Featured Article

Borderline Personality Disorder
Contributed By Family Tools

This video about Borderline Personality Disorders deals with a common, serious and chronic disorder that may be best described as a person who is "stuck" developmentally and has never been able to establish a basic sense of trust. A pattern of thinking results and behaviors develop which are self-destructive, childish tactics to cope with life.

The cause of this disorder is not fully understood, but most of the time, childhood experiences of domestic violence, abandonment, abuse or molestation are part of the patient's history. These traumatic experiences prevent the child from learning how to self soothe and therefore block the development of basic trust. With damaged trust, as the child becomes an adult, he or she is unable to form trusting, authentic, emotionally gratifying and moral relationships.

The name of this disorder is confusing; it would much better be described as "Self-destructive or Emotionally Unstable" disorder.

The "Borderline" personality functions very poorly, with impulsive and unpredictable behavior based on a distorted view or "prism" of one's self and of others. The unstable behavior patterns of this person attracts then repulses others and creates a self-fulfilling prophecy of chronic rejection.

Common characteristics of someone with this disorder include:

1. Frantic flights from loneliness
2. Intense idealization, then equally intense devaluation, of others;
3. Unstable sense of self;
4. Impulsive behavior (no moderating "dimmer" or "off" switch) in at least two areas, such as spending, sex, substance abuse, reckless driving, and/or binge eating;
5. Repeated suicidal thoughts, threats or acts;
6. Intense mood swings, usually of short intervals - a few hours to a few days;
7. Chronic feelings of unbearable emptiness;
8. Inappropriate, intense, irrational, uncontrolled anger; and

Paranoia or "spacing out" -- cognitively impaired with an inability to think clearly.

Five or more of these characteristics are necessary for a diagnosis of this disorder.

Treatment can be helpful, but it is difficult and slow. The person experiencing this disorder must enter a long-term psychotherapeutic growth process to change. The treatment challenge is to remove the self-destructive patterns of thinking about life and replace them with a healthier, balanced sense of self and of efficacy in relationships.

This video is part of the Family Tools series developed by Dr. Jerry and Deborah Meints of Village Counseling in Palm Desert, California.

© Copyright 2004 Purpose Media and Family Tools. No unauthorized duplication without written consent.