Borderline Personality Disorder. What are some symptoms?

Question

Borderline Personality Disorder. What are some symptoms?

Answer 1

A person with this disorder can often be bright and intelligent, and appear warm, friendly and competent. They sometimes can maintain this appearance for a number of years until their defense structure crumbles, usually around a stressful situation like the breakup of a romantic relationship or the death of a parent.Relationships with others are intense but stormy and unstable with marked shifts of feelings and difficulties in maintaining intimate, close connections. The person may manipulate others and often has difficulty with trusting others. There is also emotional instability with marked and frequent shifts to an empty lonely depression or to irritability and anxiety. There may be unpredictable and impulsive behavior which might include excessive spending, promiscuity, gambling, drug or alcohol abuse, shoplifting, overeating or physically self-damaging actions such as suicide gestures. The person may show inappropriate and intense anger or rage with temper tantrums, constant brooding and resentment, feelings of deprivation, and a loss of control or fear of loss of control over angry feelings. There are also identity disturbances with confusion and uncertainty about self-identity, sexuality, life goals and values, career choices, friendships. There is a deep-seated feeling that one is flawed, defective, damaged or bad in some way, with a tendency to go to extremes in thinking, feeling or behavior. Under extreme stress or in severe cases there can be brief psychotic episodes with loss of contact with reality or bizarre behavior or symptoms. Even in less severe instances, there is often significant disruption of relationships and work performance. The depression which accompanies this disorder can cause much suffering and can lead to serious suicide attempts.

Answer 2

Having been diagnosed with Bipolar and Borderline Personality, I am very familiar with the presentation of this illness. Signs or symptoms, which are very similar to bipolar, often leading to misdiagnosis, are:
Impulsivity
Self-Harm
Increased irritablity or anger
Occasionaly, but not always, violent outbursts
The "I hate you don't leave me" syndrome, where you may be so angry at someone, then push them away from you, yet you fear abandonment.
Impulsive spending, promiscuity, reckless activities
Thoughts or attempts of suicide
Occasionally those with this disease have been sexually assaulted
If you look up the disorder, online in the DSM-IV, you will see a complete list of symptoms.
Good luck, I know it is tough. Hang in.

Answer 3

Hi, In BPD the person has difficulties with interpersonal relationships (that's relationships with others), self-image, and affects marked by impulsivity that begins in early adulthood. The person makes frantic efforts to avoid abandonment either real or in their imagination. People with BPD are very sensitive to circumstances in their environment. They are very afraid of abandonment and this leads to (often inappropriate) anger, even if the abandonment is time-limited and appropriate as to them seperation implies that they are bad (that's where the self-image problems stem from). To avoid abandonment they can resort to efforts like self-mutilation or suicidal behaviours to convince the other not to leave them or to punish themselves as they believe the other leaves them because they are bad. People with BPD often idealise others and share very personal details early in a relationship. This can change rapidly when they feel disappointed in the other (as the idealised person is not as ideal as they thought). The idealisation can then change quickly into devaluating the other person. So basically their views of others change rapidly and suddenly. If you like to learn more about BPD, look in a DSM-IV for diagnostic criteria. A really good book on the treatment of BPD is "Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Borderline Personality Disorder" by M. Linehan. It describes Dialectic Behavioral Therapy the most preferred and successful treatment for BPD used all over the world. Take care.

Answer 4

a disorder characterized primarily by emotional dysregulation, extreme "black and white" thinking, or "splitting" (believing that something is one of only two possible things, and ignoring any possible "in-betweens"), and turbulent relationships. It can also be described by mental health professionals as a serious mental illness characterized by pervasive instability in mood, interpersonal relationships, self-image, identity, and behavior, and a disturbance in the individual's sense of self.