Borderline Personality Disorder, Its Main Characteristics and Ways of Treatment - Essay Example

Borderline Personality Disorder, Its Main Characteristics and Ways of Treatment Abstract The aim of this essay is to study the psychological topic referring to the problem of Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD). We have studied the BPD and its most typical characteristics so further we will develop the topic of the treatment for the people with such mental disorder and how their families, friends and other people could communicate with them. We will describe the BPD in comparison with two other cases of mental disorder, namely Bipolar disorder and Depression, and discover whether there is or there is not some of the gender and cultural aspects of BPD that could impact the presentation, diagnosis, or treatment of the disorder. Our work is based on two resources concerning this topic, one of them is a famous book on psychology written by Rita L. Atkinson, Richard C. Atkinson, Edward E. Smith, Daryl J. Bem, Susan Nolen-Hoeksema and the other is an internet one which is a website of National Education Alliance for Borderline Personality Disorder (NEA BPD), devoted to the problem of BPD. Keywords: Borderline Personality Disorder, symptoms, treatment Borderline Personality Disorder, Its Main Characteristics and Ways of Treatment The topic of psychology is one of that we every day come across but quite rare pay an attention to it. For the mentally healthy people our world looks different than for the people with such diseases as Borderline Personality Disorder. The starting point of our work is the understanding of what this disorder actually is. On the NEA BPD website the BPD is described as: “a serious mental illness that causes unstable moods, behavior, and relationships. It usually begins during adolescence or early adulthood” (NEA BPD) Rita L. Atkinson et al. (2000) hold the position that Instability is the most typical feature for the people with BPD. This people are often exposed to the severe depression, anxiety or anger attacks which occur frequently and usually without an apparent cause. For such people the concept of Myself is unstable, so their mood could frequently change between self-doubt and self-aggrandizement. This also can be said about the interpersonal relationships. People with borderline personality disorder often feel themselves hopeless and empty and initially seek a new friend or a doctor hoping that this person will fill the vacuum they feel (Rita L. Atkinson et al. 2000 p. 540). New researches shown on the internet page of NEA BPD suggest that people with BPD may be genetically prone to developing BPD and some stressful situations may trigger it off (NEA BPD. 08/15/2014). Also in many sources we can find the information about the fact that women are more predisposed to BPD due to the peculiarities of their psychology. In comparison with other diseases such as Bipolar Disorder and Depression the BPD may reveal many similar and diverse features. So called "Borderline" symptoms are always present as the basic characteristics of the BPD-ill person: the problem of regulation of mood, its ups and downs, impulsivity of the patients with BPD occur all the time and are commonplace. While ‘bipolar’ symptoms are inconstant, during these periods the patient is very different from that time he was out of the attack. This can be followed from the diagnostic determination of Bipolar Disorder. During a depressive or maniacal episodes the patient changes, he/she doesn't behave as at that times when he/she feels good. Comparing the BPD to the Depression we must mention that they are two separate diseases but Depression is one of the most frequent BPDs’ symptoms due to this fact BPD could be mistaken for severe case of Depression. This disease may have its roots in the patients’ childhood, or in their way of life. A constant lack of attention, recognition and praise may intensify the symptoms. Sometimes people with BPD hurt themselves and according to the statistics in three cases out of five such patients commit a suicide. As many other, this disease could reveal itself in the milder or in more severe ways. Dealing with a person that has a mild version of BPD you may never find out that he or she is ill, on this stage the disease resembles simple Depression. They are able to work and associate with friends, colleges and relatives. That’s why having a friend/ relative or love somebody with mild BPD may never cause any difficulties with the exception of the fact that a sick persons’ mood will obviously shift from one state to another. The word ‘borderline’, speaking about the BPD, means the fact that a person stays in between two different states of mind. In more severe cases the behavior, emotions and even relations of the person are unstable. So being somehow related to the person with severe BPD will surely cause a lot of problems, because one minute he/she loves you, and the other moment he/she to change mind and you may become an enemy. You may never guess whether you’ve done something wrong or it was just one of the diseases’ manifestations. Being in such a situation people try to provide their ill-friend/relative with efficient treatment. Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) is the most substantial way of treatment. DBT is a type of cognitive-behavioral therapy, which focuses on training a number of basic emotional and interpersonal skills that are consistently violated when the person has borderline personality disorder. The DBT differs from traditional approaches to the treatment of BPD because it (DBT) is characterized by involving families and support groups in the treatment process. As it was mentioned before, BPD somehow resembles Depression so the treatment could be the same. Medicine is more often used in case of BPD to treat the attendant symptoms including depression, anxiety, fury-attacks and qualms. Treatment schemes comprise tranquilizers and anxiolytics. 540-55. psychology written by e a000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000The results of these kinds of treatment tend to be positive so people with BPD could live without serious problems. Borderline Personality Disorder is classified as "personality disorders", i.e. it is a mental disorder which reveals in the course of the emotional and behavioral development of a certain person. It's very difficult to live with BPD or to have a relative with this disease, but modern ways of treatment could relieve the severe symptoms so that people could lead a normal lifestyle. References Rita L. Atkinson, Richard C. Atkinson, Edward E. Smith, Daryl J. Bem, Susan Nolen-Hoeksema. "Hilgard's Introduction to Psychology. History, Theory, Research, and Applications", 13th ed., 2000, 540-552. http://www.borderlinepersonalitydisorder.com/ Read More