What is borderline personality disorder? Borderline personality disorder is a psychological disorder categorized as a personality disorder. This disorder has specific patterns of behavior, thinking, and interactions. Since the behavior and social interactions are largely deviated from the accepted norms, they can cause a significant stress in the life of the person suffering from the disorder. Borderline personality disorder tends to be associated with a negative self-image and an abnormal way of relating to others. This entire view of one’s self and the behavior patterns interfere with the day-to-day life of the individual. Though the symptoms may manifest very early on in life, these are diagnosed during late adolescence or early adulthood.
For a long time, borderline personality disorder was considered to be an amalgamation of psychosis and neurosis, both distortion of reality and behavior and mood problems. The signs and symptoms of borderline personality disorder can be rather complex and are related to a lot of personality disorders, thus making the diagnosis of this condition difficult. It was believed that more women were prone to borderline personality disorder than men. However, statistics have shown that it tends to occur equally in both men and women. The incidence of this condition is very high, and this affects almost 6% of adults all over the world.
There are many other disorders that may occur along with borderline personality disorder. Substance abuse and eating disorders are more likely to be associated with borderline personality disorder. Adults with antisocial personality disorder are also known to be more prone to develop borderline personality disorder. There are some people who may have some traits of borderline personality disorder, but knowing the extent of what is borderline personality disorder, it is important for a person to fulfill the entire diagnostic criteria of this condition to be diagnosed with it.
There are some theories which equate borderline personality disorder with a type of bipolar disorders and other mental conditions. No specific causes of borderline personality disorder have yet been found. If you know what is borderline personality disorder and suspect that someone may have it, a full panel of psychometric and diagnostic tests would be run to establish a certain diagnosis.
Diagnosis. The diagnosis is extremely important for treating borderline personality disorder, especially if noticed in children. However, borderline personality disorder traits may differ with different people. It is known that borderline personality disorder often manifests along with other personality disorders and mental conditions. When there is a combination of such illnesses, the symptoms may become characteristic and unique in each individual. There are many who appear to have symptoms of borderline personality disorder, but suffer from a different disorder like bipolar disorder. Similarly, there are others who may suffer from borderline personality disorder, but exhibit symptoms of another disorder. It is because of these variations in symptoms that requires there to be a long list of diagnostic criteria for this condition.
Treatment of borderline personality disorder. Since the condition itself may manifest in different ways for different people, different forms of therapy may be required for different people. Treating borderline personality disorder would therefore take time as also patience. Behavioral and cognitive therapies are the most commonly used treatment methods for this condition. Psychotherapy is given to a person to improve certain key behavioral aspects. Mood instability, self-image improvement, and problems in relating with others are the chief areas which are sought to be improved with regular therapy. Distress tolerance is another major area of treatment for those suffering from borderline personality disorder. Apart from behavior therapy and psychotherapy, talk therapy may also be given to the patients. Some patients require medicinal support and may be prescribed antidepressants and mood enhancers as well.