by Cassidy Whisenhunt

Created on: November 10, 2009

Borderline Personality Disorder and Symptoms

For those with Borderline Personality Disorder relationships with loved ones can be tense and difficult to maintain. BPD patients tend to alternate back and forth uncontrollably between love and hate, feeling adoration for a person one moment and hostility towards the same person the next. When a person is unable to grain control of their emotions in such a way, life can seem extreme and overwhelming, and can create a distressful environment not only for the person but also those close to him or her.

About fifty percent of the two percent of adults that are diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder suffer from clinical depression; many patients suffer from anxiety as well. Patients often have a severe phobia of abandonment. Although many desperately seek roles in loving relationships, more often than not, they push their loved ones away with their lack of self control, mood swings, and frequent outburst of anger and frustration. In some cases patients may intentionally draw themselves further away from those they care about to eliminate even the possibility of abandonment.

It is also very common for those with the disorder to find themselves unable to take responsibility for the things that have or are happening in their lives. Instead they hold others responsible or feel as though they are a victim of circumstance.

Some symptoms Borderline Personality Disorder patients display are irrepressible anger and rage, petty criminal acts such as shoplifting, constant feelings of emptiness or numbness and boredom, and periods of paranoia and loss of connection with reality. Those with the illness may engage in substance abuse with prescription or street drugs and alcohol, promiscuousness such ass recreational sexual relationships (often having relationships with multiple sexual partners), and binge eating. BPD patients may also participate persistently in self destructive behavior, for instance cutting and intentionally overdosing. Many with BPD threaten and attempt suicide, probably due to devastating feelings of depression. Eight to ten percent of BPD patients that attempt suicide are successful.

Cause and Diagnoses

Although the actual cause of Borderline Personality Disorder is unknown there are several reoccurring factors found amongst those diagnosed that may in fact aid the development of the disorder in people. These risk factors include abandonment in childhood by a parent or loved one, a disordered home

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>