What is a Borderline Personality Disorder?

Question

How do friends or family members cope with that ?...........

No...it's not ME...it's a family friend
I suspect may have it.....I just want to know if anyone knows what the
symptoms are ?....I can go look for it
on the web, I just didn't want to.

Answer 1

I'll do my best to give you the top symptoms of BPD and to do it simply. The number one symptom of BPD is the "extreme" fear of abandonment.(Imagined or real) In 99% of the "valid" definations, that feat is at the top of the list. Because there is a fear of abandonment, those who suffer from BPD can overwhelm others either by an outpouring of emotion, or the "I told you, that you would leave me, and here's why" attitude. BPD can stem from a variety of reasons, and self-destructive bouts of behaviors such as abuse of alcohol, drugs, gambling, promiscuity, shoplifting, or shopping sprees are all ways that a person with BPD use to deal with their fears and low self value. Using one or all on the list are ways to either put a patch on the problem, or to prove that they are unworthy of good.
One person explained it like this. If a person, were physically burned all over their body, with 2nd degree burns, their skin would be raw, and if touched, it would hurt. People who deal with BPD have no "emotional" skin. It's as if they have stagnated their "emotional" growth in the area of building protection and walls and they haven't learned the ways to differentiate between people who are good for them, and those who aren't.
Wanting to be accepted so much, they will put up with a lot of pain and agony from others, to once again, validate that they aren't worth anything(otherwise the people in their lives wouldn't treat them the way they do)
What is the most overwhelming characteristic I've learned is this.
If a 5 year old child runs up to you and hugs, you, most people find that behavior acceptable, sweet, and will reciprocate, however, when an adult does that, people wonder what they want, you have invaded their comfort area, and they don't believe that a 35 year old could just run up and hug them as a 5 year old would without any agenda other than just being loving, and wanting to be loved in return. That stagnation, begins to blossom out, and will manifest itself in numerous ways of self-destruction, and the inability to have continual healthy relationships with others.
There are online groups that work just with people who deal with BPD. Also, you can do a google search, if you decide you feel like it, and want to look into it, and learning at deeper levels what can happen if it's not treated.
I hope this will help you. I know that many Psychiatrists do not want to deal with BPD (in my studies, and experience) because it is a complicated situation, and they can't hand out some medication, and tell you to give it 6 to 8 weeks to see if it will work. There are no pills to heal BPD. Dr. Marsha Linehan, at the University of WA. has and continues to do ground breaking work, dealing specifically with BPD. Long term outpatient treatment, and hard work is what is needed, and let's look at this realistically, these days, it's easier and less time consuming for many people in the "psychiatric community" to hand out pills then it is to do the work required to help their patient actually find a way to cope.
If you wish to discuss it further, please fee free to write in again. Take care, and the best of luck to you
As far as family members coping with it, there is a book, called STOP WALKING ON EGGSHELLS, and that book is to help families who need to learn to cope with someone who has BPD, and how to interact, and live a better life for all in the family

Answer 2

This is a person who has what is described as emotional crashes and variations in mood. This person could have feelings of emotional turbulance, feel unloved, try to self harm for attention regulary, feel that they are worthless and require supervision. There are many different criteria to be met. Look in the Diagnostic Statistical Manual for Mental Health Disorder

Answer 3

Why? Do you hav it? LMAO

Answer 4

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a serious mental illness characterized by pervasive instability in moods, interpersonal relationships, self-image, and behavior. This instability often disrupts family and work life, long-term planning, and the individual's sense of self-identity. Originally thought to be at the "borderline" of psychosis, people with BPD suffer from a disorder of emotion regulation. While less well known than schizophrenia or bipolar disorder (manic-depressive illness), BPD is more common, affecting 2 percent of adults, mostly young women.1 There is a high rate of self-injury without suicide intent, as well as a significant rate of suicide attempts and completed suicide in severe cases.2,3 Patients often need extensive mental health services, and account for 20 percent of psychiatric hospitalizations.4 Yet, with help, many improve over time and are eventually able to lead productive lives.

Symptoms
While a person with depression or bipolar disorder typically endures the same mood for weeks, a person with BPD may experience intense bouts of anger, depression, and anxiety that may last only hours, or at most a day.5 These may be associated with episodes of impulsive aggression, self-injury, and drug or alcohol abuse. Distortions in cognition and sense of self can lead to frequent changes in long-term goals, career plans, jobs, friendships, gender identity, and values. Sometimes people with BPD view themselves as fundamentally bad, or unworthy. They may feel unfairly misunderstood or mistreated, bored, empty, and have little idea who they are. Such symptoms are most acute when people with BPD feel isolated and lacking in social support, and may result in frantic efforts to avoid being alone.

People with BPD often have highly unstable patterns of social relationships. While they can develop intense but stormy attachments, their attitudes towards family, friends, and loved ones may suddenly shift from idealization (great admiration and love) to devaluation (intense anger and dislike). Thus, they may form an immediate attachment and idealize the other person, but when a slight separation or conflict occurs, they switch unexpectedly to the other extreme and angrily accuse the other person of not caring for them at all. Even with family members, individuals with BPD are highly sensitive to rejection, reacting with anger and distress to such mild separations as a vacation, a business trip, or a sudden change in plans. These fears of abandonment seem to be related to difficulties feeling emotionally connected to important persons when they are physically absent, leaving the individual with BPD feeling lost and perhaps worthless. Suicide threats and attempts may occur along with anger at perceived abandonment and disappointments.

People with BPD exhibit other impulsive behaviors, such as excessive spending, binge eating and risky sex. BPD often occurs together with other psychiatric problems, particularly bipolar disorder, depression, anxiety disorders, substance abuse, and other personality disorders.

Treatment
Treatments for BPD have improved in recent years. Group and individual psychotherapy are at least partially effective for many patients. Within the past 15 years, a new psychosocial treatment termed dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) was developed specifically to treat BPD, and this technique has looked promising in treatment studies.6 Pharmacological treatments are often prescribed based on specific target symptoms shown by the individual patient. Antidepressant drugs and mood stabilizers may be helpful for depressed and/or labile mood. Antipsychotic drugs may also be used when there are distortions in thinking.7

Recent Research Findings
Although the cause of BPD is unknown, both environmental and genetic factors are thought to play a role in predisposing patients to BPD symptoms and traits. Studies show that many, but not all individuals with BPD report a history of abuse, neglect, or separation as young children.8 Forty to 71 percent of BPD patients report having been sexually abused, usually by a non-caregiver.9 Researchers believe that BPD results from a combination of individual vulnerability to environmental stress, neglect or abuse as young children, and a series of events that trigger the onset of the disorder as young adults. Adults with BPD are also considerably more likely to be the victim of violence, including rape and other crimes. This may result from both harmful environments as well as impulsivity and poor judgement in choosing partners and lifestyles.

NIMH-funded neuroscience research is revealing brain mechanisms underlying the impulsivity, mood instability, aggression, anger, and negative emotion seen in BPD. Studies suggest that people predisposed to impulsive aggression have impaired regulation of the neural circuits that modulate emotion.10 The amygdala, a small almond-shaped structure deep inside the brain, is an important component of the circuit that regulates negative emotion. In response to signals from other brain centers indicating a perceived threat, it marshals fear and arousal. This might be more pronounced under the influence of drugs like alcohol, or stress. Areas in the front of the brain (pre-frontal area) act to dampen the activity of this circuit. Recent brain imaging studies show that individual differences in the ability to activate regions of the prefrontal cerebral cortex thought to be involved in inhibitory activity predict the ability to suppress negative emotion.11

Serotonin, norepinephrine and acetylcholine are among the chemical messengers in these circuits that play a role in the regulation of emotions, including sadness, anger, anxiety, and irritability. Drugs that enhance brain serotonin function may improve emotional symptoms in BPD. Likewise, mood-stabilizing drugs that are known to enhance the activity of GABA, the brain's major inhibitory neurotransmitter, may help people who experience BPD-like mood swings. Such brain-based vulnerabilities can be managed with help from behavioral interventions and medications, much like people manage susceptibility to diabetes or high blood pressure.7

Future Progress
Studies that translate basic findings about the neural basis of temperament, mood regulation, and cognition into clinically relevant insights�which bear directly on BPD�represent a growing area of NIMH-supported research. Research is also underway to test the efficacy of combining medications with behavioral treatments like DBT, and gauging the effect of childhood abuse and other stress in BPD on brain hormones. Data from the first prospective, longitudinal study of BPD, which began in the early 1990s, is expected to reveal how treatment affects the course of the illness. It will also pinpoint specific environmental factors and personality traits that predict a more favorable outcome. The Institute is also collaborating with a private foundation to help attract new researchers to develop a better understanding and better treatment for BPD.