lennemagdalene

· 11 Oct 2021

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What Is a Borderline Personality Disorder?

From the moment we are born, each one of us usually has a personality. This personality starts when we are children and grow with us as we mature and become adults. Personalities are many, but in today’s posts, we are going to address one specific personality type called borderline personality disorder (BPD). It is also called Emotionally Unstable Personality Disorder (EUPD).  It is a condition characterized by difficulty in regulating and controlling emotions. People who experience BPD process emotions in a very intense manner and can feel this for long periods. Once their emotions are triggered, they find it difficult to return to normal again. Because of this, these people exhibit behaviors like impulsivity, poor self-perception, and image, difficulty in maintaining relationships, and inability to respond well to stress.


When this behavior gets out of hand, these people can even harm themselves by cutting their body parts. According to research, it is estimated that 1.4% of the adult population in the USA alone experiences BPD. If this is in the US alone, what about the entire world? It shows that a significant number of people suffer from this condition. It affects men and women equally but it is more common in women because men are less likely to ask for help, so the condition is never discovered or treated. Due to this, the majority of men are misdiagnosed as having Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) or depression even when they’re suffering from BPD. BPD most of the time comes from unaddressed traumatic events that happen during childhood.



What Are Causes of BPD?
This disorder does not just exist but is linked to many issues like biological and environmental factors combined. There are two main causes of this personality and are:



1. Childhood trauma.
When a child is exposed to an environment that imposes stress on his/her, this child may grow up exhibiting behaviors that are not normal. Many times, parents and caregivers expose young kids to traumatic events not knowing the dire consequences associated with it. Of course, no parent would wish their child to be this way, but when it happens, it's a good thing to see a therapist to help the child address this event. Many of the people you see having BPD are as a result of traumatic events that were not detected or treated on time. When someone grows with such a personality and becomes a parent, he/she is likely to expose their children to traumatic events as well by how they behave. Also, they can do this because they are not even aware that children require a conducive environment when growing up. Child trauma mostly comes from sexual abuse, physical abuse, emotional abuse, being neglected, and being exposed to a family with severe mental health illness.



2. Brain Activities interruption.
The human brain is made in such a way that when any deviation from normal occurs, the entire individual’s personality changes completely. Scientists have evidenced that once a person’s personality is altered, it is hard to reverse and this explains why people with BPD may live their behaviors for life. Also, research has shown that people with BPD brains have a problem that makes them be on “high alert” most of the time. On examination through brain scans, it has been revealed that people with BPD have some parts of their brains either smaller or having unusual levels of activities. These activities have been recorded in the following parts:
a)The Amygdala, which is the part of the brain that is involved in the regulation of emotions, especially the negative ones.
b)The hippocampus, a part that regulates behavior and self-control character in a person.
c)The frontal cortex, a part involved in planning and decision making.
If these three major parts of the brain are destroyed, how can such a person behave normally? It’s hard.






What Are Symptoms of Borderline Personality Disorder?
People suffering from this disorder may exhibit a wide array of symptoms which may include the following:



1. Fear of Being Abandoned.
When someone is suffering from BPD, one thing they fear most is being abandoned by people surrounding them, who can be friends, relatives, or spouses. As a result of this, they may show characteristics like clinging to someone and extreme begging somebody not to leave them. This behavior can be mistaken by many people who may end up quoting the person as “controlling” even when the intention of the person is genuine.



2. Inability to keep relationships.
Humans are social beings and we all desire to have company at times. We grow by interacting with other people and exchanging ideas. Friendships are one way in which we as human beings relate with though not everyone can keep relationships. People with BPD may find it hard to start and maintain a relationship because of their behaviors. They are rampant people with extreme emotions and therefore this puts them at risk of losing good friends along the way. Not everyone understands that these people are having a disorder and so they give up and abandon these people. Their relationships are mostly short-lived because they demonstrate “I hate you” and “Please don’t leave me” at the same time, giving their friends a difficult time.



3. Impulsive behaviors.
People with this type of personality when angered or annoyed, they don't take things lightly. Unlike a normal person who can just let things slip away or look for a better way to solve problems, these people take things far. They can do crazy things like shoplifting and self-harm activities where they can cut or burn themselves, just to inflict pain on their bodies. They also express a great desire for suicide as they feel it will make them stop feeling this way. If not taken care of in these moments, they can hurt themselves and other people as well.



4. Mood swings.
We can all agree that mood swings are common especially in women, and it is mostly associated with hormones present in women’s bodies. But in the case of people with BPD, their moods go extremely out of the way when triggered. They go low very fast and can stay like that for long, or can go off mood instantly and be happy at the same time.



5. Feeling empty.
We have all felt empty at some point in our lives and this is pretty normal since we are humans. We all have that delicate part such that when life hits us hard, we feel low. But for people with BPD, their case is different. They feel sorry for themselves because they don't understand why they experience that. For this reason, they feel empty inside which makes their situation worse.



6. Paranoia.
Paranoia can also be termed dissociation.
BPD sufferers may experience paranoia most of the time and it makes them feel foggy and spaced out. Many of them report the feeling of being in an “I’m not in my body” situation and if you’re not keen, you may end up misjudging them by saying they’re mad or don't know what they’re saying.



7. Explosive anger.
Anger is a defense mechanism that we use when our peace of mind is threatened. Everyone has anger in them but what distinguishes normal people from those suffering from BPD, is the extent to which the anger goes. These people have short tempers and experience intense frustrations, making them act inwardly or outwardly.




Treatment for BPD.
Treatment for this disorder is usually directed towards a change of behavior and mood using the following approaches:
1. Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT).
The main aim of this personality is to introduce two essential concepts that may help individuals deal with maladaptive experiences. They’re:
a) Validation-this is where the individual is assured that his/her feelings are acknowledged and are true. Also, the person is encouraged to speak because their emotions are acceptable.
b) Dialectics-where an individual is taught how to view things from a different perspective. Most BPD patients have a very rigid way of thinking and therefore, teaching them that things can be seen differently is important. This rigidity causes symptoms of BPD worse because the person can never agree with a situation, hence causing anger.



2. Schema-Focused Therapy.
This is based on the belief that we can teach people to develop ways of interpreting the world in the early years of life, and this is called ‘schemas.’ When a child's basic needs like wanting to be loved, listened to or to be safe are not met, children grow up with what we call maladaptive schema, which this therapy tries to reverse. Since these schemas can be destructive, an individual is taught how to adapt to the good schemas and offer them strategies so that they can live a normal life.
There is no specific medication available to treat BPD currently, but there are drugs that can help ease the symptoms of this disorder, i.e.
Antidepressants, anti-anxiety drugs, and mood stabilizers can help.





Conclusion.
BPD is a difficult personality to live with, leave alone managing it. It can be managed if society can accept these people and offer support to them. Instead of judging, I hope you have now understood why these people behave the way they do. It’s not that they want it, but it's how their brains react, therefore pushing them out of order. If you know now, spread the love to them.