sense of one self. It mostly affects individuals over the age of 18 years, but it can be found in adolescents as well.
The people with this disorder generally have difficulties to maintain relationship practically everywhere and with everyone, including work and home. They experience long lasting and intensive states of aversive tension, feelings of being victimized and lack of identity, but it is not excluded that they will attempt suicide, since they also experience self-destructive feelings, as well as self-harming, which is also one of the main symptoms.
As for the causes of this disorder, it is very hard to determine them, because they are complex and often unknown. Some researchers suggest that traumas from childhood, as well as abuse and neglect may lead to this disorder, while others claim that genetic predisposition, brain abnormalities, and environmental factors are important factors in developing it. But without any doubt, this disorder is closely related to post-traumatic stress.
The diagnosis has to be made by a professional mental health provider, and it is based on a clinical assessment which requires hospitalization.
Treatment and medication
When it comes to the treatment of borderline personality disorder, dynamic psychotherapy and group therapy play an important role and they proved to be very helpful, showing more than good results in treating this disorder. As for the medications, the UK National Institute for Health is strongly against their use, except in the cases of co-morbid conditions, when mood stabilizers, antidepressants and antipsychotics are used.
Antidepressant drugs and mood stabilizers may be helpful with depression and labile mood, since they reduce depression, dampen emotional ups and downs, and control excessive impulsivity. But they only treat some of the symptoms, not the entire disorder. Some of them are Prozac, Zoloft, Lexapro, Desyrel, and Lamictal. Antipsychotic drugs are used for distortions in thinking, but they can also reduce aggressive behavior very quickly. On the other side, their use may sometimes lead to further more serious complications, and may be the cause of serious side effects, which are, in cases of people with borderline personality disorder (especially those with suicidal thoughts), much more expressed than with others who do not suffer from mental illness.
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