- Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is estimated to occur
in about 2 percent of the population.
- BPD is more commonly diagnosed in
females than in males.
- The course of BPD is chronic instability during
early adulthood. The symptoms typically decrease with age with more stability
being achieved during a person’s
thirties and forties.
- Unfortunately, the diagnosis of BPD is not very reliable.
Many researchers believe BPD is a form of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder.
- BPD commonly co-occurs with other disorders such as Substance Abuse,
Depression, Eating Disorders, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity
Disorder.
- The symptomology of BPD can generally be described as instability
in mood, thinking, behavior, personal relations, and self-image.
- Suicide
occurs in 8 to 10 percent of persons with BPD.
Symptoms
- Efforts to avoid real or imagined abandonment
- A pattern of unstable and intense interpersonal relationships
characterized by alternating between extremes of idealization and devaluation
- Identity
disturbance: markedly and persistently unstable self-image or sense of
self
- Impulsivity in at least two areas that are potentially self-damaging,
such as spending, sex, substance abuse, reckless driving, or binge-eating
- Recurrent suicidal behavior, gestures, threats, or self-mutilating
behavior
- Affective instability due to a marked reactivity of mood,
such as intense episodic dysphoria, irritability, or anxiety usually lasting
a few hours and only rarely more than a few days
- Chronic feelings of emptiness
- Inappropriate, intense anger
or difficulty controlling anger
- Transient, stress-related paranoid
ideation or severe dissociative symptoms
Causes
- Currently, there is not a clear understanding of what causes
BPD.
- Many researchers believe some individuals have a high biological
vulnerability to BPD. This disorder is five times more common in individuals
who have a first-degree relative with the disorder. This leads researchers
to conclude that there may be a genetic vulnerability for the development
of BPD.
- Environmental stress or trauma is also believed to be a
possible cause of BPD. Individuals with the disorder report a high rate
of childhood sexual and physical abuse. The presence of child abuse may
be important in some individuals with BPD. However, it is neither a necessary
nor a sufficient cause of BPD.
- Family environment has also been studied
as a cause of BPD. Some researchers see BPD as a distortion or failure
of an early developmental process. The specific process that failed to
develop is believed to be the establishment of a solid, autonomous self
that is separate from others, and in particular from the utterly dependent
relationship with the mother. This theory of the cause of BPD is very
controversial. Research has not consistently found evidence to support
this theory (The Information Exchange, 1990).
Treatments
- Currently, there is not one specific method of treatment
for BPD.
- Some medications are useful in treating the symptoms of
BPD. Typical medications that may be used are anti-psychotics in low doses,
certain anti-depressants, anti-anxiety medications, Depakote, and Lithium.
- Psychotherapy over several months or years is the most common mode of
treatment for BPD. Many professionals suggest a combination of medication
and psychotherapy as the most effective form of treatment.
Suggested Readings
Mending Minds by Heston, Leonard
The Broken Brain by Andreasen,
M.D., Nancy
Coping with Mental Illness in the Family by Hatfield,
Agnes
If you or someone you know would like more information on
mental illness or wish to request an educational presentation, please contact:
NAMI IOWA (Alliance for the Mentally Ill
of Iowa)
5911 Meredith Drive Suite E
Des Moines IA 50322-1903
Phone: (515) 254-0417 or (800) 417-0417 IOWA ONLY
Fax: (515) 254-1103
Email: info@namiiowa.com
