What is Borderline Personality?

People with borderline personality have a serious mental health problem that can be life threatening because of the risk of suicide. They have periods of severe emotional pain and are known to act impulsively. Their relationships tend to be chaotic and they live in fear of people abandoning them. They have an unstable self-image and can develop paranoia or dissociative symptoms. Many people with borderline personality will also have substance abuse problems which can make their symptoms hard to detect.

What are the symptoms of borderline personality?

- Frequent attempts at suicide and threats of self-harm

- Unstable self-image

- Desperate efforts to prevent people from abandoning them; this risk of abandonment might be real or imagined.

- Unstable moods

- Identity disturbances

- Unstable relationships

- Difficulties controlling anger

- Paranoia

- Dissociative symptoms

- A feeling that something important is missing from their life

- Propensity for substance abuse and other high risk behavior

What causes borderline personality?

Researchers are still not sure about the cause of borderline personality but believe it to be due to environmental and genetic causes. There is some evidence to suggest that traumatic events in childhood can be the cause of the symptoms developing. If a child feels that their emotional needs are not being met then they seem more likely to develop the problem. There also seems to be a genetic factor related to borderline personality, and it can run in families. Research is being conducted into how certain genes might be responsible for the condition.

How do they treat borderline personality?

People with the condition most often require a lot of help from mental health services. They are a big suicide risk, and are in danger in other ways due to their impulsive behavior. The treatments for the condition tend to fall into two categories; medication and psychotherapy. The medications are used to treat the symptoms rather than the condition itself and will include drugs aimed at stabilizing the mood and for treating depression and anxiety.

A popular approach is Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) that uses a combination of Zen practice and dialectical philosophy. This approach has been designed specifically for people with borderline personality, and it seems to work really well. The aim is to not only allow them to escape their symptoms, but to make life enjoyable. Part of the treatment is learning mindfulness meditation.
Cognitive behavioral therapy is also sometimes used to treat the condition.

Links

http://www.borderlinepersonalitydisorder.com/index.html

http://bpd.about.com/od/causesofbpd/a/CausesBPD.htm

http://psychcentral.com/lib/2007/frequently-asked-questions-about-borderline/