Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is one of thepsychological disordersin our era, being themost frequentpersonality disorder today, with a prevalence between 1 and 3% of the population.
In the following article, we give you all the necessary information about this disorder and the possible ways for its intervention.
Index
ToggleWhat is borderline personality disorder?
According to thePractical Guide for Family Members and Patients with Borderline Personality Disorder, it is a personality disorder, which is characterized by being apermanent and inflexible pattern of thought, emotions and behavior. (1)
BPD, also calledborderline disorder, is the group of so-calleddramatic, erratic and emotional personalities. It is very common and reaches between 2 and 3% of the general population.
Considered a pathology, it is located on the border betweenneurosis and psychosis, hence the word used to identify it in Spanish is, literally, “limit” or “border line”.
People who develop this disorder aretemperamental, very sensitive and emotionally impulsive. Once a powerful emotion is triggered in them, it takes them longer to recover.
Note: The borderline, is characterized by theinstability of the person, both in interpersonal relationships, as on the image of themselves and their evident impulsiveness in their reactions. This disorder is more common in women than in men, with an approximate ratio of 3 to 1.
Causes of borderline personality disorder
This is a multi- causal pathology,where the environment, genes and neurological conditions play a leading role. We describe them below:
Traumatic Experiences
Many people with this disorder explain that they have been involved during childhood in Traumatic events such as abuse, neglect or adversity.
Note: An article in the international journal of psychoanalysis , Psychoanalytic openings , carries out a documentary review in this regard and concludes that there is sufficient evidence to affirm that children raised by mothers with this disorder are susceptible to suffering from it. (two)
In addition , stress during childhood can contribute to the development of borderline personality disorder.
brain alterations
The literature amply states that people with bpt may have structural and functional changes in the brain, especially in areas that control impulses and emotional regulation.
In this sense, a degree project on Neurobiological factors of borderline personality disorder , highlights that there are in the individual with this disorder, “abnormalities among which are the reduced volume of the amygdala, hippocampus, cingulate gyrus and dorsolateral and orbitofrontal cortex” . (3)
Genetic factors
People who have a close relative such as parents or siblings with this disorder may be at higher risk of developing borderline.
The probabilities indicate that first-degree relatives of patients with this disorder are 5 times more likely to have this disease than the general population.
To highlight: In a doctoral thesis entitled Study of gene-environment interaction in borderline personality disorder , it is concluded that there is a genetic influence in the development of this pathology, where variants of stress response genes could be involved. (4)
Symptoms of borderline personality disorder
Below we present the Most characteristic symptoms of this disease, but all of them must be carried out on the basis of a differential diagnosis, because some of these can be confused with other pathologies:
Changes in mood, interests and identity
One of the main characteristics of these patients with this pathology is that they tend to change their point of viewabruptly and drastically; They manifest mood swings without apparent stimulation.
Suddenly, they Can Perceive that a person for whom they feel an affinity, does not interest them enough and they become disappointed, so they can belittle him and get angry with him.
Tendency to extreme everything
Patients with this behavior have no nuances in their perceptions , everything is black or whitetag. They tend to be extremists and changeable in their assessment of things.
Note: They have great difficulty integrating ambivalent ways of conceiving reality, which puts them before things in a dichotomous and extreme way.
fear of abandonment
When borderline patients feel that they are being abandoned or neglected; They manifest negative emotions such as fear or anger.
Important: A person with this pathology can Panic or Go when someone significant does not give importance to a commitment.
Instability in interpersonal relationships
BPD patients may feel empathy and offer something to others , but with the expectation that the other person will be there to reciprocate by meeting their needstag. This attitude makes this relationship unstable.
They are prone to sudden changes in their opinionof others, alternating between viewing other people as helpful supports or cruelly punitive. His affirmation is that everything should revolve around hismain interests and needs.
Distorted self-image
Patients with tlp, just as they change their concept of others without prior notice , in the same way their own self-esteem changes abruptly, which can be reflected in the change in objectives and goals, values, or opinions.
Impulsive, irritable, and self-destructive behaviors
Patients with this disorder have problems controlling their anger and are often not interested in the context in which they manifest it.
They may express their discontent to their caregiver or person of interest with sarcasm, bitterness, or angry tirades , possibly due to neglect or neglect.
Feeling of emptiness and boredom
The feeling of emptiness is the generalized feeling of apathy, boredom and social alienation, commonly caused by emotional abandonmenttag. It manifests with reluctance, lack of motivation, sometimes withanhedonia .
Note: Individuals with borderline personality disorder may be plaguedby chronic feelings of emptiness. They do not have personal or group motivations, they do not have defined personal attachments.
Effects of borderline personality disorder
Like all pathologies of this type, they create consequences for themselves and for the environmentin which they develop. We mention the most common:
Conflicting relationships
Undoubtedly, the people or patients who suffer from this disorder, their main reaction to their disagreements being inappropriate anger, a negative emotion that generates rejection both at a family and social level, only being able to generate Human relationships based on conflict.
Work, academic and legal problems
People with this disease are changeable and unrealistic , being able to be Capricious and Manipulative in their demands, for any of the areas in which they are related, causing anguish, rejection and frustration around them.
Which can lead them to have conflicts in their jobs, study environments and even problems with justice.
Physical and mental disorders
The fact of self- harm generates changes or alterations in the physical part of the organism , such as wounds, bruises, bruises among other injuries without taking into consideration the fact of death in the case of suicides.
The same occurs with the sequelae left by the tlp in terms of the psychological imbalance of the patient, showing states of anxiety, depression, stress and a self-distorted image of himself, aspects that complicate the severity of this pathology.
In a study on Non-suicidal Self-Injurious Behaviors in Clinical Practice. First part: conceptualization and diagnosis , indicates that self- injurious behavior in people suffering from TLP constitutes a very frequent Clinical problem in medical practice . (5)
Addictions
Dependence onalcoholic and psychotropic substances is a clinical fact in some borderline patients.
In many cases ofalcoholics or drug addicts, therapists have highlighted the relevance of treatments against these addictions and the relevance of borderline personality disorder as a cause of addiction has been unknown.
Suicide
The consummation of suicide can occur between 8 to 10% of these subjectstag. Self-injurious acts and suicide attempts are frequent. Self-Destructive Actions are commonly triggered by fears of separation or rejection.
Note: In an article in the journal of the National Institute of Mental Health , in the United States, he states that people with borderline personality disorder do not always perceive these behaviors as harmful. (6)
Treatment for borderline personality disorder
For this type of psychological disorders, the therapeutic approach is carried out from three perspectives, which we indicate below:
Psychological therapy
Psychotherapy is the first interventionfor people with borderline personality disorder. It is doneindividuallywith a therapist or in a group session. Two more psychotherapies used to treat borderline personality disorder include dialectical-behavior therapy andcognitive-behavioral restructuring.
To highlight: An article on Borderline Personality Disorder: treatment from a cognitive behavioral approach, deals with the effectiveness of this therapy in patients with borderline. (7)
Prescription drugs
In principle, medication in these cases is limited as the benefits are not yet clear, however, the therapist may recommend some medications to treat specific symptoms, such as mood swings, depression, or other mental disorders that may occur with the Borderline personality disorder.
Important: Some medicines can cause different side effects in different people, so their administration must be supervised by a medical professional.
Hospitalization
Some people with borderline personality disorder have severe symptoms and require more specialized treatment in an outpatient or hospital setting, requiring hospitalization.
Key Findings
- Borderline personality disorder is characterized by the emotional instability of the individual, affecting more the female sex.
- Tlp is multicausal and its symptoms can be confused with other pathologies.
- It is more frequent than other pathologies of psychological origin.
- It must be treated by a specialist.
- If not treated promptly, the patient is at risk of self-harm or suicide
- There is a low self-esteem in the individual who suffers from this pathology
- The therapy is recommendedAs initial interventional treatment for patients with BPT.
University Professional in the area of Human Resources, Postgraduate in Occupational Health and Hygiene of the Work Environment, 14 years of experience in the area of health. Interested in topics of Psychology, Occupational Health, and General Medicine.