Borderline is a personality disorder which lasts the entire lifetime and it is characterized by extreme variability of disposition, relationships and self perceptions. This type of disorder is a point of interest for the entertainment press and for the research books for the last twenty years.
The diagnostic of borderline disorder was added in the DSM in 1980, but the clinicians used the concept of "borderline" from yearly beginnings in order to describe a person who oscillates between severe neurotic manifestations and psychotic moments. Instability is the key word in the borderline disorder. Those who suffer from this disorder have very unstable moods, with episodes of severe depression, anxiety and fury which appear frequently and almost all the time with absolutely no reason. This instability also marks the concept of self, which has periods of total lack of confidence which then alternate with great self-importance. Because of all these characteristics, the relationships are also extremely unstable and the person suffering from this disorder can smoothly swing from idealizing a person to completely despising him/her without any reason. A classic movie which presents the borderline disorder is Fatal Attraction in which Glenn Close plays the role of an individual profoundly marked by this personality disorder.
Furthermore, people who have this disorder often feel that they are empty on the inside and for this reason they try to establish connections with every new person they encounter, especially with their psychiatrist. By doing this, they hope that these new acquaintances would fill the void they have inside. In the same time, they can wrongly interpret the neutral actions of those surrounding them as being signs of rejection and abandonment. For example, if the therapist calls off a meeting because he feels ill, the patient with the borderline personality can interpret this action as being a sign of rejection causing them to be depressed or furious.
Besides the behavioral instability and the great variability of moods there is also a tendency to self-destructive behaviors, such as mutilation and suicidal. Auto-mutilation takes the form of burnings or cuts. Another set of characteristics shows that these persons are predisposed to episodes of disconnection from reality, alienation, and they can even lose the time notion, forgetting who they are.
The great majority of them are also diagnosed with another acute disorder, such as the abuse of substances, depression, generalized anxiety, phobia, agoraphobia, panic attacks or post-traumatic stress. Longitudinal research made on persons suffering from this disorder show that approximately 10% die from suicidal causes and 75% at least tried to kill themselves.
Many scientists tried to explain the causes of the borderline disorder. One explanation comes from the psycho-analysis theoreticians who suggest that individuals suffering from this disorder have very little developed images towards themselves and the others because of the poor-quality relationships they had in their childhood. Those who brought them up encouraged them to show tight dependence towards them and by contrast discouraged them to develop the self image. As a result, these persons never learn to make a total differentiation between themselves and the others. This fact makes them very sensitive to the others opinion towards them and they perceive this experience as a rejection. Then, they tend to reject themselves as well and this eventually ends in mutilation or suicidal.
Researching inside this theory reveals another cause for the borderline disorder: sexual abuse. This kind of abuse took place in the early childhood and it generated problems regarding the concept of self which many theoreticians believe that it is in the middle of this disorder. Besides, those parents who alternate between episodes of abuse and episodes of love can lead to the development of fundamental distrust towards the others and also of a tendency to view the others entirely good or entirely evil.
In conclusion, the borderline disorder is a personality disorder which represents long term patterns of maladaptive behavior. The prevalence of the disorder on the entire lifespan is of 1%-2%, and it is more often diagnosed for women than for men. People who suffer from it tend to have stormy marital relationships, more difficulties at the working place and physical incapacity. These problems come from emotional, cognitive and social instability.
The diagnostic of borderline disorder was added in the DSM in 1980, but the clinicians used the concept of "borderline" from yearly beginnings in order to describe a person who oscillates between severe neurotic manifestations and psychotic moments. Instability is the key word in the borderline disorder. Those who suffer from this disorder have very unstable moods, with episodes of severe depression, anxiety and fury which appear frequently and almost all the time with absolutely no reason. This instability also marks the concept of self, which has periods of total lack of confidence which then alternate with great self-importance. Because of all these characteristics, the relationships are also extremely unstable and the person suffering from this disorder can smoothly swing from idealizing a person to completely despising him/her without any reason. A classic movie which presents the borderline disorder is Fatal Attraction in which Glenn Close plays the role of an individual profoundly marked by this personality disorder.
Furthermore, people who have this disorder often feel that they are empty on the inside and for this reason they try to establish connections with every new person they encounter, especially with their psychiatrist. By doing this, they hope that these new acquaintances would fill the void they have inside. In the same time, they can wrongly interpret the neutral actions of those surrounding them as being signs of rejection and abandonment. For example, if the therapist calls off a meeting because he feels ill, the patient with the borderline personality can interpret this action as being a sign of rejection causing them to be depressed or furious.
Besides the behavioral instability and the great variability of moods there is also a tendency to self-destructive behaviors, such as mutilation and suicidal. Auto-mutilation takes the form of burnings or cuts. Another set of characteristics shows that these persons are predisposed to episodes of disconnection from reality, alienation, and they can even lose the time notion, forgetting who they are.
The great majority of them are also diagnosed with another acute disorder, such as the abuse of substances, depression, generalized anxiety, phobia, agoraphobia, panic attacks or post-traumatic stress. Longitudinal research made on persons suffering from this disorder show that approximately 10% die from suicidal causes and 75% at least tried to kill themselves.
Many scientists tried to explain the causes of the borderline disorder. One explanation comes from the psycho-analysis theoreticians who suggest that individuals suffering from this disorder have very little developed images towards themselves and the others because of the poor-quality relationships they had in their childhood. Those who brought them up encouraged them to show tight dependence towards them and by contrast discouraged them to develop the self image. As a result, these persons never learn to make a total differentiation between themselves and the others. This fact makes them very sensitive to the others opinion towards them and they perceive this experience as a rejection. Then, they tend to reject themselves as well and this eventually ends in mutilation or suicidal.
Researching inside this theory reveals another cause for the borderline disorder: sexual abuse. This kind of abuse took place in the early childhood and it generated problems regarding the concept of self which many theoreticians believe that it is in the middle of this disorder. Besides, those parents who alternate between episodes of abuse and episodes of love can lead to the development of fundamental distrust towards the others and also of a tendency to view the others entirely good or entirely evil.
In conclusion, the borderline disorder is a personality disorder which represents long term patterns of maladaptive behavior. The prevalence of the disorder on the entire lifespan is of 1%-2%, and it is more often diagnosed for women than for men. People who suffer from it tend to have stormy marital relationships, more difficulties at the working place and physical incapacity. These problems come from emotional, cognitive and social instability.
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