Borderline Personality Disorder involves a lot of emotional suffering but there are effective psychotherapies.
- It might interest you: ” What is agoraphobia? Causes, symptoms and treatment “
What is Borderline Personality Disorder?
Those who suffer from Borderline Personality Disorder are not very nuanced . His perception of things is very drastic. Commonly it would be said that for them things “either are white or they are black”, without appreciating the gray scales.
This way of perceiving the world leads them to have intense emotions about things, and they are capable of changing their opinion very quickly without considering middle ground. This way of acting makes other people see them as very irrational, and they do not understand the apparent arbitrariness of their points of view.
These emotions are very often negative because the person with Borderline Personality Disorder has a tendency to lead a lifestyle that encourages it. As we will see later, it is common for these people to adopt risky or self-injurious behaviors. The ultimate explanation for these is that they are done in order to divert your attention from the discomfort you feel.
Causes
To understand the causes of Borderline Personality Disorder, we must take into account the childhood of the person who suffers from it . It is a disorder that is frequently associated with childhood traumas,
The development of this disorder is fostered by emotionally disturbing educational practices. Extreme cases may be due to witnessing domestic violence, suffering sexual abuse, or seeing parents in trouble with the law or with narcotic substances.
Faced with such family scenarios, there are children who come to feel powerless and vulnerable, which would lead them to victimization and their inability to create healthy emotional ties.
Therefore, this learned fear that others are dangerous, starting with those at home, is the basis of an emotional reactivity that undoubtedly also has a genetic predisposition.
emotional symptoms
People with this disorder have difficulty forming positive attachment bonds . They are mainly characterized by their problems when it comes to feeling secure in their attachment relationships. Their behavior can be very unpredictable, leading to frequent and intense episodes of impulsiveness and irritability.
The invalidating environment they have experienced in childhood is replicated as the only way of knowing how to live, which ends up leading to negative emotions. The person with Borderline Personality Disorder has a tendency to self-devaluation and to depend emotionally on another person.
This high-intensity intimate relationship that the person is looking for can be romantic or not, but they always try to feel protected through it. The need is intensified by feelings of emptiness and the fact of conceiving that everything is dangerous.
In this way, a very strong dependency develops that is not healthy, and that is that the sensitivity is extreme to the idea of being abandoned or betrayed. Any misunderstanding is very misunderstood, and the people around those who suffer from Borderline Personality Disorder get tired of it because it is so destructive.
behavioral symptoms
The desperation felt by the person with Borderline Personality Disorder is transformed into outbursts of anger against others . In addition, self-injurious behaviors can manifest, which can even be used to manipulate others.
In this sense, it is not surprising that there is comorbidity with eating disorders. Many people with Borderline Personality Disorder manifest these types of disorders that they can even unconsciously use as a weapon of emotional blackmail. Although it is not the only cause. Binge eating characteristic of bulimia is a way of trying to reduce your discomfort.
These types of people easily fall into the temptation of combating their frustration through impulsive behaviors that seek immediate satisfaction. For this reason they can also develop risky sexual behaviors and are prone to drug use.
Many people feel that when they do this type of activity they can disconnect and not feel any pain, unlike the rest of their life. Obviously, later the consequences can be bad, leading the person to a spiral of self-destruction from which it is not easy to get out.
- You may want to read: ” The 8 types of intelligence according to Gardner (and what they consist of) “
Treatment
To understand Borderline Personality Disorder it is necessary to highlight its depressive side. The low self-esteem that the person suffers, their attachment problems, and their feelings of hopelessness and guilt make this disorder a picture with a very high emotional component.
In fact, there are specialists who consider it a mood disorder, and there are many parallels with depression or bipolar disorder. However, it has a more severe character, and this has been one of the reasons why much research has been done on this disorder.
The most effective treatment for Borderline Personality Disorder is known as Dialectical Behavior Therapy . It was devised by Linehan, who after years of applying her therapy as the most effective way to treat this disorder publicly acknowledged that she also suffered from it.
The treatment is based on a simple but very deep-seated idea: accepting oneself. If the person does not accept himself, it is impossible to move forward, because there is a mental block that prevents the person from putting distance from his condition.
It is a principle that may seem somewhat paradoxical but has been shown to be effective in other fields of psychology. In this case, on the one hand, the psychotherapeutic sessions are focused on dealing with cognitive dissonances and changing false beliefs.
It is also very important to work on intrapersonal skills, because in this way the person is empowered to have more emotional control. Finally, work is also focused on improving social skills and understanding other people’s points of view.
Bibliographic references
- Etchegoyen, R. H. (2006). The Fundamentals of Psychoanalytic Technique. Karnac Books.
- Gunderson, J.G. (2009). Borderline Personality Disorder: A Clinical Guide. American Psychiatric Pub, 284, 12-15.
- Linehan, M. (1993). Cognitive-Behavioral Treatment of Borderline Personality Disorder. Londres: Guilford Press.
To the classic question “what do you do?” I always answer “basically I am a psychologist”. In fact, my academic training has revolved around the psychology of development, education and community, a field of study influenced my volunteer activities, as well as my first work experiences in personal services.